Wall Street's three major indexes all closed higher on October 9 and locked in weekly gains. With third-quarter earnings season about to begin and inflation data on deck next week, investors are shifting their focus from this week's choppy trading to corporate profits and the Federal Reserve's next move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 429.90 points (0.84%) to 51,661.54; the S&P 500 gained 46.35 points (0.60%) to 7,811.71; and the Nasdaq Composite added 172.83 points (0.64%) to 27,365.00. For the week, the S&P rose 1.2%, the Dow 0.9% and the Nasdaq 0.6% — the Nasdaq's fourth straight weekly gain. The small-cap Russell 2000 finished below the previous Friday's level, leaving the week's gains concentrated in large caps.
AI-related momentum stocks were broadly higher, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF up about 1%, recovering the prior session's selloff. The AI-driven US bull market is approaching its four-year anniversary. "Chips have been this year's story," said Michael Monaghan, portfolio manager at Founder ETFs in Dallas. "It's a multidecade technological change and just at the beginning of whatever's happening, not at the end."
The session's biggest moves came from telecom: SpaceX announced a deal to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, paving the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major US mobile carrier. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon sank between 8.5% and 13%, the three biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Tower operators Crown Castle, SBA Communications and American Tower surged 7% to 16%.
Elsewhere, Humana jumped 11% after improved Medicare Advantage star ratings for 2027. Apple slid 1.1% on a report that it told suppliers to cut component production for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup as soaring memory chip costs dampen demand. Delta Air Lines reported weaker-than-expected earnings and trimmed its full-year profit outlook amid high fuel prices.
Analysts estimate S&P 500 third-quarter earnings growth of 30.6% year over year, according to LSEG data, with energy and technology posting the largest gains at 123% and 66.5% respectively. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan survey showed US consumer sentiment soured this month, with near-term expectations deteriorating to an all-time low. "It's the kind of back-and-forth market we've been in," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. Crude oil reversed its decline and Treasury yields resumed their climb late in the session, cooling Friday's rally — next week's earnings and inflation prints will set the tone for Fed policy expectations.