US stocks notch record closing highs on cool inflation, solid earnings

Market Overview - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq experienced their largest weekly percentage gains since August, while the Dow recorded its biggest Friday-to-Friday jump since June [1][9] - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained elevated in September but was cooler than expected, easing inflation concerns and paving the way for a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve [1][9] Earnings Season - The third-quarter earnings season is in full swing, with 143 companies in the S&P 500 having reported results [2][10] - Analysts project a 10.4% year-on-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 in Q3, an increase from the previous expectation of 8.8% [3][10] - A significant 87% of companies have beaten earnings expectations, and 83% have surpassed revenue forecasts, indicating a strong start to the earnings season [6][10] Notable Company Performances - Alphabet's shares rose by 2.7% after Anthropic expanded its deal to utilize Google's AI chips for its Claude chatbot [7][10] - Coinbase Global saw a 9.8% increase following an upgrade from JPMorgan to "overweight" [7][10] - Ford's shares jumped 12.2% after exceeding third-quarter profit expectations, while General Dynamics also surpassed estimates, leading to a 2.7% increase in its shares [10] - Deckers Outdoor forecasted full-year sales below Wall Street estimates, resulting in a 15.2% decline in its shares [7][10] - Alaska Air's shares fell by 6.1% after the airline reduced its annual forecast [7][10] Market Statistics - Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a ratio of 2.18-to-1 on the NYSE, with 540 new highs and 53 new lows recorded [8][10] - On the Nasdaq, 3,193 stocks rose compared to 1,450 that fell, with a ratio of 2.2-to-1 for advancing issues [8][10] - The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 124 new highs and 44 new lows [8][10] - Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 19.04 billion shares, slightly below the 20.75 billion average over the last 20 trading days [8][10]