While you were sleeping: UPDATED Wall Street edges up as PayPal sets pace

Wall Street edged higher, pushing the Nasdaq to another record high amid better-than-expected corporate earnings, including from PayPal.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.4 points, or 0.03%, to 20981.33, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.4% to a new closing high of 6048.94 after peaking at 6,050.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.06% to 2388.77. 

Shares of PayPal traded 6.9% higher after reporting quarterly earnings that surpassed expectations and upgraded its full-year outlook.

In the Dow, gains in shares of Cisco and those of Home Depot, up 1.1% and 1.0% respectively, outweighed declines in shares of Caterpillar and those of DuPont, down 2.0% and 1.1% respectively.

Dow Chemical traded 1.3% weaker. It is considering whether to retain chief executive officer Andrew Liveris beyond his planned retirement this quarter so he can see through the $US78 billion merger with DuPont, Bloomberg reported.

The closing of the deal is expected in August amid a protracted process of gaining antitrust approvals for the merger of the two largest US chemical makers.

"With the delayed close, there has been an awful lot of dialogue," Mr Liveris, 62, said on a conference call Thursday after Dow's first-quarter earnings beat estimates, Bloomberg reported. "We are talking at the board level and we will have something to say very soon."

 US crude for June delivery lost 1.3% to $US48.97 a barrel, its lowest settlement since March 28. 

Government bonds rose, with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note falling to 2.298% from 2.312% on Wednesday. 

Potash shares up on merger
Shares of Canada's Potash Corp of Saskatchewan rose 2.3% in Toronto after the fertiliser producer posted a quarterly profit that beat expectations and upgraded its full-year outlook as it expects strong demand to continue through the remainder of the year.

Potash, which expects to close its merger with Agrium mid 2017, said it now expects full-year earnings of 45-65USc per share, up from its January forecast for 35-55USc.

"Potash market fundamentals continued to improve in the first quarter, creating a supportive earnings environment," PotashCorp Chief Executive Officer Jochen Tilk said in a statement.

"We expect improved consumption trends and nutrient affordability in key markets to support potash demand and our results through the remainder of 2017.

"Our potash portfolio optimisation and cost reduction strategy, which includes the ramp-up of our low-cost Rocanville mine, also contributed to stronger first-quarter results."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 0.2% fall from the previous close. Germany's DAX Index slipped 0.2%, France's CAC40 Index declined 0.3% and the UK's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.7%.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered a mixed picture of the outlook for the region's economy and monetary policy following a meeting at which the central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged.

"The cyclical recovery of the euro area economy is becoming increasingly solid and that downside risks have further diminished," Mr Draghi said.

"At the same time, underlying inflation pressures continue to remain subdued and have yet to show a convincing upward trend."

(BusinessDesk)