- US stocks jumped on Friday after US banks reported second-quarter earnings results.
- JPMorgan and Wells Fargo both beat estimates and showed no signs of a slowing economy.
- Investors are expecting the second-quarter earnings season to represent a trough for corporate profits.
US stocks rose on Friday after US banks including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup reported solid second-quarter earnings results.
Results from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo beat analyst estimates, while Citigroup posted mixed results that were weighed down by a disappointment in its investment banking division. Results from all the large-cap banks, as well as asset management giant BlackRock, showed no signs that the economy is on the verge of entering a recession, as some economists expect.
Investors expect second-quarter earnings results to represent a trough for corporate profits before they rebound as inflation continues to fall and the Federal Reserve nears its end of interest rate hikes. The Fed is expected to hike interest rates one more time at its policy meeting later this month.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 4,520.75, up 0.24%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,560.22, up 0.48% (165.08 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 14,184.39, up 0.32%
Here's what else is happening this morning:
- The Biden administration said it will forgive $39 billion in student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers.
- SpaceX has hit a valuation of nearly $150 billion amid another round of share sales by insiders at the space exploration company.
- The US budget deficit ballooned to $2.3 trillion in the 12 months through June – that's a 64% jump from fiscal year 2022.
- China's weak economy is exporting disinflationary trends to the US, and that could help the US bring inflation down without sparking a recession, according to Ed Yardeni.
- Taylor Swift's impact on the economy has caught the eye of the Federal Reserve, as the singer's packed concerts have helped drive a noticeable increase in local economies.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.43% to $76.56 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 0.36% to $81.07.
- Gold fell 0.19% to $1,960.10 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 2 basis points to 3.79%.
- Bitcoin fell 1.02% to $31,153, while ether dropped 0.69% to $1,990.40.