Stock market today: Indexes trade near record highs after a string of solid earnings reports

• US stocks were mostly higher on Friday amid a string of solid third-quarter earnings reports.
• Netflix and Intuitive Surgical beat Wall Street estimates, boosting their stock prices to new record highs.
• 82% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far have surpassed Wall Street’s profit estimates.

US stocks traded higher on Friday, with all three major averages at or near record highs as investors digested third-quarter earnings results.

Netflix’s third-quarter earnings report was strong. It added 5.1 million subscribers and beat Wall Street’s revenue and profit estimates. Netflix stock jumped about 7% in Friday morning trades to near-record highs.

Intuitive Surgical also reported solid third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates for revenues and profits. That stock also jumped about 7% in Friday morning trades to a record high.

With 13% of S&P 500 companies having already reported third-quarter earnings, 82% are beating profit estimates by a median of 6%, while 67% are beating revenue estimates by a median of 2%, according to data from Fundstrat.

Investors are also digesting new data on the housing market, with housing starts in September hitting 1.35 million, down slightly from August’s 1.36 million number. Additionally, building permits dropped to 1.45 million in September from 1.48 million in August.

Looking ahead to next week, investors will be eyeing the release of September’s US leading economic indicators index, data on existing home sales, and consumer sentiment.

Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 5,851.46, up 0.17%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 43,083.60, down 0.36% (-155.45 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 18,484.21, up 0.64%

Here’s what else is going on:

• Bitcoin is on a tear as ‘crypto president’ Donald Trump’s betting-market odds climb.
• Oil prices could soar 62% by early 2025 if the geopolitical situation deteriorates, Citi said.
• Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said he regrets selling his entire stake in Nvidia and is looking to buy it back.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.54% to $69.01 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 1.45% to $73.37 a barrel.
• Gold was higher by 0.55% to $2,722.30 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield was lower by one basis point at 4.08%.
• Bitcoin was higher by 0.67% to $67,861.