Wall Street wrapped up the trading session on October 17 at an equilibrium point, with the final moments proving decisive. The S&P 500, which had shown strength throughout the day, ultimately closed in the red at -0.02%, while the Nasdaq Composite managed to claw back a small gain of +0.04%.
The pressure from rising bond yields was palpable, with the 30-year T-Bond yielding up to +10 basis points during the session, hitting 4.40%, and the 10-year T-Bond climbing by up to +9 basis points to reach 4.10%, marking its highest yield since July 31. This persistent tension in yields seems to have had a significant impact on investor sentiment.
Despite the mixed performance, there were reasons for optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved a notable milestone, setting a new ‘double’ record for both closing and intraday highs, finishing up +0.37% at 43,239. Additionally, the S&P 500 also reached a new high, resulting in three record achievements for the day.
The session began with bullish momentum, as the Dow set an all-time high of 43,288, the S&P500 reached 5,881, and the Nasdaq approached 18,500. However, as the day progressed, the market’s close felt somewhat anticlimactic, leaving investors hungry for more.
In after-hours trading, Netflix delivered good news, gaining +4% to approximately $213 following a +2% increase in subscribers, bringing the total to 282.7 million. The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $5.4 and a 35% rise in advertising revenue from partners. Looking ahead, record sales exceeding $10 billion are anticipated for Q4 2024.
The Nasdaq-100 gained +0.08%, buoyed by strong performances from Broadcom, Micron, and ASML, which saw gains ranging from +2.4% to +2.6%. In contrast, Lucid Group’s stock plummeted -18% to under $2.70, although this had minimal effect on its $6.3 billion market capitalization. Nvidia, meanwhile, gained +0.9%, hitting a record of $140 and reaching a market cap of $3.360 billion.
The US session was characterized by several important economic statistics. Retail sales for September rose by 0.4% sequentially, following a +0.1% increase in August. Excluding vehicles and equipment, retail sales increased by +0.5%. However, US industrial production saw a decline of -0.3%, impacted by the Boeing strike and the effects of two hurricanes. Capacity utilization fell by 0.3 points to 77.5%, which is 2.2 points below the long-term average.
On a positive note, jobless claims in the US decreased last week by 19,000, landing at 241,000, signaling continued resilience in the labor market. Additionally, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region outperformed expectations, with the Philly Fed index rising from 1.7 in September to 10.3 in October, marking its second consecutive increase.
As the month of October nears its end, the market’s stubbornly bullish trend suggests that further records may be within reach, especially as the “3 Witches” phenomenon approaches. Investors will be watching closely for more developments in the days ahead.
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