Key market drivers

Strong tech earnings: Better-than-expected results from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) boosted the market. Amazon surged more than 10% after its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, posted strong growth, easing investor concerns about the high costs associated with artificial intelligence (AI) spending.
AI-related optimism: Shares of other AI-related companies, like Palantir (NYSE:PLTR), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), also saw gains.
Mixed energy earnings: Earnings reports from oil and gas giants Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) were mixed. Chevron beat estimates, while Exxon missed expectations, although both pledged to increase production.
Earnings disappointment earlier in the week: The positive news on Friday follows a weaker performance earlier in the week, where Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) disappointed investors with their AI spending outlook, causing their stocks to fall despite beating earnings estimates.

Looking ahead

Winning month: Despite the mid-week jitters, all three major U.S. indexes are poised to finish October with solid monthly gains.
Seasonal boost: The market is heading into a historically favorable period for stocks, with November and December often seeing gains.
Federal Reserve: Following the Fed's recent rate cut and comments from Chair Jerome Powell, some uncertainty remains about future rate cuts.