Stocks rally on Friday amid upbeat Q3 earnings and rising retail sales

--The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded near its highs, outpacing other indexes on Friday

-- Upbeat earnings reported by major U.S. Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America assisted the rally

-- Higher retail sales in September also fueled buying

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after a week of upbeat earnings boosted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its best week since June. Major indexes rose across the board for the second day in a row.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 382.20 points, or 1.1%, to 35,294.76. The S&P 500 was up by nearly 0.8% at 4,471.37, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.5% to 14,897.34.

Stocks climbed on Friday, with the Dow Jones outpaced the other indexes. Rising bond yields hindered growth stocks and technology stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 5 basis points to 1.57%.

This week, major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America reported their third-quarter earnings. On Friday, Dow Jones leader Goldman Sachs reported stronger-than-expected earnings.

READ MORE: JP Morgan reports 24% rise in profit for Q3 while revenue fails to beat expectations

Goldman reported its earnings per share as $14.93, on revenue of $13.62 billion beating Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Factset reported that 80% of the 41 S&P 500 companies have reported upbeat third-quarter results and have topped earnings-per-share expectations, till this week.

Other financial stocks in the Dow also outperformed, including American Express and Visa, which rose more than 2.5% each.

Better than expected retail sales in September also fueled buying. Market analysts expected a decline in sales which rose by 0.7% last month despite rising inflation and supply chain constraints.

The Fed had earlier stated that the inflation was due to the reopening of the economy that triggered a surge in demand. Strained global supply chains, disrupted by the pandemic, are making it difficult for businesses to access enough supplies on time or at reasonable prices leading to an increase in import prices. Concerns surrounding labor shortage have also threatened economic growth.

In the cryptocurrency segment, bitcoin crossed the $60,000 level as investors are extremely optimistic about the approval of the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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