US close: Dow, S&P 500 set new records as earnings impress

(Sharecast News) - US stocks rose slightly on Friday but gains were enough to lift both the S&P 500 and Dow to new record highs, as investors digested a barrage of corporate earnings, including a bumper set of results from streaming giant Netflix. The Dow gained 0.09% to a new peak of 43,275.91, marking its third straight day setting a new closing high, while the S&P 500 rose 0.40% to 5,864.67, marginally topping last week's record of 5,859.85. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq gained 0.63% to 18,489.55.

According to Dow Jones, approximately four fifths of the S&P 500 that has reported third-quarter results have surpassed consensus estimates, including the majority of the nation's biggest banks.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said Netflix's earnings "bolster[ed] the overall market mood". Beauchamp said: "When all else fails, tech earnings can usually be relied upon to deliver good news. Somehow, Netflix continues to find new subscribers, and while the pace of new subscriber growth has slowed markedly, it still beat expectations, which is of course the most important thing in earnings reports."

On the macro front, US housing starts slipped 0.5% month-on-month to a reading of 1.35m in September, according to the Census Bureau, in line with market expectations. Meanwhile, building permits fell by a more-than-expected 2.9% to 1.42m in September, missing forecasts for a reading of 1.46m.

Investors were also digesting economic data from China, where annual GDP growth slowed to 4.6% in the third quarter from 4.7% in the second, though narrowly above forecasts for growth of 4.5%. Chinese retail sales also had risen 3.2% year-on-year in September, an above-forecast improvement on August's 2.1% increase, while industrial production strengthened 5.4%, up from 4.5%.

Netflix impresses the market

Netflix shares jumped 11% after third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines. However, it was the company's memberships from its ad-tier subscriptions that really impressed, rising 35% over the second quarter and accounting for more than half of sign-ups in regions where it was available.

Healthcare tech group Intuitive Surgical was also a high riser, surging 10% after comfortable beating earnings estimates in the third quarter.

Credit card group American Express beat third-quarter profits expectations on the back of more disciplined cost control, but missed estimates with revenues of $16.64bn, slightly short of the $16.67bn expected.

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble managed to finish flat despite the news that first-quarter sales had fallen short of expectations despite the group hiking prices.

Aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems was lower after revealing plans to furlough roughly 700 workers as a strike by Boeing machinists entered its sixth week. Spirit said its temporary, 21-day furloughs, which will affect approximately 5% of the company's US workforce.

US-listed shares of Chinese companies like JD.com, NetEast and Baidu finished with decent gains, tracking Chinese markets higher following Friday's economic data barrage.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.77 1.47% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $235.00 1.23% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.79 1.22% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.44 0.77% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.28 0.77% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.76 0.64% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $569.61 0.63% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $292.94 0.63% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $316.56 0.59% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $81.31 0.52%

Dow Jones - Fallers

American Express Co. (AXP) $276.79 -3.15% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.70 -0.96% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $171.28 -0.58% Nike Inc. (NKE) $82.92 -0.58% 3M Co. (MMM) $135.14 -0.40% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.75 -0.30% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $232.20 -0.29% Boeing Co. (BA) $155.00 -0.20% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $393.86 -0.16% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $415.00 -0.14%

S&P 500 - Risers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $763.89 11.09% Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $78.22 10.17% Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $521.15 10.01% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.74 9.06% Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $78.77 4.82% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $20.80 3.84% Comerica Inc. (CMA) $64.94 3.67% CSX Corp. (CSX) $34.12 3.11% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $30.98 2.96% Stryker Corp. (SYK) $369.56 2.73%

S&P 500 - Fallers

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $60.34 -5.23% CIGNA Corp. (CI) $336.00 -4.85% Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $41.92 -4.71% Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $56.40 -3.80% FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $25.60 -3.51% Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $483.00 -3.15% American Express Co. (AXP) $276.79 -3.15% Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $51.15 -3.14% Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $27.20 -3.06% Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $430.77 -3.06%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $763.89 11.09% Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $521.15 10.01% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $61.25 5.60% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $82.42 3.37% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $723.26 3.23% CSX Corp. (CSX) $34.12 3.11% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $39.98 2.91% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $94.39 2.48% PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $110.09 2.35% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.09 2.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $483.00 -3.15% Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $27.20 -3.06% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.56 -1.93% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $258.52 -1.71% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $20.93 -1.04% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $21.72 -0.91% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $179.89 -0.90% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $111.15 -0.80% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $990.68 -0.76% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $368.92 -0.75%