(MENAFN) Wall Street closed Friday's session higher as blockbuster corporate earnings powered major indices upward, despite growing divisions among Federal Reserve officials over monetary policy direction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 40.75 points, marking a 0.09% advance to settle at 47,562.87. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 143.81 points, or 0.61%, finishing at 23,724.96, while the S&P 500 added 17.86 points, a 0.26% gain, reaching 6,840.20.

Meanwhile, the Volatility Index (VIX)—Wall Street's "fear index"—ticked up 3.13% to 17.44, signaling modest investor anxiety.

Amazon dominated Friday's trading after reporting explosive third-quarter results. The e-commerce titan's net sales jumped 13% year-over-year, while net profits skyrocketed approximately 39%. The earnings beat sent Amazon shares soaring nearly 10% as investors cheered the company's continued dominance.

Apple also delivered impressive numbers, with net sales climbing 8% during the July-September period and net profits surging 86% compared to the prior year.

Streaming giant Netflix saw its stock rise roughly 3% following Thursday's announcement of a planned 10-for-one stock split, making shares more accessible to retail investors.

Energy sector strength emerged as Chevron shares gained about 3% despite posting lower profits. The oil major's results still exceeded Wall Street forecasts, buoying investor confidence.

On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump signaled potential tariff relief, stating he would lift some levies on Chinese imports if Beijing took effective measures to curb fentanyl trafficking.

Regarding the ongoing US federal shutdown, Trump intensified his attacks on congressional Democrats, whom he accused of incompetence.

Fed officials remained divided on this week's controversial rate cut. Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid revealed he opposed this week's interest rate cut due to concerns over inflation.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, who does not have voting rights on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year, also noted that the labor market was only cooling slowly and that inflation remains too high, arguing that the current economic outlook did not warrant a rate cut.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack also noted that she did not participate in this week's rate cut decision, stating that the Fed should maintain some restrictions to bring down inflation.

However, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic supported the cut, saying that even after rates were lowered, US monetary policy still remained in restrictive.

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