Stock market climbs as Wall Street’s focus shifts to earnings

Traders
work on the floor of the NYSE in New York
Thomson Reuters

Stocks jumped Friday as Wall
Street shook off fears about rising rates and the prospect of
slowing economic growth around the world. 

The Dow Jones industrial average
jumped 0.6%, or more than 150 points. The Nasdaq composite gained
1%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.

Overnight,
China reported its economy expanded at the slowest pace in a
decade during the third quarter. Gross domestic product rose
by an annualized 6.5%, a rate not seen since 2009 and compared
with expectations for 6.6% growth.

Top Chinese policymakers,
including Vice Premier Liu He,
jumped in to reassure businesses and investors who were
already shaken by the steepest fall in Chinese equities in three
years. Jason Draho, head of Americas asset allocation at UBS,
said talk of stimulus programs offered markets some
comfort.

“How much and how soon the
stimulus will arrive is uncertain, so far to soon to say this is
a turning point,” he said. “Good news on China’s growth and trade
are two catalysts the market needs to see to get more positive on
equities.”

Meanwhile, some are worried the
Federal Reserve could raise borrowing rates at a pace that may
become slightly restrictive. In attempt to keep inflation in
check and the economy from overheating, the central bank signaled
this week that it was on track to gradually continue
tightening.

Accendo Markets research analyst
Artjom Hatsaturjants said in an email that solid earnings are
helping Wall Street brush off wider concerns.

Paypal Holdings topped Wall Street expectations and reported
a 78% jump in the volume of Venmo payments.
Procter & Gamble also beat, helped by unexpectedly strong
demand for its beauty products.

“Next week will bring the peak of
the US reporting wave … and investors are looking to capture as
much of that positive earnings sentiment as possible moving into
the weekend,” Hatsaturjants said.

Later Friday, the National
Association of Realtors will report existing home sales. Data out
earlier this week showed housing starts and building permits fell
more than expected in September.