Amex Stock Hits Record High; Oracle and Newmont Plunge

Shares of a major credit card issuer moved higher as a refresh of high-end cards and strong spending among affluent customers helped drive a quarterly earnings beat. Meanwhile, gold prices retreated from their recent highs, exerting pressuring on a major mining company.

Major U.S. equities indexes finished higher to close out a volatile trading week as investors shook off concerns about bad loans at regional banks and U.S.-China trade tensions. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow each rose 0.5% Friday to post gains for the week. See here for more coverage from Investopedia of Friday’s market moves.

Kenvue (KVUE) stock bounced back on Friday, clawing back some of the heavy losses posted in the prior session after a lawsuit in the U.K. claimed that baby powder made by the consumer health products company was linked to cancer. Shares of the Band-Aid, Listerine, and Neutrogena parent company ended 8.4% higher, logging the top daily performance in the S&P 500.

American Express (AXP) shares surged 7.3% to close at an all-time high after the company beat quarterly earnings estimates, with revenue climbing 11% year-over-year to a record $18.43 billion. Amex benefitted from the launch of updated high-end credit cards and strong spending trends among its affluent client base. Shares of fellow card issuer Capital One Financial (COF) gained 4% Friday, partly recovering from a downtick the prior day amid pressure on the financial sector.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) shares added 4.2% following a price target boost by analysts at Goldman Sachs. Earlier this week, the biotechnology company presented positive results from a Phase 3 study of its cancer treatment Trodelvy.

Truist Financial (TFC) also reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, and shares of the financial services firm rose 3.7%. An uptick in fee income, boosted by strength in the wealth management and mortgage banking businesses, helped drive Truist’s strong performance.

Gold prices retreated from record levels, and shares of Newmont (NEM), the world’s largest gold producer, dropped 7.6% Friday. The stock had reached an all-time high Thursday following a rally in parallel with the precious metal’s push higher.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL) sank close to 7%. Although the enterprise software giant provided targets for robust sales and profit growth through fiscal 2030, some Wall Street analysts raised concerns about a lack of details on Oracle’s capital expenditure plans, as well as the company’s heavy reliance on revenue from OpenAI and other major customers.

Moderna (MRNA) shares lost 4.2%. Some analysts have voiced worries about declining revenue from the company’s COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the company’s limited headway on diversifying into other products.