Wall Street, Bitcoin Have Strong Days

The good mood on Wall Street carried over into Friday, helping lift the market to its best week in months. Strong earnings reports—from Goldman Sachs in particular on Friday—as well as encouraging economic data contributed to the strong day.

• The Dow rose 382 points, or 1%, to 35,294. The index is now only about 1% off its all-time high, reports CNBC.
• The S&P 500 rose 33 points, or 0.7%, to 4,471. That put the benchmark index up nearly 2% for the week, its best jump since July, reports the Wall Street Journal.
• The Nasdaq rose 73 points, or 0.5%, to 14,897.
• Bitcoin continued its October surge and is now above $61,000. Reports that the SEC is poised to approve the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund fueled the rally.

• Goldman Sachs' strong third quarter (earnings were up 60%) followed on the heels of similarly strong reports elsewhere in the banking industry. “The banks painted a strong and healthy picture of the US consumer,” Edward Moya of Oanda tells CNBC. “Wall Street can’t turn negative on the economy after seeing reserve releases, moderating trading revenue, mixed loan growth, and a consumer willing to take on debt.”
• A new government report out Friday showed that retail sales remain resilient, with sales at stores, restaurants, and other establishments up 0.7% in September, per the AP. That's much higher than expected; most analysts expected a decline.

(More stock market stories.)