US equity indexes showed positive momentum on Friday, primarily fueled by gains in the communication services sector and a decline in government bond yields. By midday, the Nasdaq Composite had rallied 0.7%, reaching 18,500.8, while the S&P 500 saw a 0.4% rise, settling at 5,864.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a modest bump, increasing less than 0.1% to 43,270.8.
Notably, the communication services sector emerged as the leading market gainer for the day, while the energy sector faced a downturn. In a standout performance, shares of Netflix climbed an impressive 9.7% intraday, driven by upward revisions in analyst price targets following the streaming giant's announcement of stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue results for Q3.
This performance positioned Netflix as one of the top contributors to both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes. However, CVS Health faced a challenging day, as the company announced the appointment of David Joyner as its new CEO and issued a Q3 earnings outlook that fell short of Wall Street's expectations.
This disappointing news led to a significant downturn in share price, with CVS Health’s stock dropping by 6%, making it the largest decliner on the S&P 500 for the day. On another front, activist investor Jana Partners has acquired approximately 5% of Lamb Weston Holdings, a prominent player in the french-fry market, and intends to advocate for a potential sale of the company.
Following this news, shares of Lamb Weston surged over 10% intraday, marking them as the top performer on the S&P 500. Economic indicators also captured attention, as September's housing starts decreased by 0.5% compared to the previous month, translating to an annual rate of 1.354 million. Despite this decline, the figures exceeded Bloomberg's expectations of a 1.350 million rate, building on August's improved figures of 1.361 million. Intraday movements in US Treasury yields reflected a downward trend, with the 10-year yield decreasing by 1.9 basis points to 4.08% and the two-year rate falling by 2.4 basis points to 3.96%. Additionally, the CBOE Volatility Index, recognized as a fear gauge for investors, dropped by 5.2% to reach a reading of 18.12. In international news, the militant group Hamas confirmed the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, an event that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized as 'the beginning of the day after' for the organization.
Subsequently, there have been reports indicating that the US is advocating for a truce in Gaza in light of recent developments. On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices declined by 1.5%, settling at $69.64 per barrel. Conversely, the prices for gold and silver saw an uptick, with gold rising by 0.9% to $2,732.82 an ounce, and silver increasing sharply by 4.9% to $33.29. A report from D.A.
Davidson highlighted that gold's rise past the $2,700 mark marks a significant milestone, driven by expectations of further monetary policy easing and safe-haven demand amid uncertainty surrounding US presidential elections and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East..