- US stocks rose Friday, with S&P 500 and Dow Jones hitting record highs.
- JPMorgan and Wells Fargo reported strong earnings that eased fears of a consumer slowdown.
- September’s producer price index was flat, calming inflation concerns amid rising yields.
US stocks jumped on Friday, with all three major averages notching a five-week win streak.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at record highs on Friday. The session marked the S&P 500’s 45th record closing high this year and the first time the benchmark index climbed above 5,800.
The gains came after US mega-banks JPMorgan and Wells Fargo reported upbeat third-quarter results that showed no signs of an imminent consumer slowdown.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon praised his bank’s performance in the earnings release but warned that geopolitical conditions are “treacherous and getting worse.” Dimon has long warned investors about rising geopolitical risks.
Also helping stocks on Friday was a light print for September’s wholesale inflation gauge.
The producer price index was flat month-over-month, below economist estimates of a 0.1% rise. Meanwhile, core PPI rose 0.1% in September, compared to an expected rise of 0.2%.
The cool PPI report came a day after the CPI report was slightly hotter than expected.
“CPI might have seemed hot, but PPI was not. Overall, these numbers are getting less impactful as inflation moderates. The Fed could still be on track for 25 basis points at the next two meetings. Yields have surged lately, but it’s not clear they have much more reason for continued upside,” TradeStation strategist David Russell told Business Insider.
Apart from earnings results, retail sales data, set to be released on October 17, is the next big data release for investors to watch.
Bank of America analysts expect September retail sales data to show a 0.8% surge, while consensus estimates expect just 0.2% growth.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:
Here’s what else is going on:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.45% to $75.51 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 0.55% to $78.96 a barrel.
- Gold was up 1.26% to $2,672.60 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rose by one basis point to 4.083%.
- Bitcoin was higher by 4.45% to $62,963.
