On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.7%, while the S&P 500 saw a modest increase of 0.3%. This uptick was primarily driven by a notable 10.8% leap in Amazon shares, following the company's announcement of a 20% growth in cloud revenue during the third quarter, surpassing market expectations and boosting tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged upward, gaining 60 points. Tech companies Palantir and Oracle experienced gains of 3% and 2.8%, respectively, fueled by optimism in artificial intelligence, with Nvidia also seeing positive movement.
In other sectors, Netflix saw a 2.9% rise in its stock price following the announcement of a 10-for-1 stock split, while Tesla shares increased by 3.1%. The energy sector showed mixed results: Chevron experienced a 1.9% climb due to robust earnings, whereas Exxon Mobil declined by 1.5% owing to a dip in profits. In contrast, Meta's shares dropped by 2.7%, continuing a nearly 15% decline since it outlined increased capital expenditures for the upcoming year. AbbVie's stock fell by 4.5% after the company highlighted potential impacts from proposed drug pricing reductions.
For the month of October, all three major indices secured robust gains, with the Nasdaq posting a 4.9% surge, primarily driven by ongoing AI-related deal activities that continue to fuel the Magnificent Seven rally.
