Corporate Earnings

Stocks rallied for a second week, hitting record highs, driven by encouraging inflation data (September CPI) and strong corporate earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 2% and 2.3% respectively. Lower-than-expected CPI data suggests potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Approximately 87% of S&P 500 companies reporting have exceeded earnings expectations. Companies like Danaher, Capital One, and GE Vernova contributed to the positive trend. Next week’s earnings releases from major companies will be closely watched.

Key takeaways for investors: AWS suffered a major outage impacting numerous websites. Apple’s stock hit record highs due to strong iPhone 17 sales and AI advancements. Corporate earnings exceeded expectations, though Coca-Cola cited sluggish demand. A potential end to the government shutdown is in sight. The US and Australia deepened cooperation on rare earth materials, boosting related stocks like Cleveland-Cliffs.