The NASDAQ Composite rose Friday, trying to recover some of this week's steep losses. Amazon gave a boost to tech-related shares on the back of strong quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 132.83 points by midday Friday at 32,651.47
The S&P 500 index forged ahead 7.25 points to 4,144.48.
The NASDAQ progressed 143.75 points, or 1.1%, to 12,739.35
Amazon added 8% after the e-commerce giant trounced analysts' expectations for revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Other mega-cap stocks such as Microsoft followed Amazon shares higher.
Ford dropped nearly 9%, however, after the company missed third-quarter earnings expectations and pulled its guidance for the year, citing the UAW strike. Chevron shares were down more than 5% after the energy giant reported earnings.
All three major averages are on track for steep weekly losses. The Dow and S&P 500 are down 1% and 1.8%, respectively, for the week. The NASDAQ has fallen 2% in that time, dragged down from steep declines in Meta Platforms and Google-parent company Alphabet.
Traders also weighed new inflation data after the core personal consumption expenditures reading for September was released.
Core PCE increased 0.3% last month and 3.7% year over year, matching estimates from economists polled by Dow Jones. Consumer spending increased 0.7%, however, surpassing estimates of 0.5%. PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded a mite, raising yields to 4.86% from Thursday's 4.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 93 cents to $84.14 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $8.40 to $1,989.10.