Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market's opening gains pushed the S&P 500 (+0.9%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.3%), and DJIA (+1.1%) to record highs as the long-awaited September Consumer Price Index (0.3%; Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) cemented expectations for two additional rate cuts from the Fed this year. 

Equities also benefit from another heavy earnings batch that featured several prominent names beating expectations. Additionally, the recent backdrop of uncertainty around the U.S. and China's trade relations now appears more optimistic, as President Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi next week. 

Similar to yesterday's action, the top-weighted information technology sector (+1.7%) is near the top of the leaderboard, driving the index-level advance. 

Intel (INTC 38.12, -0.04, -0.09%) posted a strong Q3 earnings report (though has since seen some profit taking), adding to positive sentiment across chipmaker names. 

Reuters published a report highlighting IBM's (IBM 309.63, +24.63, +8.64%) belief that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 250.54, +15.55, +6.62%) processors can effectively run a critical quantum computing error correction algorithm. Both stocks hold some of the widest gains in the sector, with AMD's advance contributing to a 2.1% gain in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. 

In other tech-related news, Alphabet (GOOG 261.11, +7.38, +2.91%) trades higher after Anthropic announced an expansion of its use of Google Cloud's TPU chips. The stock is a standout among the mega-cap names, contributing to a 1.1% gain in the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF and pushing the communication services sector (+1.3%) higher. 

The financials sector (+1.3%) is another point of strength, supported by gains across its major banking names, while Coinbase Global (COIN 344.51, +21.75, +6.74%) leads the sector after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral. 

The utilities sector (+1.5%) rounds out the four S&P 500 sectors with gains wider than 1.0% as a majority of its components trade higher. 

Only the energy (-0.8%), materials (-0.3%), and consumer staples (-0.2%) sectors move lower. 

On the earnings front, Ford Motor (F 13.61, +1.27, +10.29%) is one of the top-performing S&P 500 names after delivering stronger-than-expected Q3 results, with both EPS and revenue exceeding estimates.

Outside of the S&P 500, the prospect of further Fed easing after this morning's CPI release has the Russell 2000 (+1.6%) outperforming. The S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.9%) also holds a solid gain. 

Ultimately, the market's broad-based strength underscores renewed optimism around monetary policy and corporate earnings, with rate-cut expectations and upbeat results fueling a risk-on tone across most sectors.

Reviewing today's data:

• September CPI 0.3% (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%); Prior 0.4%, September Core CPI 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%); Prior 0.3%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that CPI and Core CPI were both cooler than expected, which will keep the market thinking that the FOMC will announce a 25-basis point rate cut at the conclusion of next week's policy meeting and should not upset expectations for another cut in December.
• October S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI - Prelim 52.2; Prior 52.0
• October S&P Global U.S. Services PMI - Prelim 55.2; Prior 54.2
• October Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment - Final 53.6 (Briefing.com consensus 55.0); Prior 55.0
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the overall sentiment has remained pressured for the third month in a row amid persistently high inflation expectations.