US equity indexes experienced an uptick in midday trading on Friday, driven by a consumer sentiment gauge that surpassed forecasts. The S&P 500 advanced 0.4% to 5,999.1, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.6% to 43,982.5. Both indexes achieved new intraday record highs for the third consecutive day, buoyed by the outcomes of the US presidential elections and the Federal Reserve's ongoing monetary policy easing.
The Nasdaq Composite also showed slight gains at 19,280.3 after having reached new highs earlier this week. In a broader view, all three prominent indexes are on a positive trajectory this week as investors have dispelled electoral uncertainties from their 2024 strategies. Sectors such as real estate, utilities, and consumer staples were the leading gainers during the session, while the materials sector lagged among the few decliners.
From an economic standpoint, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 73.0 in November, up from 70.5 in October, exceeding the anticipated increase to 71.0 based on a Bloomberg survey. Survey respondents indicated one-year inflation expectations at 2.6%, a slight decrease from 2.7% in October, whereas five-year inflation expectations increased to 3.1%, up from 3%.
US Treasury yields exhibited mixed results; the 10-year yield decreased by 4.3 basis points to 4.3%, while the two-year rate increased by 5.3 basis points to 4.25%. In corporate news, Axon Enterprise (AXON) reported a substantial rise in Q3 adjusted earnings and sales, subsequently raising its revenue forecast for 2024.
Shares of the company surged by 25% during the intraday session, becoming the leading performer on the S&P 500. Conversely, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) saw its stock plummet by 13% intraday, marking it as the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the company's Q4 non-GAAP earnings and revenue forecast fell short of expectations and the full-year earnings outlook was lowered.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices dropped by 2.6%, reaching $70.46 per barrel. Amidst the ongoing changes, crude oil imports by China, the largest global buyer of crude oil, experienced a decline for the sixth consecutive month in October. This has exacerbated demand concerns, particularly as US inventories rise, despite OPEC+, the foremost group of crude oil producers, planning to reinstate 2.2 million barrels per day of production cuts to the market starting in January.
Additional monthly increases of 180,000 barrels per day are on OPEC+'s agenda for the year ahead. In the metals market, gold prices fell 0.4% to $2,695.01 per ounce, while silver prices declined by 1.3% to $31.46 per ounce..