Midday Report: Boeing, Walmart Lead Dow; Wall Street Overlooks Weak Financials

Wall Street rose, setting the Dow up for its third record close in a row, as investors largely shook off a weak start to the earnings season. Financials were the only sector in decline after disappointing earnings from JPMorgan (JPM) - Get Report , Citigroup (C) - Get Report and Wells Fargo (WFC) - Get Report . Boeing (BA) - Get Report moved higher after being upgraded to OVERWEIGHT from NEUTRAL at JPMorgan. The firm is bullish on the entire aircraft industry and also positive over Boeing's earnings and cash flow. Walmart (WMT) - Get Report carried the Dow higher after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating to BUY and added the stock to its Conviction List. Analysts are positive the retailer can deal with increased e-commerce demand. Consumer sentiment unexpectedly weakened in July, according to a preliminary reading from the University of Michigan. A drop in consumer expectations was responsible for the decline.