Dow hits all-time high, soars over 300 points as investors cheer big bank earnings

The Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs on Friday, driven by gains in major banks following third-quarter results, while mixed producer price data backed expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in November.However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq lagged due to an 8.1% drop in Tesla, after the EV maker unveiled its long awaited robotaxi, but did not provide details on how fast it could ramp up production or deal with potential regulatory hurdles.In recent trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 321 points, or 0.8%, to 42,775.The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq was up 0.4%.The Dow touched an intraday record high of 42,786.82, outperforming its peers as major bank stocks boosted the index.Major financial companies kicked off the earnings season on the day, with JPMorgan Chase rising 5% after the lender reported higher-than-expected third-quarter profit and raised its annual interest income forecast.Wells Fargo rose 5.6%, after its profit also beat analysts’ expectations. BlackRock gained 3.9% after the asset manager reported its assets under management had hit a record high for the third straight quarter.Meanwhile, data from the Department of Labor showed the Producer Price Index for final demand was unchanged on a monthly basis in September, compared to the 0.1% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters.However, core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy components, stood at 2.8% on an annual basis, slightly higher than the estimated 2.7% rise.Traders kept bets steady on a 25-basis-point rate cut from the central bank in November, pricing in a nearly 84% chance, according to CME’s FedWatch.“The annual numbers are a little higher and it’s going to take a little time to go through why that is the case, (but) there’s nothing specifically in this number to make markets… change the narrative,” said Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers.All three major indexe...