Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 8, 2024.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average powered to new highs on Friday and capped off a winning week as banking behemoths ushered in a promising start to the third-quarter earnings season.
The broad index gained 0.61% to end at 5,815.03, while the Dow rallied 409.74 points, or 0.97%, to finish at 42,863.86. Both averages hit fresh all-time highs and closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.33% to finish at 18,342.94 and less than 2% below its all-time high.
"What we're seeing — and I think you're seeing it hit pretty hard today, in a good way — is a broadening of the market," said Craig Sterling, head of U.S. equity research at Amundi US.
The major averages also registered a fifth straight week of gains. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped 1.1% each, while the Dow toted a 1.2% gain.
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A strong start to the third-quarter earnings season provided a lift to stocks. JPMorgan Chase rose 4.4% after topping profit and revenue expectations, while Wells Fargo popped 5.6% on stronger-than-expected profits. Investors overlooked disappointing revenue and an 11% decline in net interest income.
"Net interest income used to be the bellwether of whether [a] bank is doing well or not," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. "Investors have comprehended that they'll make money in good times and bad."
Wall Street tends to view the banking sector as a barometer for the health of economy, setting the tone for the remainder of the earnings season. However, Forrest notes they lack the visibility into forward guidance that often affects the postearnings stock moves.
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Stocks also benefited from data that alleviated fears that inflation was not cooling off quickly enough. That included a cooler-than-expected September producer price index reading after the consumer price index increased slightly more than expected. The findings signaled that the Federal Reserve may in fact attain a soft landing scenario and reach its 2% goal, which Goldman Sachs economists think upcoming September inflation data may already show.
"Overall, these numbers are getting less impactful as inflation moderates," said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. "The Fed could still be on track for 25 basis points at the next two meetings."
Fed funds futures trading suggests a nearly 90% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will dial back interest rates by a quarter point in November, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Central bank policymakers will keep a close eye on additional data, which will shape their course on rates.
Elsewhere, Tesla shares tanked 8.8% on the back of an underwhelming robotaxi event.
Stocks finish higher, cap five weeks of gains
Stocks finished higher for a fifth straight week.
The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to end at 5,815.03, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 409.74 points, or nearly 1%, to finish at 42,863.86. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.33% to finish at 18,342.94 and less than 2% below its all-time high.
— Samantha Subin
Data can be 'heavily influenced' by storms and strikes, Deutsche Bank global economics head says
Recent storms and the port strikes can bleed into the economic data releases that investors and Federal Reserve officials closely monitor, according to Jim Reid, head of global economics and thematic research at Deutsche Bank.
"We are in for a period of data heavily influenced by recent storms and strikes," he said. "So this will likely make it a complicated few weeks for markets and the Fed."
Additionally, he noted that the narrative has "changed a bit" after last week's blockbuster jobs report and Thursday's consumer price index reading.
"The view I've felt most certain of was that the market was massively overpricing the perfect scenario of smooth enough data that the Fed would be able to serenely cut rates back below 3% without a recession," he said. "If we don't get a recession, it's hard to see how rates can be cut anywhere near as aggressively as this."
— Alex Harring
Bitcoin poised to end 3-day slide and post best day in 2 months
Bitcoin on Friday rose in a broad market rally of risk assets following strong bank earnings.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency rose more than 6% to above $63,000, according to Coin Metrics. It was on pace for its best day since Aug. 8 and to snap a 3-day losing streak.
"Digital assets tend to rally in tandem with equities, and the Dow is up 400 points today. Risk-on trades often benefit BTC and ETH, and parabolically so - today's significant price gains are a further continuation of this long-established trend, especially with expectations of a Fed rate cut in November, said Chris Chung, co-founder and CEO at Solana liquidity aggregator Titan.
Crypto stocks Coinbase and MicroStrategy jumped 8% and 15%, respectively.
— Tanaya Macheel, Nick Wells
UBS expects strong profit growth of 8% to 10% this earnings season, excluding the energy sector
Despite heightened volatility heading into the U.S. presidential election, UBS is very bullish on the upcoming earnings season.
In fact, the bank believes strong reports from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and BlackRock on Friday morning should set the precedent for a solid earnings season that is "consistent with recent, healthy trends."
"While headline S&P 500 EPS growth will likely slow to about 5-7% (from 11% in 2Q), a large portion of the slowdown is coming from the energy sector due to lower oil and gasoline prices. Excluding the energy sector, S&P 500 profit growth should be 8-10%," the bank wrote in a note to clients.
Meanwhile, profit growth is expected to broaden out, but UBS still thinks the "Magnificent Seven" cohort will lead.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Tech leads weekly gains
Information technology was on pace to finish the week as the S&P 500's top outperforming sector.
Tech was last up about 2.6% week to date, led by Super Micro Computer and Palo Alto Network's weekly gains of more than 15% and 9%, respectively.
Industrials and financials were the following best-performing sectors on the week, up 1.8% each.
Meanwhile, utilities underperformed the broader market, falling 2.8%.
— Hakyung Kim
More than 4 out of every 5 stocks head for gains
More than 4 out of every 5 stocks in the S&P 500 were tracking to end Friday in the green.
About 415 members of the broad index were heading for gains in afternoon trading. As a whole, the index was slated to finish the day higher by around 0.4%.
Uber led the S&P 500 higher with a gain of more than 9% as Tesla's robotaxi event appeared to soothe investor concerns. Tesla, on the other hand, was the worst-performing stock in the index with a slide of more than 7.5%.
Fastenal was the next-biggest gainer, climbing around 9% after third-quarter earnings topped analysts' expectations.
— Alex Harring
55 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs
Fifty-five stocks in the S&P 500 were trading at new 52-week highs during Friday's session. Of those, 32 hit new all-time highs.
Here are some of the names that hit that milestone:
- Netflix trading at all-time-high levels back to its initial public offering in May 2002
- Marriott International trading at all-time-high levels back through its spinoff from Marriott Corp. in 1993
- O'Reilly Auto trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in April 1993
- Royal Caribbean trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in April 1993
- Ralph Lauren trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in June 1997
- Bank of NY Mellon trading at all-time highs back to the merger between BNY (the first company listed on the New York Stock Exchange) and Mellon Financial in 2007
- BlackRock trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in 1999
- MetLife trading at all-time-high levels back to when it became a publicly traded company in April 2000
- Caterpillar trading at all-time-high levels back to when it first began trading on the NYSE in 1929
- Uber trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in May 2019
- Arista Networks trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in June 2014
- Fortinet trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in November 2009
On the other hand, Moderna hit a new 52-week low in the session. Shares of the biotechnology company were trading at lows not seen since September 2020.
— Sean Conlon
Tesla, Wells Fargo among the names making moves midday
Some stocks are making big moves in midday trading:
- Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker tumbled more than 7% after its robotaxi event underwhelmed investors. Morgan Stanley analysts noted that the event "overall disappointed expectations" due to a lack of details in several areas, including how the company is going to compete against ride-sharing companies, such as Lyft and Uber. Shares of those names jumped following the event, with both surging about 10%.
- Wells Fargo — The stock gained 6% after the San Francisco-based lender reported better-than-expected profits. Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $1.52 per share, topping the $1.28 per share expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue, however, came in at $20.37 billion, slightly below the $20.42 billion consensus estimate.
- JPMorgan Chase — Shares jumped 4.7% after JPMorgan, the biggest American bank, posted third-quarter results that beat estimates for profit and revenue. The company generated more interest income than expected, and said profit fell 2% from a year earlier while revenue climbed 6%.
Read here for the full list.
— Sean Conlon
Investors should focus more on sector rotations for now, according to BTIG
With increased volatility pumped into the current stock market, BTIG believes investors should focus more on sector rotations for the time being.
"The things that keep us nervous into month-end include complacent sentiment, the lack of any October shakeout which we tend to see more often than not in an election year, and the fact small-caps are unable to get anything going despite firming economic data following the 50bps rate cut," chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky wrote. "Given that backdrop, we think the sector rotations are more important right now as the indices churn."
In particular, Krinsky noted that he is remaining cautious on the consumer staples and utilities sectors. Meanwhile, health-care and small-cap stocks may receive an additional boost next month, since November is seasonally their best month of the year.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Larry Fink says there's still a role for the IPO market even as private companies grow
Asset managers such as BlackRock are hard at work trying to figure out ways to make private credit and private equity more easily accessible to regular investors. However, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that he still believes that the traditional public markets will continue to play a big role in the life cycle of successful companies.
"I do believe you're going to see great private companies that are going to want to go public and want to expand. It's hard as a private company to do M&A, and if you believe that your moat can get larger, you can expand globally better, you're going to go public in doing that," Fink said.
— Jesse Pound
Berkshire takes BofA stake below 10%, is no longer required to disclose related transactions
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in Bank of America to below 10% amid a selling spree that started in mid-July.
In a Thursday night filing, Buffett disclosed the sale of more than 9.5 million shares, split between three transactions made from Tuesday to Thursday. The move brings his holdings down to 775 million shares, or a stake of about 9.987%.
Since the holding is now under the key 10% threshold, Berkshire is no longer required to report its related transactions in a timely manner. Buffett watchers will not find out the Oracle of Omaha's next moves for a while. The next 13F filing in mid-November will only reveal Berkshire's equity holdings as of the end of September.
— Yun Li
Financial ETF hits record high
The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) jumped 1.9% Friday to reach a new intraday all-time high for the first time since Sept. 3.
Gains by Wells Fargo, which added 4.9%, followed by Bank of America and JPMorgan up more than 3% each, led the sector higher.
— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla
Consumer sentiment down in October, inflation outlook rises
Consumer confidence moved lower in October as the outlook for near-term inflation worsened, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday.
The school's closely watched Survey of Consumers posted a reading of 68.9, down 1.7% from September and below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 71. The index, though, was up 8% from a year ago. The current conditions index fell 0.9% on the month.
On inflation, the one-year outlook rose to 2.9%, a 0.2 percentage point increase and the highest level since June. At the five-year mark, the inflation outlook edged lower to 3%, around the level it has been for most of the time since April.
"With the upcoming election on the horizon, some consumers appear to be withholding judgment about the longer term trajectory of the economy," said Joanne Hsu, the survey's director.
— Jeff Cox
Tesla sinks 8% on underwhelming robotaxi event
Tesla shares shed more than 8% after the electric vehicle company failed to impress investors at its long-anticipated robotaxi event.
CEO Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's Cybercab concept vehicle, which consumers will be able to buy for less than $30,000. The company also revealed a larger Robovan.
"We were overall disappointed with the substance and detail of the presentation," Morgan Stanley said on the heels of the event. "As such, we anticipate TSLA to be under pressure following the event."
— Samantha Subin, Ryan Browne
S&P 500 opens little changed
The S&P 500 opened little changed Friday, but headed for a fifth consecutive winning week. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points, or 0.3%.
— Samantha Subin
JPMorgan shares turn red after Dimon tempers buyback expectations
JPMorgan shares fell into negative territory in premarket trading Friday after CEO Jamie Dimon poured cold water on buyback expectations on the earnings call.
"We're going to be a little patient and wait and it'll be fine, so that's where we are," he said. "That's not going to change. If it changes, we'll let you know. And we do talk to shareholders and they understand that buying stock back at two times the tangible book value is not necessarily the best thing to do because people have their opportunity redeploy it or buy it back at cheaper prices. Markets do not stay higher forever."
The firm bought back $6 billion worth of shares in the third quarter.
— Yun Li, Leslie Picker
BlackRock beats on earnings as assets top $11 trillion
Asset management giant BlackRock beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for the third quarter as its asset pile continued to climb.
The firm reported $11.46 in adjusted earnings per share on $5.20 billion of revenue. Analysts at LSEG were looking for $10.33 per share on $5.01 billion of revenue.
BlackRock's assets under management rose to $11.5 trillion, up $2.4 trillion year over year. Of that increase, $221 billion came from third-quarter inflows, the company said.
"The opportunities ahead of us have never been greater, and we look forward to driving growth for our clients, shareholders and employees in the years to come," CEO Larry Fink said in the earnings release.
Shares of BlackRock were up about 2% in premarket trading.
— Jesse Pound
Wholesale prices unchanged in September
The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, remained unchanged in September. That is below the 0.1% increase that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.
Excluding food and energy, PPI increased 0.2% for the month, in line with expectations.
This comes a day after September's hotter-than-expected consumer price index report.
— Sean Conlon
See the stocks moving in Friday's premarket trading
These are the some of the stocks making notable moves before the bell:
- Wells Fargo — Shares of the San Francisco-based lender rose 3%. Adjusted earnings per share topped expectations, even after the bank reported lower revenue in the third quarter than a year ago. It also saw an 11% decline in net interest income.
- JPMorgan Chase — Shares added 2% after the bank reported third-quarter results that topped expectations. Earnings per share came in at $4.37, higher than the $4.01 consensus estimate compiled by LSEG. The company saw $43.32 billion in revenue, also above the $41.63 billion forecast.
- Stellantis — Shares fell about 3% after the automaker announced major management changes, including removing its finance chief.
Click here for the full list.
— Alex Harring
Wells Fargo posts lower earnings and revenue
Wells Fargo reported lower earnings and revenue in the third quarter than a year ago on Friday amid a sizable decline in net interest income.
Wells Fargo saw net income fall to $5.11 billion, or $1.42 per share, in the third quarter, from $5.77 billion, or $1.48 per share, during the same quarter a year ago. Revenue dipped to $20.37 billion from $20.86 a year ago.
The San Francisco-based lender posted $11.69 billion in net interest income, a key measure of what a bank makes on lending. The number marked an 11% decrease from the same quarter last year that was less than the FactSet estimate of $11.9 billion. Wells Fargo said the decline was due to higher funding costs amid customer migration to higher yielding deposit products.
Shares of the bank still rose 3% in premarket trading after the results.
— Yun Li
JPMorgan rises on strong earnings
Shares of JPMorgan rose nearly 2% after the bank topped third-quarter earnings expectations, driven by strong interest income.
Earnings came in at $4.37 per share, topping an LSEG estimate of $4.01. The company posted revenue of $43.32 billion, ahead of the $41.63 billion expected.
— Samantha Subin, Hugh Son
Europe markets open slightly lower
European stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, with most sectors in negative territory.
The pan-European Stoxx traded 0.1% lower shortly after the opening bell, with autos stocks leading the losses.
— Sam Meredith
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway cuts Bank of America stake to less than 10%
Berkshire Hathaway sold down its position in Bank of America, bringing its stake below a key reporting threshold.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett disclosed the sale of more than 9.5 million shares, split between three transactions made from Tuesday to Thursday.
The sale brings the stake down to about 9.987%. That is below the 10% threshold that would subject Berkshire to report its transactions in timely manner.
Read more about Berkshire's latest sale from CNBC's Yun Li here.
— Darla Mercado
Investors should position themselves for a lower interest rate environment, says UBS
Investors should be prepared for a lower interest rate environment as the Federal Reserve continues to monitor inflation data and future rate cuts, according to UBS.
"We continue to recommend investors position for a lower-rate environment, deploying excess cash, money-market holdings, and expiring fixed-term deposits into assets that can offer more durable income," UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer Solita Marcelli wrote Thursday.
"These would include bond ladders, medium-duration investment grade bonds, diversified fixed income strategies, and equity income strategies," Marcelli added. "We also believe lower rates make a favorable backdrop for equities, and favor AI beneficiaries and quality stocks."
— Brian Evans
Stock futures open little changed
Stock futures were little changed Thursday as Wall Street prepares for another batch of inflation data.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.02%, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered near the flatline. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 4 points, or less than 0.1%.
— Brian Evans
