By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) – The and the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged higher on Friday, driven by gains in technology stocks, while Netflix (NASDAQ:) climbed after beating subscriber growth estimates.
Shares of Netflix jumped 9.8% to a record high after the streaming giant topped Wall Street estimates for subscriber additions and said it expected continued growth through the end of the year.
Gains in Netflix lifted Communication Services to the top of the 11 S&P 500 sectors with a 1.3% increase.
Energy and Consumer Staples were among the top losers, bogged down by declines in SLB and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:), which fell 2.4% and 0.8%, respectively, following their results.
Most of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks, which have driven much of Wall Street’s rally this year, were higher, with Apple (NASDAQ:) up 1.2% after data showed a jump in new iPhone sales in China, boosting the broader Technology sector, which rose 0.7%.
Chip heavyweight Nvidia (NASDAQ:) added 1%, extending gains from Thursday, after BofA Global Research hiked its price target on the stock.
The fell 108.85 points, or 0.25%, to 43,132.38, the S&P 500 gained 12.41 points, or 0.21%, to 5,853.88, and the gained 109.60 points, or 0.58%, to 18,480.79.
The Dow was weighed down by American Express (NYSE:), which lost 4.4% after its quarterly revenue missed estimates.
The small-cap was set to outperform major indexes in the week. It was last up 0.2%.
Mostly upbeat earnings from financial companies and broadly positive economic data have put the three main indexes on track to log their sixth week of gains. The Dow closed at a record high on Thursday, while the S&P 500 is nearing the psychologically important 6,000 mark.
“Financials have responded very well to earnings. They were the first real big (sector) to report and they performed rather well,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive at 50 Park Investments.
“Until we see stocks really get walloped or fall hard on earnings, the market’s earned the bullish benefit of the doubt.”
However, stretched valuations and high expectations for corporate results could leave stocks vulnerable to a pullback amid indications that investors are exploring less expensive sectors.
CVS Health (NYSE:) slumped 7.4% after it replaced CEO Karen Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024 profit forecast, becoming the biggest decliner on the benchmark index.
Fed officials Christopher Waller, Neel Kashkari and Raphael Bostic are slated to speak during the day.
Expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease interest rates by 25 basis points at its November meeting stood intact, at about 90%, according to CME’s FedWatch.
In economic data, single-family housing starts increased 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.027 million units in September.
Meanwhile, U.S. listings of Chinese companies leapt after China’s central bank launched funding schemes aimed at boosting the equity market. Alibaba (NYSE:) gained 2.4%, JD (NASDAQ:).com rose 3.6% and PDD Holdings jumped 1.7%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.76-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.82-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 15 new lows.
