04:26 PM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at all-time highs Friday, with the latter aided in part by a post-earnings rally in Netflix ( NFLX ) shares.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,864.7, while the Dow gained 0.1% to 43,275.9. The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.6% to 18,489.6. Communication services led the gainers among sectors, while financials were little changed. Energy was the sole decliner.

For the week, the Dow advanced nearly 1%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9%. The Nasdaq added 0.8%.

In company news, Netflix ( NFLX ) shares jumped 11%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Late Thursday, the streaming giant logged higher-than-expected third-quarter financial results as its new subscriber count surpassed Wall Street's estimates.

Wedbush Securities said in a Friday note that Netflix's ( NFLX ) ability to leverage content spending is "impressive" and should help it further gain a competitive edge in streaming.

Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) shares surged 10%, the second-best performer on the Nasdaq and the third-best on the S&P 500. Late Thursday, the robotic surgical systems company posted better-than-expected third-quarter results amid double-digit growth in procedure volumes.

CVS Health ( CVS ) on Friday named David Joyner as chief executive, while the healthcare giant issued a preliminary third-quarter earnings outlook that came in below the Street's estimates. The company's shares dropped 5.2%, the second-steepest decline on the S&P 500.

American Express ( AXP ) was the worst performer on the Dow, down 3.2%, after the payments company's third-quarter results increased year over year, but revenue fell short of market estimates.

The US two-year yield fell 4.1 basis points to 3.95%, while the 10-year rate lost 1.9 basis points to 4.08%.

In economic news, US housing starts decreased last month as gains in single-family projects were more than offset by a decline in the multi-family component, government data showed.

"Looking further ahead, we look for starts to begin a recovery that gains more traction next year, eventually pushing starts up to an annualized pace of 1.5 (million)," Oxford Economics said. "We expect starts to be supported by lower mortgage rates as the (Federal Reserve) continues to cut interest rates, less restrictive credit conditions for builders and the long-standing need for more supply."

US existing home sales in September fell to an all-time low aside from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with overall deal closings in Florida impacted by Hurricane Helene, Redfin (RDFN) said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.9% to $69.37 a barrel. "Oil prices were headed for their biggest weekly loss in more than a month on worries of lower demand," D.A. Davidson said in a note to clients.

Gold rose 1% to $2,734.70 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 6.5% to $33.84 per ounce.