US stocks on Friday added to their recent rally after upbeat forecasts from Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc, and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted their biggest monthly percentage gains since 2020.
Most S&P 500 sectors ended higher, with energy rising 4.5 percent — the most of any S&P sector. Chevron Corp rose 8.9 percent and ExxonMobil Corp shares jumped 4.6 percent after the companies reported record quarterly revenues.
Apple Inc shares gained 3.3 percent after the company said parts shortages were easing and that demand for iPhones was continuing.
Amazon.com Inc shot up 10.4 percent after it forecast a jump in third-quarter revenue from bigger fees from its Prime loyalty subscriptions.
“In today’s market, the Amazon and Apple numbers are giving the market support [on] the idea that two large companies that are a large part of the S&P seem so far to be able to navigate through these tougher times,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.
Stocks have also rallied this week on investor speculation that the US Federal Reserve might not need to be as aggressive with interest rate hikes as some had feared.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 315.5 points, or 0.97 percent, to 32,845.13, the S&P 500 gained 57.86 points, or 1.42 percent, to 4,130.29, and the NASDAQ Composite added 228.09 points, or 1.88 percent, to 12,390.69.
All three major indices posted gains for the month and for the week.
The S&P 500 increased 9.1 percent last month in its biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2020, while the NASDAQ jumped 12.3 percent in its biggest monthly gain since April 2020. The Dow posted a 6.7 percent monthly increase.
For the week, the Dow Jones was up 2.97 percent, the S&P 500 gained 4.26 percent, while the NASDAQ rose 4.7 percent.
In other earnings, Intel Corp shares fell 8.6 percent after the company cut annual sales and profit forecasts and missed second-quarter estimates.
Second-quarter US corporate results have mostly been stronger than expected.
Of the 279 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 77.8 percent have exceeded expectations.
Earnings for S&P 500 companies are now expected to have increased 7.1 percent in the quarter versus an estimated 5.6 percent at the start of this month, Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System data from Refinitiv showed.
The day’s economic data showed US labor costs increased solidly in the second quarter as a tight jobs market boosted wage growth.
However, a government report on Thursday showed that the US economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, suggesting to some investors that the economy was on the cusp of a recession.
They said it might deter the Fed from continuing to aggressively increase rates as it battles high inflation.
Volume on US exchanges was 11.35 billion shares, compared with the 10.79 billion share average for the full session over the past 20 trading days.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.92-to-1 ratio; on the NASDAQ, a 1.44-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and 33 new lows, while the NASDAQ Composite recorded 63 new highs and 82 new lows.
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