Stocks closed lower Friday as geopolitical uncertainty ramped up and Treasury yields and oil prices climbed. Market participants also looked ahead to next week's jam-packed earnings and economic calendars, which feature quarterly results from several mega caps, as well as the October Fed meeting.
At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2% at 52,215, the broader S&P 500 was 0.5% lower at 7,623, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was off 0.2% at 25,955 The Dow managed to hold on for a weekly win, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were lower week over week.
Treasury yields resumed their climb on Friday. The yield on the 2-year (+4.9 basis points at 4.684%), 10-year (+4.6 bps, 4.999%) and 30-year (+2.5 bps, 5.324%) Treasuries were all higher at the close.
Oil prices rose, too, after Iran said it is prepared to attack should the U.S. and Israel resume strikes against Tehran. Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 3.8% to $103.27 per barrel, and are now up 14% for the month to date.
Despite higher yields and lofty energy prices, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged when its October meeting concludes next Wednesday afternoon.
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"Recent inflation readings have been on the warm side — especially at the producer level — but a wave of Fed speakers suggesting there was no rush to raise rates has provided a strong counterpoint," says BMO Chief Economist Douglas Porter, who adds that a "cooldown in the AI sector and milder job growth" have taken the heat off the central bank.
Still, he expects the Fed to raise interest rates in December and March.
American Express sinks on layoff news
In single-stock news, American Express (AXP) dropped X3.7 it is cutting 5% of its workforce to make it "leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI," as Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC.
AXP had nearly 77,000 employees at the end of 2025, which suggests roughly 3,850 jobs will be eliminated. The company said it took a $336 million restructuring charge in Q3 as a result.
Still, American Express reported third-quarter earnings of $4.68 per share, up 13% year over year and more than analysts expected. Revenue of $20.1 billion also exceeded estimates. Additionally, AXP raised the low end of its full-year earnings-per-share guidance.
Wall Street remains upbeat toward the blue chip stock, too. Of the 30 analysts covering AXP who are tracked by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 10 say it's a Strong Buy, five have it at Buy and 15 rate it at Hold. This works out to a consensus Buy recommendation.
Bloom Energy sinks on cash flow concerns
Elsewhere on the earnings calendar, Bloom Energy (BE) slumped 11.3% after the manufacturer of fuel cells, which are used to power data centers, reported its third-quarter results.
While BE reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue and raised its full-year guidance, its free cash flow and operating cash flow were both negative.
"Bloom Energy is spending a lot of money striving to boost its fuel cell production fivefold, so some naysayers are worried about its cash burn," says Louis Navellier, InvestorPlace analyst and host of the Navellier Market Buzz. "I want you to know that companies like Bloom Energy have such massive order backlogs, so I disagree with criticisms of Bloom Energy's ramp-up."
Next week is a big one for earnings, too, with Alphabet (GOOGL, -1.2%), Caterpillar (CAT, -2.5%) and Amazon (AMZN, -1.0%) among those reporting.