Some of the biggest companies in the world had their best day in years on Friday as Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc soared following strong third-quarter reports, as did online retail giant Amazon.com Inc.
US stocks set more records as their winning streak extended to a seventh week.
Intel Corp made its biggest gains in three years, while Microsoft had its biggest jump in two years and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, made its largest move in more than a year after each company’s results were better than Wall Street expected.
Amazon jumped 13 percent, its biggest move in two-and-a-half years, after it got a big boost from its latest “Prime Day” promotion and the purchase of grocery store chain operator Whole Foods Market Inc.
“The transition to cloud computing really played a role in all of those tech results to some extent,” Schwab Center for Financial Research director of market and sector analysis Brad Sorensen said.
Technology companies get a lot of their profits outside the US, compared with other industries, so the improving global economy is helping them more.
Other stocks were mixed. Retailers fell after J.C. Penney Co Inc cut its annual forecasts. Drugstores, drugmakers, healthcare suppliers and pharmaceutical distributors and retailers fell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday rose a comparatively modest 33.33 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 23,434.19 as drugmaker Merck and oil company Chevron Corp skidded after their third-quarter reports. That was an increase of 0.5 percent from a close of 23,328.63 a week earlier.
The S&P 500 on Friday rose 20.67 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,581.07, rising 0.2 percent from 2,575.21 on Oct. 20.
The NASDAQ Composite on Friday made its biggest gain since November last year as it soared 144.49 points, or 2.2 percent, to 6,701.26, an increase of 1.1 percent from 6,629.05 on Oct. 20.
The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks on Friday picked up 10.86 points, or 0.7 percent, to end at 1,508.32, falling 0.1 percent from 1,509.25 a week earlier.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ finished at all-time highs, with the S&P 500 also rising for the seventh consecutive week, something that had not happened since late 2014.
Alphabet climbed US$42.25, or 4.3 percent, to US$1,033.67 and Microsoft soared US$5.05, or 6.4 percent, to US$83.81.
Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, jumped US$3.05, or 7.4 percent, to US$44.40 after a positive fourth-quarter estimate.
Elsewhere, Facebook Inc rose US$7.25, or 4.2 percent, to US$177.88, its largest gain since August 2015.
Apple Inc advanced US$5.64, or 3.6 percent, to US$163.05.
Amazon posted strong results and gave an optimistic outlook for the holiday season. Its stock jumped US$128.52, or 13.2 percent, to US$1,100.95.
Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook are the five most valuable companies on the S&P 500, and with investors clamoring to send them higher, Wall Street did not pay quite as much attention to some strong economic data.
The US Department of Commerce estimated that the US economy grew 3 percent between July and last month, even though the country was hit by two major hurricanes. That was better than analysts had anticipated.
Aside from those giant companies, stocks were mixed.
J.C. Penney lost US$0.54, or 14.8 percent, to US$3.12, an all-time low, after it cut its profit forecast, saying that it has been lowering prices to try to clear out unsold goods.
Other retailers, such as Macy’s and Foot Locker Retail Inc tumbled as well.
Toymaker Mattel Inc plunged US$1.37, or 8.9 percent, to US$14 after the company posted a huge third-quarter loss and said it would slash spending and stop paying quarterly dividends.
Drugstores and prescription drug distributors fell for a second day following reports that Amazon is receiving state licenses allowing it to do business as a prescription drug wholesaler.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc lost US$2.63, or 3.9 percent, to US$64.48 and pharmaceutical distributor McKesson Corp lost US$7.92, or 5.5 percent, to US$135.62.
However, Jefferies and Co analyst Brian Tanquilut wrote that Amazon appears to have taken out licenses to sell medical equipment, not drugs.
He said the company might stick to medical devices and over-the-counter medicines for now, because in order to distribute prescription drugs, Amazon would need to establish relationships with pharmacy benefits managers and health insurers.
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