U.S. benchmark equity indexes experienced a notable intraday rise as shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) soared following the e-commerce giant's quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1% to 18,299.7 around midday on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1% to 42,183.2, and the S&P 500 increased by 0.8% to reach 5,752.1.
The consumer discretionary sector led the charge with the most significant gains, while utilities faced the most considerable losses. In company developments, Amazon's shares surged by 6.6%, making it one of the highest performers across all three indexes. Following their quarterly results, Amazon reported impressive revenue growth, particularly in its cloud-computing and advertising divisions, which showcased double-digit increases. Charter Communications (CHTR) also marked a strong performance, delivering a third-quarter earnings beat bolstered by robust revenue gains in residential mobile services and advertising.
Shares surged by 13%, positioning Charter as the top gainer on the Nasdaq and the second-best performer on the S&P 500. In contrast, Apple (AAPL) shares fell 1.3%, marking the steepest decline on the Dow. The tech giant released fiscal fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations, fueled by increased sales of iPhones and Macs.
However, Apple also reported a one-time tax charge of $10.2 billion related to a European court's order in September. On the Nasdaq, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was the weakest performer, plummeting 8.1% on the same day. On the fixed-income side, the U.S. 10-year yield rose by 6.1 basis points to 4.35%, while the two-year rate increased by 2.3 basis points to 4.19%. In further economic news, U.S.
job creation fell short of expectations for October, influenced by an ongoing strike at Boeing (BA) and potential hurricane-related disruptions, as highlighted by government data. Jefferies pointed out that the jobs report is perceived as a source of relief rather than alarm for the Federal Reserve, anticipating that the central bank may implement a 25-basis-point interest rate cut next week and in December. The manufacturing sector in the U.S.
continued to exhibit signs of contraction in October, attributed to weakened output ahead of the presidential election, according to separate surveys conducted by the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global (SPGI). Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee, noted, 'Demand remains subdued, as companies continue to show an unwillingness to invest in capital and inventory due to concerns about federal monetary policy direction in light of the fiscal policies proposed by both major political parties.' On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw an uptick of 0.8% to $69.81 per barrel as reports surfaced of Iran preparing for a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days.
Gold prices rose slightly by 0.1% to $2,750.90 per troy ounce, while silver saw a minor decline of 0.4% to reach $32.68 per ounce..