Dow Nabs Another Perfect Week Amid Earnings Deluge

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) simply could not be stopped this past week. Worrisome economic data out of China did nothing to detain the blue-chip index's win streak, with a strong performance from Microsoft (MSFT) helping it conquer the 35,000 level for the first time since April 2022. Both the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) enjoyed solid gains of their own, closing at their highest levels in more than a year as they marked seven wins in eight sessions.

Earnings form Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) ultimately threw off the SPX and IXIC, but the DJI held tight to its gains. Ultimately, the latter scored its longest win streak since August 2017 with nine consecutive wins, and is gunning for its 10th gain at the time of this writing -- another perfect week. The IXIC was the only one on track to miss out on weekly wins, with volatility set to ramp up heading into options expiration and a Nasdaq-100 (NDX) rebalancing coming up.

Notable Earnings Results

Bank names were among the first to step into the earnings confessional this week, with Charles Schwab (SCHW), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) surging in response to their respective reports. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin (LMT) pulled back despite a beat-and-raise driven by strong demand for weapons, and Carvana (CVNA) popped after its earnings beat was fueled by a deal to cut its outstanding debt by over $1.2 billion.

Travel stocks also had their turn, with American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) getting attention from options traders after issuing results. Elsewhere, Netflix's revenue miss and dismal forecast weighed, as did TSLA squeezed margins  due to lower prices. The week wrapped up with reports from two logistics names, but there will be more to unpack next week, with General Electric (GE) on the docket.

Other Major Headlines

While earnings were in focus, other major headlines also captured investors' attention. Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) launched seven satellites for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) announced plans to open locations in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in 2024. Social media giant Snap (SNAP) popped on a flurry of price-target hikes, while Cinemark (CNK) hit a three-month low after a downgrade to "neutral."

Blue-Chip, Tech Earnings Up Next

The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) interest rate decision is due out next week, and will be accompanied by tech and blue-chip earnings reports. Expect to hear from 3M (MMM), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Boeing (BA), Coca-Cola Cola (KO), Intel (INTC) McDonald's (MCD), and Microsoft (MSFT), among others. As you prepare for what is ahead, check out this entry point looming for SPX bulls, and keep tabs on these major levels for the index.