Nasdaq and S&P 500 Rise as Netflix Surge Fuels Market Optimism
Markets geared toward towards higher weekly anticipations for the Nasdaq Composite advanced on Friday led by Netflix's aggressive earnings outperformance. Midway through the session, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 0.61%, and the broader S&P 500 was ahead by 0.37%
Netflix (NFLX, Financial), shares rose by 11% after the company provided a third-quarter report that was better than expected, especially the 35% growth in the ad-tiers. Another company that beat the earnings forecast of the year was Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial), but they pulled down on the aspect of revenue forecasts.
According to FactSet data money, the current earnings season has seen over 70 S&P 500 companies post their reports, and 75% of them have beaten market predictions. Stocks may further scale the heights this month and through November, which is highly unusual for an election year, as long as market volatility persists in the wake of the US election, according to Rob Williams, the chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory.
According to Williams's market assumptions, the market is seen to have strengthened by preparedness in anticipation of a business-oriented victory from Donald Trump, characterized by tax and business-friendly legislation.
The return of optimism in the market comes after Thursday's trading, led by Travelers Companies that helped the Dow post a record closing high even as the S&P 500 pulled back from its high in the session.
The three leading stock benchmarks remain on track for a sixth weekly gain at the end of the week, which would be the most since the beginning of 2024 for both the Dow and the S&P 500. The two indices had risen 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively, at the end of the week.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.