[New York Stock Exchange] Three Major Indices Close Higher as Amazon Surges

Some Fed Officials Make Hawkish Remarks

The three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher. In particular, strong earnings from some technology stocks, such as Amazon, improved investor sentiment. However, as the desire to realize profits grew following the recent rally, the indices pared their gains during the session.

AFP Yonhap News

On October 31 (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which focuses on blue-chip stocks, closed at 47,562.87, up 40.75 points (0.09%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 Index, which tracks large-cap stocks, rose 17.86 points (0.26%) to close at 6,840.20, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index gained 143.82 points (0.61%) to finish at 23,724.96.

On this day, the market saw a recovery in investor sentiment, particularly for technology stocks, thanks to strong earnings from Amazon and Apple. After the market closed the previous day, Amazon announced that its third-quarter revenue reached 180.17 billion dollars and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at 1.95 dollars-both figures exceeding expectations. The company received positive reviews for both its cloud services and capital expenditures (CAPEX) segments, leading to a sharp 9.58% surge in its stock price. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, stated, "We are growing at the fastest pace since 2022," and added, "We are experiencing strong demand for AI and core infrastructure."

Apple also beat expectations with third-quarter revenue of 102.47 billion dollars and EPS of 1.85 dollars. However, disappointing sales in Greater China became a focal point, causing the stock to trade slightly higher during the session before ending the day with a slight decline. Brian Mulberry, portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, said, "As the adoption of AI accelerates, 600 billion dollars in capital expenditures are planned for 2026," and added, "Investors will pay close attention to how such spending translates into increased AI revenue for each company."

Meanwhile, hawkish remarks from key Federal Reserve officials dampened expectations for interest rate cuts and weakened investor sentiment. Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, explained his vote to hold rates steady at this month's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting by saying, "Inflation remains elevated, and there are concerns about its potential to spread." He added, "If the Fed's firm commitment to the 2% inflation target comes into question, cutting rates could actually be harmful." Lorie Logan, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, also argued, "The benchmark interest rate should not have been cut by 25 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) at the October FOMC meeting," and insisted, "Rates should not be lowered in December either," citing the high likelihood that inflation will remain above the 2% target for too long.

By sector, consumer discretionary stocks soared more than 4%, driven by sharp gains in Amazon and Tesla, which are included in this sector.

By stock, Netflix rose 2.74% after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split. Tesla jumped 3.74% as buying interest in consumer discretionary stocks intensified. Meanwhile, Meta fell 2.72% as concerns persisted over its AI infrastructure investments.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of the federal funds rate remaining unchanged through December in the federal funds futures market was reflected at 31.2%. The probability of a 25 basis point cut dropped to 68.8%.