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The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all finished higher Friday and also posted weekly gains, despite rising Treasury yields, higher oil prices and a sharp decline in preliminary consumer sentiment. Investors looked ahead to a new earnings season, while telecom shares fell after SpaceX announced a spectrum purchase and Delta reported an earnings miss tied to higher fuel costs.
U.S. stocks rose Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.8% to 51,654, the S&P 500 gaining 0.6% to 7,811 and the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.6% to 27,366. All three indexes also finished higher for the week, despite rising Treasury yields, higher oil prices and a fresh decline in consumer sentiment, as investors looked toward the coming corporate earnings season.
The advance came as the 2-year Treasury yield rose 3.3 basis points to 4.793% and the 10-year yield gained 1.1 basis points to 5.244%. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 0.4% to settle at $91.85 a barrel. Higher energy costs are expected to keep pressure on prices, with September Consumer Price Index data due the following Wednesday, according to the report.
Investors also had a weak consumer reading to weigh. The University of Michigan’s preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index fell 3.7% from the previous month to 46.3, its second-lowest reading on record, the report said. The survey’s director, Joanne Hsu, said consumers across political affiliations felt the economy’s direction had weakened since the start of the year.
Company news drove sharp moves in individual shares. AT&T fell 9.8%, T-Mobile US declined 13.3% and Verizon lost 8.8% after SpaceX said Thursday it was buying a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licenses. Tower operators moved in the opposite direction: American Tower rose 9.3% and Crown Castle gained 15.6%. Delta Air Lines closed slightly higher after reporting earnings of $1.72 per share, below the $1.76 analyst estimate cited in the report, as fuel costs came in $500 million above expectations. Delta also lowered its full-year forecast to account for higher fuel costs.
Earnings Face a Tougher Backdrop
Friday’s gains show that investors continued buying shares despite pressures that could weigh on both company costs and household finances. Higher bond yields can compete with stocks for investor demand and raise borrowing costs, while pricier oil can add to expenses for businesses and consumers. The market’s positive close does not establish that those pressures have eased; it records how shares performed on the day.
The upcoming results may give investors a clearer view of whether corporate profits can offset those concerns. Bob Edwards, chief investment officer at Edwards Asset Management, said the risks were drawing attention away from earnings strength. He cited expectations for year-over-year S&P 500 earnings growth approaching 30% in the third quarter. That figure is an expectation, not a reported result, and companies’ disclosures will show how actual performance compares.
The day’s company moves also point to how business developments can produce uneven effects across an industry. SpaceX’s spectrum purchase put pressure on major wireless carriers, while tower companies rallied. Delta’s report showed a different cost risk: strong revenue growth can coexist with a profit miss when fuel expenses exceed expectations. These individual share moves do not, by themselves, establish lasting changes in either sector.
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The Week’s Market Crosscurrents
The Friday session came ahead of two closely watched developments: the start of a new earnings season and the release of September inflation data. The report described earnings season as beginning the following week, with several blue-chip and financial companies scheduled to report. The inflation release was expected Wednesday morning. Neither the coming earnings results nor the CPI figure was available in the source material.
The sentiment reading adds a household perspective to the market picture. Hsu said frustration over the cost of living was mounting and that respondents saw the economy’s trajectory as weaker than earlier in the year. Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said financial frustration may also be apparent as voters cast ballots in the coming weeks. Those remarks are attributed assessments; the survey result does not establish how people will vote or predict future economic data.
Delta provided a concrete example of the energy-cost issue. Its earnings per share rose 0.6% year over year to $1.72, but the figure missed the estimate cited by the report after fuel costs exceeded expectations by $500 million. At the same time, revenue increased 21% year over year to $20.2 billion, above analysts’ expectations, according to the report. The mixed results illustrate why investors will be watching both sales and expenses in upcoming company reports.
““Frustration over cost-of-living continues to mount, as consumers across the political spectrum believe that the trajectory of the economy has weakened since the beginning of the year.””
— Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers
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Risks Behind Friday’s Gains
The source provides closing levels and same-day market moves, but it does not establish whether Friday’s advance would continue. The actual third-quarter earnings growth rate remained unknown, as did how companies would address costs, demand and their outlooks in upcoming reports. Edwards’ near-30% growth figure is a forecast cited before those results.
It was also unclear how much the coming inflation data would reflect higher energy costs, or how consumers’ reported concerns would translate into spending and economic activity. For the SpaceX spectrum deal, the report did not specify the purchase price, deployment schedule or the timing and scale of any mobile service. Hodulik said a buildout would likely take time; the immediate share moves do not settle its eventual competitive effect.
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Inflation Data and Results Ahead
Investors were due to receive September CPI data on Wednesday morning and begin assessing reports from companies scheduled to announce results the following week. Those releases could give markets new information on inflation, corporate margins and the outlook for demand. The source did not list all reporting dates or provide the subsequent data.
In the meantime, the key points to watch are whether earnings meet expectations, how companies describe fuel and other input costs, and whether Treasury yields and oil continue to rise. These are upcoming indicators, not outcomes established by Friday’s session.
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Key Questions
How did the major U.S. stock indexes finish Friday?
The Dow rose 0.8% to 51,654, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 7,811, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to 27,366. All three also ended the week higher.
What concerns did investors weigh?
Treasury yields and oil prices rose, while the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index fell 3.7% month over month to 46.3. The report also noted that September CPI data and earnings reports were due the following week.
Why did telecom stocks fall?
AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon declined after SpaceX announced it was buying a nationwide portfolio of low-band spectrum licenses. The report did not give a timetable for building out mobile service, and an analyst described the potential buildout as likely to take a lengthy period.
What did Delta report?
Delta reported earnings of $1.72 per share, below the $1.76 estimate cited in the report, after fuel costs came in $500 million higher than expected. Revenue rose 21% year over year to $20.2 billion, and the airline cut its full-year forecast to reflect higher fuel costs.
Source: rss
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