U.S. equity indexes experienced an upswing following impressive quarterly earnings from Amazon.com, which significantly boosted market sentiment. The S&P 500 saw a 1% increase, reaching 5,762.1 by midday Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.3% to hit 18,328.4, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2% to 42,257.8.
Every sector recorded gains except for utilities, with consumer discretionary and technology leading the charge. RBC Capital Markets highlighted Amazon's Q3 performance as it surpassed expectations, supported by robust retail and cloud computing growth. This positive momentum resulted in a 7.1% intraday jump in Amazon's shares, making it one of the top gainers on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Following a technology-driven selloff in the prior session, Amazon's encouraging earnings provided a welcome boost, as noted by D.
A. Davidson. In other corporate news, Waters saw its shares soar by 18% after announcing Q3 adjusted earnings and sales that exceeded analysts' forecasts. The company also raised its earnings guidance for 2024, making its shares the top performer on the S&P 500. Late Thursday, Apple reported fiscal Q4 results that beat market expectations, thanks to increased sales of iPhones and Macs, despite a significant one-time tax charge of $10.2 billion triggered by a European court order announced in September.
As a result, Apple’s shares dipped 1.4%, marking them as one of the day's worst performers in both the Nasdaq and Dow. Regarding economic indicators, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that nonfarm payrolls inched up by 12,000 in October, falling short of the 100,000 consensus expected in a survey by Bloomberg.
Notably, this employment gain represents the lowest figure since December 2020, according to Stifel. Additionally, prior month gains were revised downward by 31,000 for September and 81,000 for August. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, aligning with market expectations for October. In bond markets, U.S.
Treasury yields traded variably, with the 10-year yield increasing by 4.9 basis points to 4.33%. Furthermore, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 1.5%, boosting to $70.28 a barrel..