US markets closed higher on Friday, buoyed by strong earnings from Amazon. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.61% to 23,724.96 and the S&P 500 gained 0.26% to 6,840.20, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 40.75 points, or 0.09%, to 47,562.87.
Amazon shares jumped 9.6% after reporting that its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, saw third-quarter revenue rise 20%, outpacing analyst expectations. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said AWS was “growing at a pace we haven’t seen since 2022,” driven by strong demand for AI and core infrastructure services.
AI and tech stocks advance
Other AI-linked stocks rallied alongside Amazon. Palantir rose 3% and Oracle gained 2.2%, as investors bet on accelerating enterprise demand for artificial intelligence tools.
Netflix shares advanced 2.7% after the streaming company announced a 10-for-1 stock split, while Tesla rose 3.7%, rounding out a strong day for technology shares.
The week and month both ended on solid ground for Wall Street: the S&P 500 rose 0.7% for the week, while the Nasdaq gained 2.2% and the Dow 0.8%. October saw broader gains, with the S&P up 2.3%, the Nasdaq up 4.7%, and the Dow climbing 2.5%, marking six straight months of gains for the Dow, its longest winning streak since 2018.
Inflation surprises complicate RBA outlook
In Australia, attention turns to the Reserve Bank ahead of Tuesday’s policy meeting. Economists now expect the central bank will revise inflation forecasts higher after quarterly data came in well above expectations.
Core inflation rose 1% in the September quarter, exceeding the RBA’s forecast of 0.6%, forcing markets to abandon hopes of a Melbourne Cup Day rate cut. Bond traders now see no chance of a move, keeping the cash rate at 3.6%.
Futures indicate the ASX 200 will open slightly lower on Monday, down five points, or 0.1%, to 8887.
Westpac profit dips
Westpac reported a full-year net profit of $6.97 billion, down 2% but ahead of analyst expectations. Excluding notable items, profit slipped 1% to $6.92 billion. The bank declared a fully franked full-year dividend of $1.53 per share, while lending rose 6% year-on-year. Home loan growth of 5% lagged the broader system average, and its net interest margin edged one basis point lower to 1.94%, citing “persistent competition” in lending and deposits.
