U.S. stock markets exhibited mixed results, with major indices poised for weekly gains. Netflix's (NFLX, Financial) strong quarterly earnings boosted tech stocks, while investors continued to monitor Federal Reserve officials' speeches and the outlook of the U.S. presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.10%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.52%, and the S&P 500 increased by 0.27%.
Netflix's (NFLX, Financial) Q3 earnings surpassed expectations, reporting a 15% increase in revenue and a 41% rise in net income. The company saw a 35% increase in ad-supported subscribers compared to the previous quarter. Following this, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Needham raised their price targets for Netflix shares.
The week has seen mixed closes, with the Dow setting intraday and closing records due to a surge in Travelers Companies' stock. The S&P 500 reached a new high before closing slightly down, while the Nasdaq finished marginally higher. This week could mark the sixth consecutive week of gains for these indices, the longest streak for the Dow and S&P 500 this year.
New economic data showed a slight decrease in U.S. housing starts for September, and building permits also saw a decline. These figures were below economists' expectations. Market participants are adjusting trading strategies based on the potential outcomes of the U.S. elections.
Among other corporate news, Tesla is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over its Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature. The probe involves over 2.4 million vehicles, prompted by incidents involving Tesla cars in low-visibility conditions.
AMD introduced a new AI chip, the Instinct MI325X, challenging NVIDIA's next-generation Blackwell chips as the competition in the data center market intensifies.
Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), sold 8.69 million shares of Bank of America, cashing out $369.9 million. Meanwhile, Apple reported a 20% year-over-year sales increase for its iPhone 16 in China, with strong performance from its high-end models. Analyst Dan Ives predicted a robust rebound in Apple's sales in China, maintaining a "outperform" rating and a $300 target price for Apple shares.
In other developments, Intuitive Surgical posted better-than-expected Q3 results, Zeekr's new 7X model surpassed 10,000 deliveries in 25 days, and institutional investors raised their price targets for Bilibili, anticipating a strong Q3 performance. Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto became the first to reach one million cumulative deliveries, while MINISO received a favorable outlook from UBS.
