On Friday, S&P futures experienced an uptick as investors processed robust quarterly earnings reports from prominent technology firms Amazon and Apple. S&P futures increased by 0.7%, whereas Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 1.2%. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 38 points, representing a 0.1% rise. Amazon’s stock experienced a notable increase of over 12% following the announcement that its cloud computing division achieved a 20% revenue growth in the third quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Apple experienced an increase of approximately 2% following the release of its robust fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and its outlook for the upcoming December quarter. “Following a reacceleration in AWS growth and positive commentary this quarter, we believe investors have regained comfort in management’s ability to retain a leading position in the AI space,” Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, noted in a report concerning Amazon’s results. Streaming leader Netflix experienced an increase of over 2% following the announcement of a 10-for-1 stock split.
“We’re in this period where the government is shut down … so we really have to look at these earnings and see how companies are faring, how their consumers are faring,” Courtney Garcia stated Thursday.” “The ongoing positive developments are indicative of a generally favorable outlook for the economy in the future.” Equities concluded a lackluster session, with each of the benchmark indexes finishing Thursday in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of nearly 110 points, representing approximately 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced declines of 0.99% and 1.58%, respectively, primarily influenced by setbacks in prominent technology firms such as Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia, amidst rising apprehensions regarding escalating expenditures in artificial intelligence. Meta experienced its largest single-day decline in a three-year period.
President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping on Thursday established a one-year trade truce following their meeting in South Korea, alleviating certain investor apprehensions regarding the potential for a comprehensive trade conflict between the two countries. Trump has consented to a 10% reduction in tariffs on China related to fentanyl, effective immediately, which brings the total levies on Chinese goods to approximately 47%. In return, Beijing has committed to a one-year suspension of the export controls for rare earths that it announced earlier this month. Other areas of contention, including export restrictions on the sale of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips and the divestiture of U.S. TikTok operations, remain unresolved.
Indexes appear poised to conclude a successful week and month. The S&P 500 has experienced an increase of 0.45% this week, whereas the technology-focused Nasdaq and the Dow have risen approximately 1.6% and 0.7%, respectively, on a week-to-date basis. October, a month historically marked by significant one-day declines in stock market performance, has witnessed a 2% increase in the S&P 500 throughout the month. The Nasdaq has experienced an increase of approximately 4.1%, while the 30-stock Dow has risen by 2.4% thus far this month. The Dow is set to achieve its sixth consecutive month of gains, a feat not seen since 2018.