Dow Jumps 500 Points After Banks Report Soaring Profits

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Key Takeaways

• Dow Jones advances over 500 points on Thursday as investors cheer third-quarter results
• Major investment banks report blowout financial results as profits soar

What’s on Focus in the Markets?

Stocks on Wall Street rallied on Thursday as market participants cheered better-than-expected earnings data. Moreover, the S&P500 had its best single-day performance since March. That said, the broad-based benchmark gained 1.7% on the day. Also, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 1.7% as well. Additionally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced more than 500 points or 1.5%.

In mode detail, brightening prospects appeared for the US economy after investment banks revealed their earnings reports.

Strong financial results for the third quarter arrived from Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. All three Wall Street giants delivered robust revenue growth and upbeat guidance for the full-year earnings figures.

In addition, economic reports delivered strong figures, prompting investors to pile back into equities after weeks of hesitancy. On that note, fresh jobless claims data was released on Thursday. First-time filings for unemployment benefits for the week ended Oct. 9 fell to 293,000 from 329,000. The number provided relief to investors as applications have fallen below 300,000 for the first time since the pandemic began.

What’s the Latest News on Bitcoin

Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin continues to make new October highs. The orange coin was steadily pushing toward the $60,000 milestone earlier today. Furthermore, the price of bitcoin reached a session high of $59,980 per coin. In other words, just about 8% away from its all-time record of $64,800 set in April this year.

A report saying the Securities and Exchange Commission would most likely allow Bitcoin ETFs is perhaps fueling the price rally. Early on Friday, Bloomberg reported the SEC has only a few days to either approve, reject, or delay two Bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds. On this note, crypto proponents hope that this would be the first time ever US regulators approve bitcoin ETFs.

Against this backdrop, bitcoin has been pushing higher during the month of October. More precisely, the original cryptocurrency has gained 38% since Oct. 1, and 45% since Sep. 30. Ether, the second-biggest digital currency, rallied 12% over the past three days to trade above $3,820 per coin.

The crypto market has been on a tear over the past couple of weeks. The entire market capitalization of cryptos now hovers just below $2.5tn, up from $1.9tn in early October.

Elsewhere in the Financial Markets

The price of gold jumped above $1,800 per ounce late on Thursday. The safe-haven asset has been rising over the past weeks, gaining about 5% since Sep. 30.

In forex markets, the USD/CAD pair has been declining significantly. The pair has had only two positive days this month as a stronger Canadian dollar is pushing the pair down.

Today’s Economic Calendar (EST times)

• 08:30 am, US, Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Sep)
• 08:30 am, US, Retail Sales (MoM) (Sep)