US stocks trade mixed but notch weekly gains as interest rates fall ahead of Q3 earnings season
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
- US stocks ended mixed but made weekly gains as investors digested lower interest rates and prepare for third-quarter earnings.
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell about 25 basis points from its 52-week high this week to 4.63%.
- A slew of bank earnings kicked off earnings season on Friday, and investors are expecting a rebound in profits.
US stocks were mixed on Friday but ended the week higher as investors digested a decline in interest rates and the start of the third-quarter earnings season.
The 10-year US Treasury yield fell about 25 basis points over the course of the week from its 52-week high of 4.88% to 4.63%. The decline was sparked by a safety trade following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, as well as a wave of dovish comments from Federal Reserve members.
The most recent came on Friday from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, who advocated for a pause in interest rate hikes.
"Absent a stark turn in what I see in the data and hear from contacts... I believe that we are at the point where we can hold rates where they are. Look, we did a lot, and we did it very fast," he said in prepared remarks to the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.
Friday also marked the start of third-quarter earnings season with results from several banks and financial institutions. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and BlackRock all beat analyst estimates for revenue and profit.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 4,327.78, down 0.50%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,670.29, up 0.12% (39.15 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,407.23, down 1.23%
Here's what else happened today:
- Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel argued that stocks still represent a good value, even if an economic recession arrives.
- China remains on the brink of deflation as the country continues to see weakness in its economy following a lackluster reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ray Dalio warned that the Israel-Hamas conflict could trigger more clashes around the world, with the risk of war rising to 50%.
- JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned it's "the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades" amid global conflicts and soaring debts.
- Home foreclosure activity in the US surged to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, a sign that the financial aftermath of COVID-19 has been wearing out cash-strapped homeowners.
- Oil prices surged 5% on Friday amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and after the US imposed sanctions related to Russian oil.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 5.70% to $87.64 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 5.69% to $90.89 a barrel.
- Gold jumped 3.11% to $1,941.60 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell 8 basis points to 4.62% on Friday.
- Bitcoin rose 0.01% to $26,757.
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