4:17pm: Oil prices rise on Israel-Hamas conflict
The Dow closed Friday up 39 points, 0.1%, at 33,670, the Nasdaq Composite declined 167 points, 1.2%, and the S&P 500 slid 22 points, 0.5%, to 4,328. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 15 points, 0.9%, to 1,719.
Despite losing ground on the day, the S&P 500 posted its second-straight winning week.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped more than 6% Friday due to the Israel-Hamas, while WTI crude rose more than 4% this week.
The big banks made gains after posting better-than-expected earnings. Citigroup shares added 5.7%, JPMorgan stock improved 1.5% and Wells Fargo shares gained 3.1%.
12:05pm: Wall Street on track for weekly gain
US stocks were mixed in noon trading on largely positive reports from major financial firms even as consumer sentiment slumped.
At midday, the Dow gained 5 points to 33,637, while the S&P 500 eased 21 points at 4,328 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 157 points to 13,417.
"Rates are still in the driver’s seat, and that’s really the rebound that we’re seeing since last Friday," LPL Financial chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist said.
Notable movers included shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which rose nearly 4% after the big bank reported better-than-expected 3Q financial results.
9:40am: Strong bank earnings lift Wall Street
US stocks opened higher boosted by strong banking earnings and as a Federal Reserve official called time on raising interest rates.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 233.97 points, 0.7%, at 33,865.11, the S&P 500 was up 20.06 points, 0.5%, at 4,369.67 while the Nasdaq Composite was up marginally at 13,580.73.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo kicked off earnings for major financial firms with higher-than-expected profit and revenue numbers for the third quarter, while Citigroup also beat on revenue.
Shares in JPMorgan rose 4.4%, Wells Fargo rose 4.1% and Citigroup also jumped 3.3%.
But BlackRock slipped 1.7% after its revenue and assets under management came in below expectations.
The results gave equities a lift after being scarred by Thursday’s strong print which put a rate rise before the end of the year back on the table.
But Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said disinflation is under way and reiterated that he favours holding interest rates where they are, barring a sharp change in data.
“I believe that we are at the point where we can hold rates where they are,” Harker said in remarks prepared for a virtual event with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. “By doing nothing, we are still doing something. And, actually, we are doing quite a lot.”
7:00am: Stocks called lower after stubborn inflation data
US stocks are expected to open lower following Thursday’s strong inflation print and as investors digest a batch of earnings from leading financial institutions.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower, while those for the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.5%.
Markets fell heavily on Thursday after strong inflation figures raised the chances of one more interest rate hike while rising energy prices have added further fuel to concerns that pricing pressures will remain hard to quell.
Mickey Levy at Berenberg said the data "reaffirms our view that the disinflationary process is likely to be bumpy and nonlinear."
However, despite the limited progress toward disinflation in September, he thinks the Fed is likely to focus on its preferred measure of inflation, the PCE price index, which is likely to come in somewhat softer than the CPI this month.
Nonetheless, he felt "the robust increases in supercore prices across August and September will likely reaffirm the prevailing view among Fed officials that inflation risks remain skewed to the upside and push Fed members to continue to assert that rates will need to remain higher for longer."
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup will report their latest quarterly earnings, with slow lending growth expected to cut into profits, while wealth management firm, BlackRock has also just released its numbers.
Elsewhere, the University of Michigan will release the preliminary reading of its consumer sentiment index for October, which economists expect to register a level of 67.4, slightly below September’s 68.1.