Wall Street closed sharply higher, capping another strong week with gains led by Apple and other companies that posted even bigger profits over the summer than expected.
The S&P 500 rose 2.5% on Friday and marked its first consecutive weekly gain since August. Equities have recently rallied, partly on hopes that the sharp interest rate hikes that have rattled the market will ease later this year.
More recently, many large US companies have reported higher-than-expected earnings, although the bag remains decidedly mixed. Apple, Intel and Gilead Sciences jumped on strong reports, which helped offset a disheartening forecast from Amazon.
Friday:
The S&P 500 rose 93.76 points, or 2.5%, to 3,901.06.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 828.52 points, or 2.6%, to 32,861.80
The Nasdaq gained 309.78 points, or 2.9%, to 11,102.45.
The Russell 2000 Small Business Index rose 40.60 points, or 2.2%, to 1,846.92.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 148.31 points, or 4%.
The Dow is up 1,179.24 points, or 5.7%.
The Nasdaq is up 242.74 points, or 2.2%.
The Russell 2000 is up 104.68 points, or 6%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 865.12 points, or 18.2%.
The Dow is down 3,476.50 points, or 10%.
The Nasdaq is down 4,542.52 points, or 29%.
The Russell 2000 is down 398.39 points, or 17.7%.
