Company Performance - Amazon reported third-quarter revenue of $180.2 billion, exceeding Wall Street's estimate of $177.9 billion, leading to a stock surge of 9.6% [1][9] - AWS, Amazon's cloud unit, experienced a 20% revenue increase, marking its fastest growth since 2022, with CEO Andy Jassy highlighting strong AI adoption and infrastructure demand [1][9] - Netflix's stock rose 2.7% following the announcement of a 10-for-1 stock split, which has sparked speculation about its potential inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average [2][11] - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) achieved a remarkable 58% gain in October, its best monthly performance since 2001, driven by strong demand for AI and data center chips [17][26] Market Trends - The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow all closed higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.7% for the week and 2.3% for October, marking its sixth consecutive monthly rise, the longest streak since 2018 [3][12] - Year-to-date performance shows the Nasdaq up 22%, the S&P 500 more than 16%, and the Dow 12%, reflecting ongoing optimism around AI and resilient earnings [3][12] - Analysts expect momentum to continue into November, historically the best month for the S&P 500, with an average gain of 1.8% since 1950 [4][25] Sector Performance - The rally in Amazon's stock triggered gains across AI-related stocks, with Palantir Technologies rising 3% and Oracle gaining 2.2% as investors focused on the AI sector [10][20] - Reddit's shares surged 14% after reporting a 68% year-over-year revenue increase to $585 million, along with a positive outlook for Q4 [26] - Getty Images' stock skyrocketed 19% following a multi-year AI content licensing partnership with Perplexity AI, integrating Getty's visual content into AI search tools [27] Economic Factors - Analysts have raised concerns about inflation risks, with Bank of America's Aditya Bhave noting that tariffs have pushed prices higher, impacting consumer goods [4][28] - The cost of Halloween chocolate has surged nearly 30% year-over-year due to rising cocoa prices, affecting candy makers like Hershey [28][29] - The U.S.–China trade truce is seen as a stabilizing factor for global equities, contributing to a cautiously bullish sentiment on Wall Street [7][30]
US stock market ends the October on a strong note — How did the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow perform? Here’s the top gainers and losers on Wall Street