The New York Stock Exchange operates during normal business hours in the Financial District, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Wall Street capped a choppy day of trading Friday with modest gains for stocks, nudging the major indexes to more all-time highs.
The latest milestones punctuated the best month for the broader market in nearly a year, as investors balanced encouraging company earnings growth against concerns over rising inflation and supply chain disruptions.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after wavering between small gains and losses for much of the day. That was good enough to give the benchmark index its fourth all-time high this week. The index, which fell 4.8% in September, bounced back with a 6.9% gain for October, its biggest monthly gain since November 2020. The S&P is now up 22.6% for the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq each rose 0.3% Friday. Both also set all-time highs.
Bond yields mostly fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.55% from 1.56% late Thursday.
Investors continued to focus on corporate earnings as they look for clues for how companies are managing persistent supply chain delays and rising inflation.
“It’s been a big week of earnings," said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. "Pretty much since noon Eastern we just kind of bounced back and forth, so it tells me most people are where they want to be for the end of month.”
The S&P 500 rose 8.96 points to 4,605.38. Decliners outnumbered gainers in the index. Still, gains in technology, health care and communication services stocks outweighed losses elsewhere in the market.
The Dow added 89.08 points to 35,819.56, while the Nasdaq gained 50.27 points to 15,498.39. The Russell 2000 index of small companies slipped 0.79 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,297.19.
A wide range of companies, most recently Apple and Amazon, have flagged challenges due to rising costs or supply chain problems.
Apple fell 1.8% a day after the iPhone maker reported that its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts because supply shortages are making it difficult to meet demand. Internet retail behemoth Amazon shed 2.2% after higher costs and supply chain problems crimped its third-quarter financial results and its revenue forecast.
The warnings from Apple and Amazon raise concerns that the economic recovery faces a bumpier road ahead through the holiday shopping season as people pay more for products and wait longer to receive everything from everyday purchases to gifts.
“It’s really impressive that the market’s been able to shake off Amazon and Apple,” Kinahan said.
The latest data from the Commerce Department shows that consumer spending grew just 0.6% in September, a cautionary sign for an economy that remains in the grip of a pandemic and a prolonged bout of high inflation.
Investors wrapped up a busy week of earnings with several large companies reporting mixed results. Starbucks fell 6.3% after reporting solid fiscal fourth-quarter profits, but weak revenue. U.S. Steel jumped 12.9% after the steel maker reported strong third-quarter financial results and raised its dividend.
Newell Brands, maker of Rubbermaid and other consumer products, rose 5.1% after reporting solid third-quarter results.
AbbVie rose 4.6%, one of the biggest gainers among health care companies in the S&P 500, after the drugmaker reported strong third-quarter financial results and raised its profit forecast for the year.
Outside of earnings, Wall Street is looking ahead to next week's meeting of the Federal Reserve as the central bank moves closer to trimming bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
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With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
