US markets today: Amazon’s blockbuster earnings lift Wall Street toward record highs; Big Tech results keep rally on track

Amazon’s stellar quarterly results helped Wall Street stay near record highs on Friday, with the S&P 500 hovering around its all-time peak set earlier in the week, capping what could be its sixth straight monthly gain — the longest winning streak since 2021.The S&P 500 was virtually flat after paring morning gains, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 102 points, or less than 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.4%, buoyed by Big Tech earnings, AP reported.Amazon shares jumped 10.3%, emerging as the strongest driver of market gains after the company posted a quarterly profit that far exceeded analysts’ expectations. CEO Andy Jassy said growth in its cloud-computing unit has “reaccelerated back to a pace it hasn’t seen since 2022.”Given Amazon’s massive $2.4 trillion valuation, its stock movement significantly influences the S&P 500. Apple, the world’s largest company by market capitalisation at over $4 trillion, traded between modest gains and losses, last up 0.1%. It also reported stronger-than-expected profits, with CEO Tim Cook crediting robust iPhone and services revenue for the beat.Elsewhere, Reddit jumped 12.1% after reporting higher profit and revenue than analysts projected, while Coinbase Global rose 6.8% on better-than-expected earnings. Netflix climbed 3.3% after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split to make shares more affordable without altering investor holdings.These gains helped offset a 4.8% slide in AbbVie, whose quarterly results, though above expectations, fell short of the strong beats investors had become accustomed to. Analysts noted expectations were high after the drugmaker’s stock surged 28.4% this year.Market analysts said investor focus remains on whether corporate earnings growth can justify elevated stock valuations. The S&P 500 had dropped 1% on Thursday as concerns grew over soaring capital expenditure plans by Meta Platforms and Microsoft amid the AI investment race.Adding to the cautious tone, financial markets showed scepticism that President Donald Trump’s trade truce with China would fully ease tensions. Microsoft and Meta fell further on Friday, down 1.6% and 2.2% respectively, dragging the broader market.In overseas markets, European indices slipped following a mixed Asian session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4% and Shanghai’s Composite dropped 0.8% after data showed China’s factory activity contracted for a seventh consecutive month — its fastest decline in six months. Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend, rising 2.1% to a record high after September industrial output exceeded forecasts.In the bond market, US Treasury yields eased slightly after a midweek spike triggered by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s caution that another interest rate cut in December “is not a foregone conclusion — far from it.” The 10-year yield dipped to 4.09% from 4.11% but remained above Monday’s 3.99%.According to Bank of America’s Global Research report, several central banks have paused rate cuts or hinted at doing so, suggesting “this is it for the 2025 easing season in developed economies.”