U.S. stocks rose broadly as investors assessed corporate earnings, with the Dow and S&P 500 setting record highs, marking the longest winning streak of the year. The Dow rose 36.86 points (0.09%) to close at 43,275.91, the Nasdaq added 115.94 points (0.63%) to 18,489.55, and the S&P 500 climbed 23.20 points (0.40%) to 5,864.67. All three major indices recorded gains for the sixth consecutive week, with the Dow up 0.96%, the S&P 500 up 0.85%, and the Nasdaq up 0.80%. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks also showed strong performance with a weekly gain of around 2%.
The U.S. Global Jets ETF gained 1.67% to reach a 52-week high, buoyed by United Airlines' better-than-expected Q3 earnings, contributing to a weekly increase of over 7% for the fund's aviation sector.
Chinese stocks performed well, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising 3.03%. Standouts included Beike up 8.37%, Li Auto up 6.32%, Trip.com up 5.60%, Zhihu up 5.19%, Bilibili up 3.55%, NetEase up 3.37%, and XPeng Motors up 2.64%.
The U.S. housing market showed signs of weakness in September, with building permits falling 2.9% to 1.428 million and housing starts down 0.5% to 1.354 million, both below expectations.
The U.S. deficit surpassed $1.8 trillion in 2024, according to the Treasury Department, marking the third-highest deficit in history. This reflects an 8% increase from the previous year, attributed to the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes aimed at combating inflation.
Netflix (NFLX, Financial) shares soared 11.09% to a record $763.89 per share following strong Q3 earnings, with EPS of $5.40 and revenue of $9.83 billion, surpassing expectations. The company's advertising business showed significant growth, with ad-supported subscriptions up 35% sequentially. Netflix projected a 14.7% revenue increase in the next quarter and estimated 2025 revenues between $43 billion to $44 billion. Analysts from J.P. Morgan and Bank of America raised their target prices for Netflix to $850 and $800, respectively, maintaining positive outlooks.
Procter & Gamble's earnings slightly missed market expectations despite beating EPS estimates, reporting Q1 earnings of $1.93 per share and revenue of $21.74 billion.
Commodities saw fluctuations, with WTI crude oil futures dropping 2.1% to $69.22 per barrel, marking an 8.4% weekly decline, the largest since early October 2023. Brent crude also fell, decreasing 1.9% to $73.06 per barrel. Gold futures rose, briefly reaching $2,737.80 an ounce amid Middle East tensions and U.S. election uncertainties, closing at $2,730 an ounce, up 0.8%.
