Wall Street Indexes Brave higher After Amazon Earnings and October Jobs Report

Barry Adams
01 Nov, 2024
New York City

Wall Street indexes rebounded following the latest batch of positive earnings, and investors overlooked the latest jobs report. 

The S&P 500 index added 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1% after Amazon.com Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings. 

Investors reacted to the latest batch of quarterly results from leading corporations, including results from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Carnival Corp., Intel, Apple, and Amazon.com. 

This week, about 700 companies released earnings, and leading tech companies reported higher revenue and earnings, but their cautious outlook dented market sentiment. 

On the economic front, the U.S. economy added 12,000 jobs in October, well below the 223,000 in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. 

The nonfarm payrolls rose the weakest since December 2020, due to the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and monthslong strikes at Boeing and hotels in Hawaii and California. 

The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%, and average hourly wages increased 0.4% from the previous month and 4% from a year ago to $35.46. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.8% to 5,748.61, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to 18,281.86, and the Russell 2000 index rose 1.1% to 2,219.07. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.10%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.25%, and 30-year Treasury bonds inched lower to 4.46%.

WTI crude oil increased $1.74 to $71.03 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged down 3 cents to $2.67 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $10.32 to $2,756.82 an ounce, and silver increased by $0.17 to $32.85.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.71.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Amazon.com Inc. increased 7% to $199.22 after the online store and services provider reported higher earnings and revenue, driven by a 19% increase in sales for its cloud services. 

Apple Inc. decreased 1.8% to $221.85 after the computing device maker reported sales and earnings that surpassed market expectations. Net income declined after the company paid a one-time charge linked to a tax levy imposed by the European Union's agency. 

Exxon Mobil Corp. advanced 2.2% to $119.29 after the oil company reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in the third quarter. 

Revenue in the third quarter decreased to $90.01 billion from $90.76 billion, net income attributable to shareholders fell to $8.6 billion from $9.07 billion, and diluted earnings per share eased to $1.92 from $2.95 a year earlier.

The company increased its fourth-quarter dividend to 99 cents per share from 95 cents, payable on December 10 to shareholders on record on November 14. 

Intel Corp. rose 7% to $23.01 after the advanced chipmaker reported loss in its latest quarter but lifted its annual outlook. 

Revenue in the third quarter declined 6% to $13.3 billion from $14.2 billion, net income swung to a loss of $16.6 billion from a profit of $0.3 billion, and diluted earnings per share were $3.88 compared to 7 cents a year ago. 

Net income in the quarter was impacted by the $6 billion charges linked to accelerated depreciation and goodwill impairment charges and $9.9 billion charges related to the establishment of a valuation allowance against U.S. deferred tax assets. 

The company estimated fourth-quarter earnings to range between $13.3 billion and $14.3 billion and a loss of 24 cents per share in the quarter.