The stellar quarter and optimistic comments from Ford's management is part of a broader trend of executives downplaying economic concerns, said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab.
"Corporate leaders, while they have been mentioning supply chain issues, they've been dismissing them," he said. "Saying 'hey, we're overcoming these issues' rather then blaming them for poor results. So you get good news, like Caterpillar today or Ford, everyone talking about powering through the quarter and lifting forecasts, and maybe even dividends as well."
Earlier in earnings season, manufacturing stocks appeared to be struggling even after companies beat expectations, but that trend appears to be reversing, Kleintop said.
"Maybe the market is coming around to this idea that the supply chain problems are fading a little bit, and maybe that's some of the reason why some of the optimism is back," the strategist said.
