Stocks Rebound as Investors React to Earnings, Gold and Silver Test New Record Highs

Barry Adams
16 Oct, 2025
New York City

Stocks turned higher on Thursday as earnings season picked up pace and the federal government shutdown entered its third week. 

The S&P 500 index added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%, and they hovered near record highs. 

Positive earnings from leading commercial banks and investment banks bolstered market sentiment as the earnings season gathered momentum.

Tensions between the U.S. and China stayed elevated, and China imposed retaliatory port fees on US-based ships arriving at its ports. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced its plans to disallow Chinese airlines from reaching U.S. airports using Russian airspace. 

The move prompted a strong opposition from five leading Chinese airlines, and they demanded that the U.S. delay its restriction for at least 90 days. 

Gold and silver continued to scale new highs as investors seek safe-haven assets amid growing trust deficiency in the U.S. dollar-denominated assets. 

The ongoing federal government shutdown added to the lack of data visibility at a time when investors are looking to understand the tariffs' impact on U.S. consumers, labor market conditions, international trade trends, and domestic retail sales.  

 

U.S. Stock Movers

J. B. Hunt Transport Services soared 13% to $156.76, and the trucking and logistics services provider's third-quarter results surpassed market expectations. 

Total operating revenue edged down to $3.05 billion from $3.07 billion, net income increased to $170.8 million from $152.1 million, and diluted earnings per share edged up to $1.76 from $1.49 a year ago. 

The transportation company is experiencing volatile market conditions, as businesses front-load orders ahead of the holiday season and in advance of steep U.S. tariffs. 

Gross revenue declined for the intermodal unit by 1%, for the truckload unit by 4%, for the integrated capacity by 8%, and for dedicated contract services by 1%, respectively. 

These losses were somewhat balanced out by a 3% increase in how efficiently the dedicated contract services unit operated, a 9% rise in revenue for each load in the integrated capacity solution unit, and a 14% growth in the number of loads for the truckload services unit. 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company plunged 9.6% to $22.63, and the computing device maker and cloud service provider's fiscal 2026 outlook disappointed investors. 

The company estimated annual revenue to rise between 5% and 10% and adjusted earnings per share between $2.20 and $2.40.

The cloud service provider announced its plans to boost its annual dividend by 10% and increase its stock buyback by $3 billion. 

United Airlines Holdings Inc. decreased 1.1% to $102.95, and the international passenger airline reported mixed third-quarter results.

Total operating revenue increased 2.6% to $15.2 billion from $14.8 billion, net income decreased 1.7% to $949 million from $965 million, and diluted earnings per share were unchanged at $2.90. 

In the third quarter, premium cabin revenue rose 6%, basic economy advanced 4%, cargo revenue advanced 3%, and loyalty revenue jumped 9% from a year ago, respectively.