Amazon helped fire Wall Street to a rally on Friday, but a cautious tone from the US Federal Reserve on interest rates kept investor optimism a little cool.
Amazon, the world's biggest e-commerce marketplace, did the heavy lifting as its stock surged nearly 11 per cent after it reported on Friday that its third-quarter results beat estimates across the board.
Apple also beat analyst forecasts on strong iPhone 17 sales and updated its guidance for the key holiday quarter.
Both trillion-dollar companies provided some relief after fellow tech majors Microsoft, Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Google owner Alphabet underwhelmed investors with their news.
However, investors remained on guard over the Fed's cautious tone after it cut interest rates again this week.
A divided US central bank slashed interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on market expectations for another rate cut later this year.
Mr Powell hinted at a discord among Fed officials who are dealing with risks to both sides of its inflation and employment mandates. The Fed's tool to tackle those two risks – interest rates – is not able to handle both at once, leaving the central bank to face what Mr Powell calls a “no risk-free path for policy”.
“Overall, Big Tech wrapped up the earnings season on solid footing despite mixed price reactions – largely a Fed-driven sentiment issue rather than a fundamental one,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average – whose momentum stalled after Mr Powell's comments – inched up 0.1 per cent at the closing bell. The S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6 per cent. The indices were up 0.8 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, for the week.
For October, the S&P 500 increased 2.3 per cent and the Dow rose 2.5 per cent to notch six months of gains in a row. The Nasdaq's streak was up at seven after it jumped 4.7 per cent last month.
Year-to-date, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 11.8 per cent, 16.3 per cent and 22.9 per cent, respectively.
In Europe, major markets fell, with Britain's FTSE 100 retreating 0.4 per cent following the Fed's stance and as investors look forward to the Bank of England's rate decision next week.
Paris' CAC 40 declined 0.7 per cent, while Frankfurt's Dax settled 0.7 per cent lower.
Earlier in Asia, stocks were mixed despite trade tensions between the US and China cooling down, after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping ironed out a detente.
The two leaders met in South Korea on Thursday and came to terms on a number of issues, including reducing tariffs and pausing export controls.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 ended up 2.1 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite both dropped 1.4 per cent. Seoul's Kospi added 0.5 per cent to hit a record high.
In commodities, oil prices rebounded but still posted a third monthly decline in a row, capping a volatile trading session set off by reports that the US was ready to attack Venezuela. The market is also looking forward to the Opec+ meeting on Sunday, in which the supergroup is expected to agree on another production increase.
Brent added 0.62 per cent to settle at $64.77 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.68 per cent to close at $60.98 a barrel.
Gold, meanwhile, recovered from earlier losses, as the Fed's hawkish tone weighed over investor sentiment.
The precious metal, widely regarded as a safe-haven asset, was nearly flat at $4,002.93 an ounce. Gold hit an all-time peak of $4,381.21 on October 20, but has since cooled down.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
About Tenderd
Started: May 2018
Founder: Arjun Mohan
Based: Dubai
Size: 23 employees
Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
