A surge in financial stocks boosted Wall Street on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones reaching new record highs.
Strong earnings from major U.S. banks drove market optimism, despite mixed economic data released that day.
The S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, surpassed 5,800 points, gaining 0.7% and bringing year-to-date returns close to 23%.
At the same time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial ETF DIA, rose 0.8% to reach 42,780 points, breaking previous records.
Financial Stocks Fuel Market Gains
The financial sector led the gains on Friday. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF jumped 1.9%, hitting a record high thanks to strong third-quarter earnings from U.S. banks.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported Q3 earnings per share (EPS) of $4.37, beating expectations. Its shares rose over 4%.
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC saw a 6.2% increase after posting an EPS of $1.42, exceeding forecasts.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. BK and BlackRock Inc. BLK also reported better-than-expected earnings, with BlackRock shares jumping 3.4%.
Other banks like Bank of America BAC and Citigroup C also posted gains.
Economic Data Mixed but Positive Outlook Remains
Friday’s economic data was mixed, showing a higher-than-expected Producer Price Index (PPI) and a decline in consumer sentiment. The PPI rose to 1.8%, exceeding expectations, while consumer sentiment dropped to 68.9.
Despite the mixed signals, investors remained focused on the strong bank earnings as they looked ahead to the corporate earnings season.
Top 5 Performers on S&P 500
| 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 & Company | Financials | 60.99 | 5.61% |
| WW. Grainger, Inc.GWW | Industrials | 1,079.38 | 5.29% |
| Bank of America Corporation | Financials | 41.97 | 4.99% |
Top 5 Performers on Dow
| 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 | Information Technology | 23.63 | 1.78% |
| American Express Company AXP | Financials | 274.73 | 1.58% |
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