In a notable shift within the US equity markets, indexes displayed mixed results on Friday as government bond yields saw a decline alongside crude oil futures. The Nasdaq Composite rose by a notable 0.6%, reaching 18,481.5 points, while the S&P 500 also gained, moving up 0.3% to 5,861.4 points. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a slight downturn, decreasing marginally to 43,235.8 points.
The communication services sector emerged as the top gainer during intraday trading, whereas the energy sector found itself as the sole decliner. Netflix, a prominent player in the communication services sector, saw its shares surge by 10% in intraday trading, driven by analyst upgrades following their impressive Q3 earnings and revenue report released overnight.
This significant increase positioned Netflix as one of the leading stocks on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indices. In company news, CVS Health named David Joyner as its new CEO on Friday, releasing a preliminary Q3 earnings outlook that fell below Wall Street expectations. As a consequence of this announcement, CVS shares plummeted by 9.3% during intraday trading, making it the steepest decliner within the S&P 500. On the economic front, data revealed that September housing starts experienced a modest decline of 0.5% from the previous month, landing at an annualized rate of 1.354 million.
This figure, however, still exceeded Bloomberg's compiled expectations of a 1.350 million rate and represented a decrease from the August pace of 1.361 million. In the bond market, most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield dipping by 2.3 basis points, settling at 4.07%. Meanwhile, the two-year rate saw a decrease of 2.4 basis points, bringing it down to 3.96%. In international news, CNN reported that the terrorist organization Hamas has confirmed the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Sinwar's killing, stating it marks "the beginning of the day after" for the militant group, according to the news agency. Following this significant event, the US is advocating for a truce in Gaza, as mentioned in a Bloomberg news report. Additionally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices saw a decrease of 2.7%, dropping to $68.88 per barrel..