(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Intel jumps after boosting revenue forecast
* Amazon drops on weak holiday-quarter forecast
* Charter Communications gains on upbeat quarterly results
* Indexes: Dow 0.38%, S&P 0.16%, Nasdaq 0.24%
(Updates to open)
By Arjun Panchadar
Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Friday after
strong results from Intel added to what has largely been a
better-than-expected third-quarter earnings season so far and
offset a dour forecast from Amazon.com.
Intel Corp INTC.O jumped 7% and was on course for its best
day since January 2018 after issuing an upbeat forecast, helping
lift the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX . The stock was
also among the biggest boosts to all three major U.S. indexes.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O dropped 2.9% after the
e-commerce giant forecast revenue and profit for the crucial
holiday quarter below estimates, citing fierce competition.
The wider consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD fell 0.7%
and was one of the biggest decliners among the 11 major S&P 500
sectors.
"We've had some misses ... mostly due to trade war concerns,
but overall, it looks like we're headed for a fairly good
earnings season," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at
Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
After a rocky start to the month mainly on trade tensions
and geopolitical worries, the benchmark S&P 500 index was set
for its best week in six, while the Nasdaq eyed its biggest
percentage gain in seven weeks.
Investors are also counting on the Federal Reserve to lower
borrowing costs for the third time this year at its policy
meeting next week after a clutch of poor economic data earlier
in October.
Bets for a rate cut have surged to over 93% from 53% last
month, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
At 10:28 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 103.09 points, or 0.38%, at 26,908.62, while the S&P 500
.SPX was up 4.86 points, or 0.16%, at 3,015.15. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 19.81 points, or 0.24%, at 8,205.61.
Boeing Co BA.N dropped 1.3% after Indonesian authorities
looking into the Lion Air crash said the world's largest
planemaker failed to grasp risks in the design of cockpit
software on its 737 MAX jet. Apparel maker VF Corp VFC.N fell 8% after reporting
lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue, hurt by sluggish
demand for its North Face and Vans brands. Shares of Charter Communications Inc CHTR.O gained 7.1%
after the cable operator posted better-than-expected quarterly
results as it attracted more customers for its broadband
services, offsetting a drop in pay TV subscribers. Visa Inc V.N rose 1.5% after the world's largest payments
processor beat quarterly profit estimates, helped by growth in
overall customer spending. The next round of earnings due next week includes Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Merck &
Co Inc MRK.N .
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.26-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 44 new lows.