By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Shashwat Chauhan
Oct 9 (Reuters) - US stock indexes advanced broadly on Friday and were on pace to clock weekly gains, as investors looked forward to the earnings season next week.
Big banks including JPMorgan Chase will kick off the reporting season for the July-September period on Tuesday, as Wall Street remains optimistic about robust earnings that could keep the rally going despite the shaky geopolitical landscape and towering government bond yields.
"The technicals in
the market are improving, meaning the number of stocks that are rising is improving compared with the last several sessions. We are maintaining a recent breakout of a bullish flag pattern," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was set for a fourth straight weekly advance after hitting record highs earlier this week. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow were also on pace for a positive weekly finish.
At 12:14 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 323.25 points, or 0.63%, to 51,554.89, the S&P 500 gained 37.28 points, or 0.48%, to 7,802.64 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 145.76 points, or 0.54%, to 27,339.70.
Megacap growth stocks were broadly higher, with Amazon.com climbing 2.8%, Microsoft up 2.2% and Tesla rising 2.1%.
Ten out of eleven sectors advanced, with real estate and consumer discretionary leading the gains, each rising over 1%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had cleared record highs earlier this week, as optimism on the AI trade and hopes of a strong earnings showing from Wall Street's tech giants lifted risk sentiment.
Meanwhile, oil prices were marginally higher after falling earlier in the day. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the country will not attack Iran before US midterm elections next month, easing supply concerns. [O/R]
US Treasury yields were calm, with the benchmark 10-year yield steady at 5.25% but holding close to the 24-year high of 5.364% hit on Wednesday.
Among decliners, the S&P 500 telecom services index fell 9.7% and was on track for its biggest percentage drop since March 2020. The losses were after rocket and satellite maker SpaceX struck a deal to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, posing a direct challenge to US wireless giants.
SpaceX shares climbed 1.1%, while telecom firms traded lower. T-Mobile US slid 12.2% to its lowest level since December 2023, AT&T dropped 9.7% and Verizon lost 9.1%.
Apple fell 1.7% after a media report that the iPhone maker has told some suppliers to cut production of components for its newly launched iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as soaring memory chip costs and price increases dampen consumer demand.
Delta Air Lines dropped around 2%, as the company cut its annual profit forecast by nearly a quarter at the midpoint of the range.
Humana, meanwhile, jumped 12.5% after US government data showed 95% of the health insurer's members were in Medicare Advantage plans rated four stars or higher for 2027.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 147 new lows.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
