Dow and S&P 500 soar to new highs

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones surged to new highs on Friday, concluding a successful week as major banks kicked off the third-quarter earnings season on a positive note.

The broad index rose by 0.61 per cent, finishing at 5,815.03, while the Dow jumped 409.74 points, or 0.97 per cent, closing at 42,863.86. Both indices reached fresh all-time highs. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.33 per cent, closing at 18,342.94, just under 2 per cent shy of its record high.

This marked the fifth consecutive week of gains for the major averages, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each climbing 1.1 per cent, while the Dow recorded a 1.2 per cent increase.

A robust start to the earnings season provided a boost to stocks. JPMorgan Chase's shares rose 4.4 per cent after exceeding profit and revenue forecasts, while Wells Fargo jumped 5.6 per cent due to stronger-than-expected earnings, despite a drop in net interest income.

Investors also reacted positively to data easing concerns about inflation, highlighted by a cooler-than-anticipated September producer price index, following a slightly higher-than-expected consumer price index.

Among the S&P 500 sectors, most were up, with financials leading the way, while consumer discretionary and technology sectors finished lower.

In company news, Tesla's stock plummeted 8.8 per cent following a disappointing robotaxi event.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.6 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.45am was buying 67.38 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 1.40 per cent. Silver gained 1.65 per cent. Copper rose 1.49 per cent. Oil lost 0.38 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.19 per cent, Frankfurt gained 0.85 per cent, and Paris rose 0.48 per cent.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.57 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed on Friday and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.55 per cent.

On Friday, the Australian share market closed 0.10 per cent lower at 8215.

Dividends payable

CAR Group Ltd (ASX:CAR)
Eureka Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:EGH)
Peet Ltd (ASX:PPC)
Shine Justice Ltd (ASX:SHJ)
SKS Technologies Group Ltd (ASX:SKS)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.

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