Stocks rose on Friday despite a tumble in Amazon shares after economic data pointed to slowing inflation and a steady consumer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 322 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite fought higher and was up by 0.4% after opening lower initially.
Amazon plunged by 13% after the company posted weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and issued disappointing fourth-quarter sales guidance, the latest in a line of tech companies this week with disappointing results.
The stock market has fractured this week as investors dump technology shares following weak results and outlooks from Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta and rotate into economically-sensitive stocks that will benefit if the US economy can skirt a recession.
The Dow and S&P are on pace to end the week higher by about 4% and 2%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite set to finish slightly lower. For the Dow, it would be its fourth positive week in a row for the first time since a 5-week streak ending in November 202.
The market got a boost after the core personal consumption expenditures price index in September increased 0.5% from the previous month and 5.1% from a year ago, still high but mostly in-line with expectations. This is the preferred gauge of inflation for the Federal Reserve. Personal spending rose 0.6%, more than expected, the data showed.
“The weight of tech in the S&P 500 painted a more negative picture of the market yesterday than was the actual reality, as most sectors of the market posted decent rallies or fell only modestly,” said Tom Essaye, president of Stevens Report Research.
“Looking forward, we remain in the heart of earnings season and results will continue to dominate sector trade through the end of next week,” he said. “Outside of tech, it’s fair to say this earnings season is, so far, not as bad as feared.”
Apple shares were initially lower too in extended trading Thursday after the company reported weaker-than-anticipated iPhone revenuebut they have since reversed higher and were last up about 4%. The company beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings and revenue.
