Stock market news live updates: Stocks surge as Apple boom outweighs Amazon miss

U.S. equities rallied Friday, as an earnings beat from Apple helped stocks elbow their way past a week of Wall Street misses for Big Tech.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) bounced more than 800 points, or 2.6%, to a two-month high, as it also notched a fourth-straight week of gains and its best week of the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXI) rose 2.9%. The moves came even as Treasury yields climbed back above 4%.

On the economic data front, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure showed prices are still running hot across the U.S. economy.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) rose 0.5% in September from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday — a slight slowdown from August’s month-over-month pace of 0.6%. The gauge showed a 5.1% increase year over year, an acceleration from the annual 4.9% seen in August. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected increases of 0.5%, and 5.2%, respectively.

Personal income increased 0.4% over the month and consumer spending 0.6%, compared to economist estimates of 0.4% increases for each measure.

Amazon (AMZN) shares tanked nearly 7% Friday after the e-commerce giant issued fourth-quarter sales guidance that missed Wall Street estimates and delivered disappointing Q3 results. The flub marks the second consecutive quarter that weak financials from the company have spurred double-digit percentage declines in its stock price.

But Apple (AAPL) offered a “dim light in an otherwise dark earnings season,” faring better than its Big Tech peers as they grappled with macroeconomic hurdles posed by inflation, rising interest rates, and currency headwinds. The company reported record revenue but missed analyst projections in key categories such as iPhone and services. Shares rose about 8%, marking the tech giant’s best day since July 2020.

Elsewhere in the technology spotlight, Elon Musk assumed ownership of Twitter (TWTR) after a dragged-out bid to purchase the social media platform was finalized late Thursday. The Tesla CEO fired top executives upon the completion of his $44 billion acquisition of the company and announced plans to reverse lifetime bans from the website.

A busy start to Friday for investors was also marked by other reports from energy conglomerates Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), which both reported earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates – lifting shares of each name up by roughly 2.9% and 1.1%, respectively.

SoFi head of investment strategy Liz Young said in a note that she expects further downward revisions and other notable misses this quarter and next, which are likely to challenge the market further. Young noted, however, that on the plus side, this means that investors can tick the box on “earnings get hit.”

“As we move through that process, next up we’ll likely see the economy hit the skids in a bit more dramatic fashion than we’ve seen thus far,” Young said. “There are already several classic recession warning signs in place, and the risks that still lie ahead are bringing the likelihood of an actual recession closer into view.”