Dow notches tenth straight day of gains

Stocks were mixed Friday as traders assessed the latest corporate earnings results, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average stretched its winning streak to 10 sessions, a feat not seen for the index since August 2017.

The 30-stock Dow climbed 2.51 points, or 0.01 per cent, to close at 35,227.69 . The S&P 500 added 0.03 per cent to end at 4,536.34, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.22 per cent to finish the session at 14,032.81.

On a weekly basis, the S&P 500 added 0.69 per cent, while the Dow gained 2.08 per cent. It was the second positive week in a row for the two indexes. The Nasdaq fell 0.57 per cent for the period.

Trading was volatile Friday as portfolio managers recalibrated their funds to account for an unusual Nasdaq-100 rebalance taking effect Monday. A large volume of index and stock options also expired Friday.

Traders were still eyeing more corporate earnings after a busy week of quarterly results. Transportation giant CSX fell 3.7 per cent on the back of underwhelming results. American Express, meanwhile, dropped nearly 3.9 per cent.

Corporate earnings have been mixed thus far. Seventy-five percent of S&P 500 companies that have already reported have exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet data. However, that beat rate is below a three-year average of 80 per cent, according to The Earnings Scout.

The tech sector will remain in focus this week, with Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft due to report quarterly results.

In commodity-related news, wheat prices dropped over 4 per cent as traders overlooked worries about Ukraine's exports and tensions in the Black Sea due to sufficient global supplies, taking a break following an 11 per cent surge in the last three sessions triggered by warnings from Ukraine and Russia regarding potential military targeting of ships headed to each other's ports. India's ban on non-basmati white rice exports, aimed at lowering domestic prices and ensuring availability, raises concerns about global food inflation as it is the world's largest rice exporter, accounting for 40 per cent of global exports, with rising prices also observed in Thailand and Vietnam, likely impacting countries seeking alternatives to India's rice.

Bolivia's lithium resource estimate has been raised to 23 million metric tons through extensive drilling, with the government initiating talks with the European Union for lithium project investments, having previously relied on Russian and Chinese firms, and holding higher reserves compared to Argentina and Chile.

Overall, US sectors were mixed on Friday. Utilities was the best performer, whilst Industrials was the worst.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:20 AM was buying 67.33 US cents.

Commodities

Gold lost 0.22 per cent. Silver fell 0.43 per cent. Copper lost 0.43 per cent. Oil gained 1.88 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE gained 0.23 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.17 per cent, and Paris closed 0.65 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.57 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.78 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.06 per cent lower.

The Australian sharemarket closed 0.15 per cent lower at 7314.

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

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