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Wall Street closed sharply higher on Friday after economic data hinted at slowing inflation and impressive earnings reports from a batch of companies gave investors’ confidence a boost ahead of next week’s two-day policy meeting of the Fed. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 2.6% or 828.52 points to finish at 32,861.80 points, recording its sixth-straight day of gains and its longest daily winning streak since May.
The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% or 93.76 points to end at 3,901.06 points. Tech, communication services and utility stocks were the best performers on the index.
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) gained 2.5%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) jumped 4.4%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 2.7%. All 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.9% or 309.78 points to close at 11,102.45 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 5.99% to 25.75. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.87-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.12-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 11.26 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.53 billion.
Investors Hopeful of Economy Rebounding
Investors got back some of the lost confidence over the week that saw markets opening at a high on Friday. Economic data released over the course of the week and on Friday hinted at inflation easing. This included readings on inflation, spending and income.
This has raised hopes among investors that the Fed, which is expected to go for a 75-basis point rate hike in its meeting next week, will ease its aggressive rate hike policy after that. The positive sentiment prevailed almost throughout the week, which helped markets on Friday.
Investors, however, have lately been dumping tech stocks, following disappointing results and weak outlooks from the likes of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , and shifted focus toward economically sensitive stocks that are likely to benefit once the U.S. economy manages to bounce back.
However, tech stocks performed well on Friday, driven by a broader rally. That said, on Friday the focus was on Dow, as the blue-chip index continued its solid advance so far in October. The Dow has so far gained 14.4% this month and is on track to record one of its best October performances ever and the largest monthly gain since 1976.
Although this season’s earnings have been mixed, Friday saw solid quarterly reports from a batch of companies. Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) reported impressive quarterly results.
Shares of Chevron closed 1.2% higher after the company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings per share of $5.56, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.02 per share. Chevron has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Exxon Mobil reported third-quarter 2022 earnings of $4.45 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.88 per share.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Friday, the University of Michigan’s final reading on the consumer sentiment index increased to 59.9 in October from 58.6 in the month earlier.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the personal consumption expenditures price (PCE) index rose 0.3% month over month in September and 6.2% year over year, the same as August. Core PCE, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.5% month over month in September and 5.1% year over year.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis also reported that personal income rose 0.4% in September while spending increased 0.6%, higher than the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
However, after taking inflation into account, spending increased a meager 0.3%. After deducting taxes and other expenses, disposable personal income increased 0.4% in September but remained unchanged when adjusted for inflation.
The personal saving rate, which calculates savings as a percentage of disposable income, fell to 3.1%, down from 3.4% in August.
Weekly Roundup
This was an impressive week for all three major indexes. The Dow recorded its fourth straight week of gains, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed up for the second straight week. The Dow closed up 5.7% this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the week 4% and 2.2% higher.
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Stock Market News for Oct 31, 2022
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Friday after economic data hinted at slowing inflation and impressive earnings reports from a batch of companies gave investors’ confidence a boost ahead of next week’s two-day policy meeting of the Fed. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 2.6% or 828.52 points to finish at 32,861.80 points, recording its sixth-straight day of gains and its longest daily winning streak since May.
The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% or 93.76 points to end at 3,901.06 points. Tech, communication services and utility stocks were the best performers on the index.
The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) gained 2.5%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) jumped 4.4%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 2.7%. All 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.9% or 309.78 points to close at 11,102.45 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 5.99% to 25.75. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.87-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.12-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 11.26 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.53 billion.
Investors Hopeful of Economy Rebounding
Investors got back some of the lost confidence over the week that saw markets opening at a high on Friday. Economic data released over the course of the week and on Friday hinted at inflation easing. This included readings on inflation, spending and income.
This has raised hopes among investors that the Fed, which is expected to go for a 75-basis point rate hike in its meeting next week, will ease its aggressive rate hike policy after that. The positive sentiment prevailed almost throughout the week, which helped markets on Friday.
Investors, however, have lately been dumping tech stocks, following disappointing results and weak outlooks from the likes of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) and Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , and shifted focus toward economically sensitive stocks that are likely to benefit once the U.S. economy manages to bounce back.
However, tech stocks performed well on Friday, driven by a broader rally. That said, on Friday the focus was on Dow, as the blue-chip index continued its solid advance so far in October. The Dow has so far gained 14.4% this month and is on track to record one of its best October performances ever and the largest monthly gain since 1976.
Although this season’s earnings have been mixed, Friday saw solid quarterly reports from a batch of companies. Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) reported impressive quarterly results.
Shares of Chevron closed 1.2% higher after the company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings per share of $5.56, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.02 per share. Chevron has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Exxon Mobil reported third-quarter 2022 earnings of $4.45 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.88 per share.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Friday, the University of Michigan’s final reading on the consumer sentiment index increased to 59.9 in October from 58.6 in the month earlier.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the personal consumption expenditures price (PCE) index rose 0.3% month over month in September and 6.2% year over year, the same as August. Core PCE, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.5% month over month in September and 5.1% year over year.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis also reported that personal income rose 0.4% in September while spending increased 0.6%, higher than the consensus estimate of 0.4%.
However, after taking inflation into account, spending increased a meager 0.3%. After deducting taxes and other expenses, disposable personal income increased 0.4% in September but remained unchanged when adjusted for inflation.
The personal saving rate, which calculates savings as a percentage of disposable income, fell to 3.1%, down from 3.4% in August.
Weekly Roundup
This was an impressive week for all three major indexes. The Dow recorded its fourth straight week of gains, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed up for the second straight week. The Dow closed up 5.7% this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the week 4% and 2.2% higher.