Wall St headed for weekly gains as earnings season nears
SPY•U.S. stocks advanced Friday, with the Dow up 0.63%, the S&P 500 up 0.48% and the Nasdaq up 0.54%, putting all three on pace for weekly gains ahead of earnings season next week.
1. Indexes advance
At 12:14 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 323.25 points to 51,554.89, the S&P 500 gained 37.28 points to 7,802.64 and the Nasdaq Composite added 145.76 points to 27,339.70. The Nasdaq was on pace for a fourth straight weekly advance, while the S&P 500 and Dow were also set for positive weekly finishes.
2. Earnings in focus
Big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, are due to begin reporting July-September results on Tuesday. Investors were described as optimistic about earnings, while Sam Stovall of CFRA Research said market technicals were improving and the market was maintaining a recent breakout of a bullish flag pattern.
3. Company moves
Delta Air Lines fell around 2% after cutting its annual profit forecast by nearly a quarter at the midpoint of its range. Apple dropped 1.7% after a media report said it had told some suppliers to cut component production for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Humana rose 12.5% after government data showed 95% of its members were in Medicare Advantage plans rated four stars or higher for 2027.
