On Friday, Amazon led U.S. stock indexes higher, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 288 points, and the Nasdaq composite gaining 0.8%. Amazon’s stock climbed 6.2% after delivering a bigger profit than analysts expected. Despite reporting a worse loss than expected, Intel rallied 7.8% as its revenue exceeded estimates. Cardinal Health also saw gains of 7% after beating profit and revenue forecasts for the latest quarter and raising its profit forecast for the fiscal year.
However, Apple experienced a 1.2% slide after announcing lower revenue growth expectations for the upcoming holiday quarter. The S&P 500 closed at 5,728.80, the Dow gained 288.73 to 42,052.19, and the Nasdaq composite added 144.77 to 18,239.92. Treasury yields rose following a weak jobs report that showed only a net increase of 12,000 jobs in October, far below expectations. The report reinforced expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next week.
The Fed began cutting rates in September with a larger-than-usual half-point cut, shifting focus towards maintaining a solid job market rather than just reducing inflation. Economists noted that the October jobs report contained distortions from hurricanes and a Boeing strike, making it difficult to interpret the data. Despite the expected slowdown in the job market, Wall Street hopes the economy will avoid a recession with the help of upcoming rate cuts by the Fed.
In other economic news, a report indicated that U.S. manufacturing contracted more than expected last month, influenced by the Fed’s high interest rates until September. Stock markets in Europe rose, while most of Asia experienced lower indexes. Oil prices also rose to reduce losses for the week, with benchmark U.S. crude increasing by 0.4% and Brent crude, the international standard, climbing 0.4%. Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic about the economy given the upcoming rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
