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Three main benchmarks achieve sixth straight weekly gain

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Weekly indexes up: Dow 0.96%, S&P 500 0.85%, Nasdaq 0.79%

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Netflix ( NFLX ) jumps on growth forecast

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American Express ( AXP ), SLB down following results

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Friday indexes up: Dow 0.09%, S&P 500 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.63%

(Adds closing prices, weekly details)

By David French

Oct 18 (Reuters) -

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 chalked up

record closing highs on Friday, with the Nasdaq also in positive

territory, as markets were boosted by an earnings-driven jump in

Netflix ( NFLX ) shares and broader gains across technology stocks.

All three major Wall Street benchmarks also comfortably

secured a sixth straight weekly gain, their longest weekly

winning streaks since late 2023.

For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, the Nasdaq Composite

advanced 0.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1%.

Shares of Netflix ( NFLX ) jumped 11.1% to a record closing

high after the streaming giant topped Wall Street estimates for

subscriber additions and said it expected continued growth

through the end of the year.

Many of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, which

have driven much of Wall Street's rally this year, rose.

Apple ( AAPL ) gained 1.2% after data showed a sharp

increase in new iPhone sales in China, while chip heavyweight

Nvidia ( NVDA ) advanced 0.8% after BofA Global Research hiked

its price target on the stock.

Netflix's ( NFLX ) increase lifted the communication services sector

0.9%, making it the largest gainer among the 11 S&P

500 sectors, while information technology rose 0.5%.

"It's kind of the 'what's not to like' market," said David

Waddell, chief executive of Waddell & Associates, citing

positive economic data, disinflation and upbeat earnings and

forecasts from corporate America.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 23.20 points, or 0.40%,

to 5,864.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced

115.94 points, or 0.63%, to 18,489.55. The Dow Jones Industrial

Average gained 36.86 points, or 0.09%, at 43,275.91.

For the Dow, it was the fifth session in the last six that

it had posted a record closing high. However, its gains on

Friday were restrained by American Express ( AXP ), which lost

3.1% after the credit card company's quarterly revenue missed

estimates.

Financial companies have had a broadly positive earnings

season so far. The S&P Banks index slipped 0.1% though,

ending its string of wins at five.

The upbeat earnings of financial companies, and broadly

positive economic data, have helped sustain the three main

indexes' grind upwards in recent days.

However, stretched valuations - the S&P 500 is trading at

nearly 22 times forward earnings - along with high expectations

for corporate results and potential volatility around the Nov. 5

U.S. presidential election, could leave stocks vulnerable to a

pullback.

David Waddell of Waddell & Associates noted though that

strong corporate earnings could override any political

considerations or concerns about overdone valuations.

"We have gotten all we're going to get from multiple

expansion, so I think the path forward is completely reliant on

earnings," he said. "We're priced for pretty-darn-good earnings,

so it could create a disturbance if we don't get them, but

absent of recession, I think the bull is intact."

Small-cap stocks have attracted investor buying in recent

days, with both the Russell 2000 and S&P Small Cap 600

outperforming major indexes for the week. Both small-cap

indexes were down slightly on Friday, though.

Energy was the only S&P sector which dropped. It

fell 0.4%, as it was bogged down by lower oil prices and a 4.7%

decline in SLB after it posted earnings below

expectations. This dragged down fellow oilfield services

providers Baker Hughes ( BKR ) and Halliburton ( HAL ) by 1.3%

and 2.1%, respectively.

The energy index was the week's worst-performing sector,

dropping 2.6%, as U.S. crude prices slumped 7% due to concerns

over Chinese demand and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

CVS Health ( CVS ) dropped 5.2% after it replaced CEO Karen

Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024

profit forecast.

The news also weighed on other health insurers, including

Cigna ( CI ) and Elevance Health ( ELV ). The latter, which fell

3.1%, closed at its lowest level in nearly 15 months.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.62 billion shares,

compared with the 11.56 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.