Wall Street Inches Towards Longest Winning Streak of 2024

U.S. stocks were hovering near record levels on Friday as the price of Netflix surged and despite CVS Health experiencing a notable decline following mixed reports about its profits.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent in early trading, inching closer to its all-time high that was reached earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 169 points, or 0.4 percent, a day after setting its own record. At the same time, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5 percent at 9:35am Eastern Time.
Netflix saw a significant jump of 8.6 percent after the streaming giant reported stronger-than-expected profits for the latest quarter, despite a slowdown in subscriber growth.
This positive performance helped offset CVS Health’s 6.7 percent drop, as the company projected profits that fell well below analyst expectations.
CVS also announced a leadership change, with David Joyner stepping in as president and CEO, replacing Karen Lynch.
Trading activity on Wall Street remained relatively stable as the S&P 500 aimed for a sixth consecutive week of gains, marking its longest winning streak of the year.
Solid economic data has fostered optimism that the U.S. economy might navigate through the highest inflation in generations without falling into recession.
With the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates to support economic growth, investors are hopeful that stock prices could continue to rise.
However, some critics caution that stock valuations may be inflated, given that they have surged more quickly than corporate profits.
American Express shares fell 4.8 percent despite reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.
However, its revenue missed forecasts, and the company indicated that its revenue for the full year of 2024 is likely to be at the lower end of its initial projections.
SLB, a major player in the oil and natural gas sector, dropped 1.7 percent after delivering mixed earnings.
While its profits exceeded expectations, revenue fell short as lower crude prices led some international producers to curtail spending.
CEO Olivier Le Peuch noted growth in revenue from the Middle East, Asia, and offshore North America, but a decline in Latin America.
Oil prices have seen a decline this week as fears of Israeli military action against Iranian oil facilities have eased.
Concerns about demand due to China’s sluggish economic growth have also affected oil prices. A barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped another 1.2 percent on Friday, heading toward a 6.9 percent decline for the week, falling back below $74 after nearly reaching $81 last week.
On a positive note, Intuitive Surgical’s stock climbed 6.8 percent following a strong profit report that surpassed expectations.
The company, known for its robotic-assisted surgical systems, also posted better-than-anticipated revenue.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling to 4.06 percent from 4.10 percent late Thursday.
Traders are aligning around the expectation that the Federal Reserve will implement a modest interest rate cut of a quarter percentage point at its upcoming meeting in November.
Earlier hopes for a more substantial cut of half a percentage point have diminished following positive economic updates. The current federal funds rate is between 4.75 percent and 5 percent.
Internationally, Chinese stock markets experienced a rebound, with indexes rising 2.9 percent in Shanghai and 3.6 percent in Hong Kong.
This surge followed reports indicating that growth for the world’s second-largest economy slowed during the summer, a slowdown further complicated by a struggling real estate market.
The article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press