Wall Street ended higher on Friday, with all three major US stock indexes posting weekly gains as investors looked ahead to third-quarter corporate earnings and inflation data due next week for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 423.31 points, or 0.83%, to 51,654.95, while the S&P 500 gained 46.15 points, or 0.59%, to 7,811.51. The Nasdaq Composite added 172.83 points, or 0.64%, to 27,366.17.
Investors are preparing for a busy earnings week, with major US banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley scheduled to report results.
Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to post aggregate year-on-year earnings growth of 30.6% for the July to September quarter, according to LSEG data, led by the energy and technology sectors.
Market sentiment remained sensitive to developments in the Iran conflict. Oil prices initially fell after US President Donald Trump said Washington would not attack Iran before the midterm elections and described negotiations with Tehran as productive. However, Brent crude and US West Texas Intermediate futures both settled 0.4% higher.
Among individual stocks, Humana surged 11.6% after government data showed 95% of its Medicare Advantage members were enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher for 2027.
Apple fell 1.1% following a report that it had asked some suppliers to cut production of components for its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, amid rising memory chip costs and concerns over consumer demand.
Telecommunications stocks also slumped after SpaceX agreed to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, raising competitive concerns for US wireless operators. T-Mobile US, AT&T and Verizon fell between 8.8% and 13.3%.
Despite Friday’s gains, consumer sentiment remained under pressure, with the University of Michigan reporting a deterioration in near-term expectations to an all-time low.
The small-cap Russell 2000 ended the week below its previous Friday close, diverging from the broader market’s gains.
