Wall Street moved higher on Friday, powered by a sharp rise in Amazon shares that helped push the S&P 500 near record levels and positioned it for another strong week and month. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, recouping most of Thursday’s losses and nearing its all-time high set earlier in the week. The index is on track for its third consecutive weekly gain and sixth straight winning month — its longest monthly streak since 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 37 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3% in early trade, AP reported. Amazon surged 11.6% after posting quarterly profits well above estimates. CEO Andy Jassy said growth in Amazon Web Services had “reaccelerated to a pace it hasn’t seen since 2022.” Apple also edged up 0.3% after beating profit expectations, driven by strong iPhone and services revenue. With a combined market value of about $6.4 trillion, Amazon and Apple now account for more than 10% of the S&P 500’s total weight –meaning their movements heavily influence market direction. Reddit shares rallied 14.7% on stronger-than-expected earnings, while Coinbase rose 3.2%. Netflix gained 1.9% after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split to make its shares more affordable. AbbVie slipped 3.7% despite beating forecasts, as analysts noted smaller profit surprises compared to earlier quarters. Overseas, Asian markets were mixed — Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.4% and Shanghai’s index fell 0.8% as China’s factory activity shrank for a seventh straight month. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 2.1% to a record on stronger industrial output data. In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield eased to 4.08% from 4.11%, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that another rate cut in December “is not a foregone conclusion — far from it.”
