MARKET SNAPSHOT

All three major U.S. stock indexes rose Friday as Amazon shares soared. Treasury yields were little changed. The dollar strengthened. Oil prices settled higher on U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Gold edged lower.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

The Nasdaq Composite climbed Friday after strong earnings from Amazon and Apple reassured investors about the trajectory of Big Tech.

Amazon shares soared 9.6%, boosted by the fastest cloud-computing growth since 2022 and aggressive plans to raise data-center capacity.

Apple shares flipped between modest gains and losses, finishing 0.4% lower. The company logged record sales and said it expects a big December quarter, with customers upgrading to the new iPhone 17.

The strong results helped relieve investors who are concerned about the likely returns from outsize spending on artificial intelligence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% higher, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%.

Indexes also ended the week and month solidly higher. The Dow industrials and Nasdaq Composite set their longest streaks of monthly gains since January 2018.

Earlier Friday, markets in Asia closed mostly lower.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8%, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.3%, and the ChiNext Price Index dropped 2.3%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.4%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 2.1% after data indicated the economy is showing signs of improvement.

Stocks in Australia were flat, with the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index holding steady.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.7%.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures posted their third straight monthly loss with underlying concerns about oversupply keeping a lid on geopolitcally driven rallies.

OPEC+ was widely expected to agree at the weekend to unwind another 137,000 barrels a day of output cuts in December, and analysts see additional OPEC barrels likely covering any loss of supply from U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies.

Reports that the U.S. was considering strikes against military targets in Venezuela gave prices a lift to end of the week, with WTI settling up 0.7% at $60.98 a barrel, and Brent up 0.1% at $65.07.

Later Friday, President Trump said that he isn't considering ordering military attacks in Venezuela. Asked by reporters on Air Force One about reports that he is weighing airstrikes against Venezuela, Trump responded: "No, it's not true."

WTI ended October down 2.2% and Brent lost 2.9%.

Gold futures finished in the red on the last day of the month.

The front-month contract closed down 0.5% to $3,982.20 per troy ounce. But for October, gold gained 3.7%, its third straight positive monthly performance.

Gold is up over 51% year-to-date. This is reflected in the World Gold Council's report that central banks continue to add to their gold stocks, adding 220 tons in the third quarter, up 28% from the second quarter.

However, year-to-date buying is 634 tons, which is off from 724 tons at this time last year.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

OPEC and Allies Agree to Boost Oil Production, Then Pause

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to boost oil production next month but signaled they would soon pause output increases.

Eight OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia said they would raise production by 137,000 barrels a day in December-the same output increase agreed on for November and October-the group said Sunday after an online meeting.

However, in a statement, the members said they wouldn't increase production in the first three months of next year, citing seasonality.

China Is Filling Up Its Oil Reserves Fast

China has spent months building up its oil reserves. That might come in handy in the wake of the new sanctions the U.S. recently imposed on Russian crude.

During the first nine months of the year, the world's second-largest economy imported on average more than 11 million barrels of oil a day, an amount above the daily production of Saudi Arabia, according to official customs data. Analysts estimate 1 million to 1.2 million of those barrels were stashed in reserves each day.

Low oil prices and concern over Ukraine's repeated attacks on Russia's production facilities help explain the timing of the buying spree, which accelerated in March. China is the world's biggest importer of crude and the largest buyer of Russian oil.

Xi-Trump Deal Leads to Resumed Shipments of Crucial Auto Semiconductors

China will loosen its export restrictions on semiconductors made by Nexperia, its Commerce Ministry said, after the Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based automotive chip maker was caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China trade war, leading to supply disruptions that hit car production.

China will allow exports of Nexperia chips for eligible cases, the Commerce Ministry said Saturday, without specifying the criteria. "As a responsible major power, China fully considers the safety and stability of domestic and international production and supply chains," it said in a statement. It also blamed the Dutch government's "improper interference in internal affairs of companies" for the supply disruption.

Nexperia, embroiled in a trade and geopolitical dispute between Washington and Beijing, stopped shipping chips from China, where it processes most of its products, several weeks ago after the Dutch seized control of the company.

South Korea's Export Growth Slowed in October

South Korea's export growth slowed in October, usually a softer month for trade data as holidays reduce the number of working days during the period.

Still, brisk demand for semiconductors helped stretch the streak of export growth to a fifth straight month.

Outbound shipments from Asia's fourth-largest economy rose 3.6% from a year earlier to $59.57 billion at the start of the fourth quarter, according to preliminary data released by the Trade Ministry on Saturday.

That followed a revised 12.6% gain in September, and beat the 0.9% increase projected by the median forecast of seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: U.S. ISM Data in Focus

U.S. ISM survey data will be closely watched as investors assess whether or not the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again in December. All eyes will also be on whether U.S. lawmakers can agree to end the government shutdown, which prevents the release of key economic data.

Elsewhere, focus will center on central bank interest-rate decisions in the U.K. and Australia, as well as a number of other countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Norway and Malaysia.

In Asia, purchasing managers' surveys, including from China, will be closely watched as U.S. trade policy continues to set the tone for the region.

India's IPO Engine Runs Hot Despite Some Soft Debuts

India has the world's busiest IPO and the buzz there is set to continue, despite tepid post-debut performances.

A series of multi-billion-dollar initial public offerings have made India a listings powerhouse. EY data show that India had more IPOs in the first three quarters of the year than anywhere else in the world.

Some debuts have made a splash. More than a few have fizzled.

Expected Major Events for Monday

00:00/AUS: Oct Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge

00:30/AUS: Sep Building Approvals

00:30/INA: Oct Indonesia Manufacturing PMI

00:30/SKA: Oct South Korea Manufacturing PMI

00:30/TAI: Oct Taiwan Manufacturing PMI

00:30/MAL: Oct Malaysia Manufacturing PMI

00:30/THA: Oct Thailand Manufacturing PMI

00:30/PHI: Oct Philippines Manufacturing PMI

00:30/AUS: Oct ANZ-Indeed Job Ads

01:45/CHN: Oct China Manufacturing PMI

04:00/INA: Sep Trade Balance

04:00/INA: Oct CPI

05:30/AUS: Oct Commodity Price Index

08:00/TAI: Oct CIER PMI

13:00/SIN: Oct Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index $(PMI)$

23:00/SKA: Oct CPI

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2025 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

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