US stocks rise to trade near record highs as investors try to shake off inflation concerns

• US stocks moved higher on Friday as investors try to shake off rising inflation concerns.
• Recent CPI data showed consumer prices are rising at the fastest level since 1990.
• But third-quarter earnings continue to exceed investor expectations, helping push stock higher.

US stocks moved higher to near records on Friday as investors shake off inflation concerns and third-quarter corporate earnings continue to beat expectations.

With 91% of S&P 500 companies having reported earnings, 81% have beat profit estimates by a median of 9% while 72% have beat revenue estimates by an average 5%, according to data from Fundstrat.

Those corporate earnings beats have likely helped investors stomach the continued rise in inflation, with recent CPI data showing the sharpest rise in consumer prices since 1990. Stocks have proved to perform well during periods of rising inflation in the past, as businesses are able to pass on the rise in input costs to consumers via more price hikes, according to Jeremy Siegel.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,656.44, up 0.15%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 36,015.06, up 0.26% (93.83 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,747.95, up 15,747.95%

Rivian's post-IPO surge to a valuation of more than $100 billion makes the EV maker the second most valuable US carmaker after Tesla, and its founder is now worth more than $2 billion.

Elon Musk sold another $690 million worth of Tesla shares on Thursday as he faces a multi-billion dollar tax bill related to deep in-the-money options that have fully vested and are set to expire next year. Musk has sold more than $5 billion in Tesla stock this week.

Nvidia received a rare downgrade from Wedbush to Neutral on Friday, despite continued strong fundamentals and an improving business outlook. The valuation was due to a sky-high valuation.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.46% to $80.40 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 1.12% to $81.94 per barrel.

Gold fell as much as 0.24% to $1,859.40 per ounce.