Financial stocks rallied on Wall Street Friday, pushing the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to new record highs.
Strong earnings from major U.S. banks helped the market, with investors ignoring mixed economic data released earlier.
The S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, rose 0.7% to over 5,800 points, marking nearly a 23% gain this year.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial ETF DIA, increased 0.8% to hit 42,780 points, setting new records.
Chart: S&P 500 and Dow Reach All-Time Highs
Financial Sector Drives Market Gains
The financial sector led the market boost. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF increased 1.9%, marking its strongest session since November 2023.
Key bank earnings exceeded expectations, enhancing confidence. JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported Q3 earnings of $4.37 per share, higher than the $4.00 consensus, with shares soaring over 4%.
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC jumped 6.2% after its EPS beat expectations at $1.42. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. BK and BlackRock Inc. BLK also saw significant gains.
Other major banks like Bank of America Corp. BAC and Citigroup C rose between 2% and 4.8% as well.
The rally also helped regional banks, lifting the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KRE by 3.5% and the Russell 2000 index by 1.3%.
Mixed Economic Data Ignored
Economic indicators released included a higher-than-expected Producer Price Index (PPI) and weaker consumer sentiment for October. PPI rose to 1.8% year-over-year, above the expected 1.6%.
Consumer sentiment dropped to 68.9, missing forecasts, while inflation expectations ticked up slightly. Despite mixed signals, strong bank earnings kept investor optimism high.
S&P 500 Top Performers
| Stock | Sector | Price | 1-Day Return (%) |
| Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER | Industrials | 84.21 | 8.07% |
| Fastenal Company FAST | Industrials | 75.13 | 7.34% |
| Wells Fargo & Co. | Financials | 60.99 | 5.61% |
| WW. Grainger, Inc. GWW | Industrials | 1,079.38 | 5.29% |
| Bank of America Corporation | Financials | 41.97 | 4.99% |
Dow’s Top Performers
| Stock | Sector | Price | 1-Day Return (%) |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Financials | 221.99 | 4.30% |
| The Boeing Company BA | Industrials | 150.55 | 2.68% |
| The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | Financials | 513.51 | 1.94% |
| Intel Corporation INTC | Info Tech | 23.63 | 1.78% |
| American Express Company AXP | Financials | 274.73 | 1.58% |
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