Wall Street posts weekly gains with earnings, inflation data on tap

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Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City.

PHOTO: AFP

• Wall Street ended higher and posted weekly gains as investors looked ahead to third-quarter earnings and inflation data that could shape the Federal Reserve’s next move.
• Big banks, including Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are due to report, while analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to rise 30.6% and energy and technology to lead.
• Stocks were mixed by sector and company news, with AI shares rising, telecom firms falling after SpaceX’s spectrum deal, Humana jumping on Medicare ratings, and Apple slipping on weaker demand.

AI generated

NEW YORK - Wall Street ended higher on Oct 9 as investors shifted their focus to next week, with third-quarter earnings season set to start and inflation data expected, which could shed light on the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision.

All three major US stock indexes advanced on the day, logging weekly gains. The small-cap Russell 2000, however, ended lower than Oct 2’s close.

“It’s the kind of back-and-forth market we’ve been in where we have the reversal of sentiment around Iran,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. “With conflicting headlines coming out of the White House and parties in the Middle East, there’s just no edge there.”

“That’s why it’s a fairly tepid rally,” Mayfield added.

Crude prices initially retreated after President Donald Trump said the US will not launch any attacks on Iran before the midterm elections, adding that talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the market-rattling Iran war were “productive.”

Front-month West Texas Intermediate oil and Brent crude both settled up 0.4%.

Benchmark Treasury yields edged higher, but remained below Oct 7’s 24-year high.

Banks due to report earnings

Third-quarter reporting season begins in earnest next week, with big US banks Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley scheduled to release results.

Analysts estimate S&P 500 annual earnings growth of 30.6%, on aggregate, for the July-September period, with energy and technology posting the largest year-on-year earnings growth of 123% and 66.5%, respectively, according to LSEG data.

The mood of American consumers, who shoulder about 70% of the US economy, has soured this month, according to the University of Michigan, with near-term expectations deteriorating to an all-time low.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 423.31 points, or 0.83%, to 51,654.95, the S&P 500 gained 46.15 points, or 0.59%, to 7,811.51 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 172.83 points, or 0.64%, to 27,366.17.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, communication services was the lone percentage loser.

AI-related momentum stocks were generally higher, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF up 1% as the US bull market, largely driven by the AI boom, approaches its four-year anniversary.

“Chips have been this year’s story,” said Michael Monaghan, portfolio manager at Founder ETFs in Dallas. “(It’s) a multi-decade technological change and just at the beginning of whatever’s happening, not at the end.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX struck a deal to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, posing a direct challenge to US wireless companies. Telecom firms T-Mobile US, AT&T, and Verizon dropped between 8.8% and 13.3%.

Humana jumped 11.6% after US government data showed 95% of the health insurer’s members were in Medicare Advantage plans rated four stars or higher for 2027.

Apple slid 1.1% after a media report that the iPhone maker has told some suppliers to cut production of components for its newly launched iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as soaring memory chip costs and price increases dampen consumer demand.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 141 new highs and 183 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,756 stocks rose and 1,997 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.38-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and five new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 209 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 14.37 billion shares, compared with the 17.76 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. REUTERS