**Seeking Alpha News Quiz: Test Your Knowledge on This Week’s Biggest Investing Events**
Up for a challenge? Test your knowledge on the biggest events in the investing world over the past week by taking the newest Seeking Alpha News Quiz. See how you stack up against the competition!
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**Wall Street Marks Impressive Gains**
Wall Street on Friday tagged a three-week win streak and closed out October with a six-month positive run. This underscores the U.S. market’s remarkable recovery from April’s lows. Sentiment this week was lifted by big tech earnings, positive trade developments, and another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
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**Federal Reserve’s Rate Cut and Mixed Signals**
As widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points and announced it would end the central bank’s balance sheet winddown. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell tempered enthusiasm by warning that a December rate cut is “far from” a foregone conclusion, adding uncertainty to the market’s expectations.
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**Earnings Season Highlights**
Five of the “Magnificent Seven” companies reported their results this week with mixed outcomes:
– **Meta Platforms (META)** disappointed investors after incurring a nearly $16 billion tax charge impacting its bottom line.
– **Microsoft (MSFT)** stock slipped despite strong results, including solid Azure growth and beating expectations.
– **Apple (AAPL)** shares responded tepidly after missing quarterly revenue expectations for iPhones and China, which offset positive sales guidance.
– **Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL)** gained momentum after reporting its first-ever quarter with $100 billion in revenue.
– **Amazon (AMZN)** shares soared, beating estimates for net sales, profit, and subscription revenues.
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**Political Developments: Trade Truce Between U.S. and China**
On the political front, President Donald Trump returned from a trip to Asia where he met and struck deals with several leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping. The world’s two largest economies reached a truce over rare earths and critical minerals, easing trade tensions.
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**Market Performance Summary**
For the week:
– The benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) gained +0.7%
– The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added +0.8%
– The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged +2.2%
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**Preview Next Week’s Major Events**
Stay ahead by reading a preview of next week’s major market-moving events in Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch.
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**Seeking Alpha’s Calls of the Week**
– *I Can’t Say ‘Buy Energy Fuels’ (UUUU) Loud Enough*
– *American Tower (AMT) Has It All: Value, Growth, Dividend*
– *ONEOK (OKE) Delivers Record Results, Primed For Rebound*
– *Expand Energy (EXE): Western Haynesville Steals The Show*
– *Meta’s (META) Q3 Selloff May Be A Gift For Long-Term Investors*
– *Here’s Why I’m Downgrading AMD (AMD) Ahead Of Earnings*
– *This Is Visa’s (V) Year, Mastercard (MA) Downgraded To Hold*
– *ASGI: Utilities Getting Hotter With Lower Rates, But Not A Buy*
– *BigBear.ai (BBAI): Valuation Rally Amid Vanishing Fundamentals*
– *Bearish On D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) – Sell The Trump Bump*
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**Weekly Movement Wrap-Up**
Stay tuned for more updates and insights as the market evolves. Take the Seeking Alpha News Quiz to challenge your knowledge and stay engaged with the latest in investing news!
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4836671-what-moved-markets-this-week?source=feed_all_articles
