NEW YORK — U.S. stocks extended another record, ending the year’s longest weekly winning streak. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Friday. The benchmark index far surpassed its all-time high set earlier this week, marking its sixth consecutive week of winning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to its own record set the previous day, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%. Netflix helped lift the market after the streaming giant reported stronger profit than analysts expected for its latest quarter. Oil prices fell further, and in the bond market, US Treasury yields fell.
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NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are heading toward a record Friday as the S&P 500 index gains for the sixth consecutive week, extending its longest weekly winning streak of the year.
The main indicator of Wall Street’s health rose 0.5% in afternoon trading, on track to set a new all-time high set earlier this week. As of 2:45 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 64 points, or 0.1%, a day after setting a new record, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.7%.
Netflix led the market with a 10.8% jump after the streaming giant reported its latest quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectations. This was despite the slowing growth in the number of subscribers.
That helped offset a 5.5% decline in CVS Health, which said it was likely to report earnings for its latest quarter that were significantly lower than analysts expected. The company also announced that Executive Vice President David Joyner will join Karen Lynch as President and CEO.
Trading across Wall Street remained relatively calm. Recent strong economic data has raised hopes that the U.S. economy can fully emerge from the worst inflation in generations, with a painful downturn that many investors saw as all but inevitable. It can be completed without any setbacks. And now, with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates to keep the economy strong, optimists are hopeful that stocks could rise even further.
But critics warn that the stock is too expensive, given that the company’s shares are rising faster than company profits.
David Lefkowitz, head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, sees both sides. But while the stock price is high relative to earnings, he says it’s “reasonable” considering the Fed’s interest rate cuts and other factors.
He also expects corporate profits to continue to grow, raising his forecast that the S&P 500 index could rise to 6,300 from 6,200 in June.
On Wall Street, American Express fell 2.8% even though its latest quarter’s profit beat analysts’ expectations. The company said sales were lower than expected and full-year sales for 2024 were likely to remain at the lower end of the range it had projected at the beginning of the year.
The biggest reason why the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind other stock indexes was the decline in credit card companies.
SLB, a major company that helps companies extract oil and natural gas, fell 4.2% after reporting mixed results. Profits were slightly above analysts’ expectations, but revenue was lower as falling oil prices made some overseas producers cautious about spending. CEO Olivier Le Pouch said sales increased in the Middle East and Asia and offshore North America, but decreased in Latin America.
Oil prices fell this week as fears that Israel would attack Iranian oil facilities as part of retaliation for an Iranian missile attack earlier this month abated. Iran is a major producer of crude oil, and a strike could disrupt exports to countries such as China. Concerns about the strength of demand from China are also impacting oil prices.
International standard Brent crude fell a further 1.9% on Friday and is down 7.5% for the week. After climbing above $80 early last week, it has returned to $73.06.
The winner on Wall Street was Intuitive Surgical, which rose 10% after reporting better-than-expected profits for its latest quarter. The company, which enables minimally invasive surgery with robotic-assisted systems, also delivered better-than-expected revenue.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields fell. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 4.07% from 4.10% late Thursday.
Traders agree that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate by 0.5% at its next meeting in November. Expectations had long been high that the Fed would cut interest rates by another 0.5 percentage point, a larger than usual rate cut, but the strong update on the economy dispelled those hopes. The federal funds rate currently ranges from 4.75% to 5%.
In overseas stock markets, Chinese stock indexes soared in recent days. Shares rose 2.9% in Shanghai and 3.6% in Hong Kong after reports that growth in the world’s second-largest economy slowed over the summer.
A slump in the real estate market has exacerbated the economic slowdown, raising hopes for a massive stimulus package from China’s government and central bank, although questions remain over how effective it will be.
Stock indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.
Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.
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