Wall Street posts weekly gains with earnings, inflation data in focus
Third-quarter earnings season gathers pace next week, with S&P 500 companies forecast to post 30.6% annual earnings growth.
Wall Street experienced a weekly uptick on Friday, buoyed by a focus on upcoming third-quarter earnings and inflation data. The three major US stock indexes - the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite - all pushed higher for the week. However, the small-cap Russell 2000 closed lower than last Friday. Analyst Ross Mayfield of Baird attributed the market's volatility to conflicting news from the White House and Middle East.
Crude prices initially fell after President Trump stated the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections, but later rebounded as talks between Washington and Tehran appeared productive. Oil prices, both West Texas Intermediate and Brent, saw a 0.4% increase. Treasury yields marginally rose but were still below their 24-year high.
The quarter's earnings season begins next week, with large banks expected to release results. S&P 500 earnings growth for the July-September period is expected to average 30.6%, with energy and tech posting the highest growth rates of 123% and 66.5%, respectively. Consumer sentiment remained pessimistic, with near-term expectations hitting an all-time low.
Among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors, communication services was the only one to decline. AI-related stocks were the exception, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF up 1%. SpaceX announced a deal to acquire low-band spectrum, posing a challenge to US wireless companies. Telecom firms T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon suffered losses.
Apple's stock slid slightly after a report that the company instructed some suppliers to reduce production for its new iPhone 18 Pro models. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, with 141 new highs and 183 new lows on the former, and 2,756 new highs and 1,997 new lows on the latter. The S&P 500 recorded 14 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite reached 41 new highs and 209 new lows.
Trading volume on US exchanges totaled 14.37 billion shares, above the 17.76 billion average of the past 20 trading days.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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