Wall Street's Four Main Benchmarks Start the Week Higher as Inflation Data Nears

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2026 /CNW/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary - All four of the main U.S. stock benchmarks were trading higher in the first half hour of Monday's session. As of 9:57 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 125.70 points, or 1.70%, at 7,502.56, the Nasdaq Composite was up 539.15 points, or 2.19%, at 25,118.58, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 727.61 points, or 1.42%, at 52,013.34, and the small cap Russell 2000 was up 53.59 points, or 1.95%, at 2,807.70. The broad start comes one day before the Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish its October Consumer Price Index, and several large companies that reported results over the past two weeks were among the stocks moving in early trading. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET), and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL).

A week built around inflation data

The calendar is a large part of the backdrop. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release schedule, the Consumer Price Index for October 2026 is due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, November 10, and the Producer Price Index for October 2026 follows at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, November 13.

Those reports land about two weeks after the Federal Reserve's most recent policy decision. In its October 28 statement, the Federal Open Market Committee said it "decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-3/4 to 4 percent." The Committee also wrote that "Economic activity is expanding at a strong pace" and that "Inflation remains elevated."

Among the session's early movers were companies with fresh quarterly numbers on the table, spread across online retail and cloud computing, consumer hardware, internet infrastructure, data center networking and travel.

Retail, cloud and the iPhone

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was up 5.33% as of 9:57 a.m. ET. In its third quarter results released October 29, the company reported that net sales increased 12% to $201.9 billion, compared with $180.2 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Operating income was $28.1 billion and operating margin was 13.9%, which Amazon called its highest operating margin ever, while AWS net sales increased 39.3% to a $184 billion annualized revenue run rate.

"Our AWS investment in functionality and infrastructure is working, with over 39% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 ($184 billion revenue run rate) and projected revenue growth rates of over 40% both in 2027 and in 2028," said Andy Jassy, President and CEO, Amazon.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was up 1.89% at the same time stamp. The company's fiscal 2026 fourth quarter report, covering the quarter ended September 26, 2026, showed quarterly revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent year over year, and diluted earnings per share of $2.10, up 14 percent year over year, a figure that included a favorable impact of $0.05 from tariff refunds.

"Today, Apple is proud to report a September quarter revenue record of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent from a year ago, with iPhone reaching a September quarter record and Services reaching an all-time high, capping off our best fiscal year ever," said John Ternus, Apple's CEO.

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The infrastructure behind the internet and AI

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) was up 8.84% as of 9:57 a.m. ET. Its third quarter 2026 results, released November 5, showed revenue of $782.5 million, an increase of 39% year over year, and current remaining performance obligations up 37% year over year. For the fourth quarter, Cloudflare expects total revenue of $845.0 to $846.0 million, and for the full year it expects total revenue of $2,963.0 to $2,964.0 million.

Matthew Prince, co-founder & CEO of Cloudflare, said: "The third quarter was Cloudflare's best quarter ever. We crossed $3 billion in annualized revenue with revenue of $782 million, up 39% year over year."

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET) was up 8.20% at the same time stamp. In its third quarter 2026 report on November 3, the client-to-cloud networking company said total revenue of approximately $3.66 billion exceeded its guidance of $3.3 billion and grew 58.5%. Arista guided to fourth quarter revenue of $3.9 to $4.0 billion and noted that it was added to the S&P 100 in September 2026.

"Arista registered another momentous quarter with the highest year-over-year revenue growth since our IPO and record profitability, surpassing even my high expectations," stated Jayshree Ullal, Chairperson and CEO of Arista Networks.

Travel demand in the numbers

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL), which reports as Royal Caribbean Group, was up 2.95% as of 9:57 a.m. ET. Its third quarter results, released October 27, showed EPS of $6.45 and Adjusted EPS of $6.57, which the company said were better than its guidance, driven by strong close-in demand and lower costs due to timing. It now expects full year Adjusted EPS in the range of $17.85 to $17.95. Chairman and CEO Jason Liberty also said that 2027 bookings are pacing ahead of historical levels at higher rates, while noting that it is still early.

"Our third quarter results reflect continued strong consumer demand for our vacation experiences and the accelerated momentum across our industry leading brands," said Jason Liberty, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group.

What comes next on the calendar

Monday's early gains arrived with Tuesday's consumer price data and Friday's producer price data still ahead on the schedule. Each of the five companies above has filed its latest quarterly results with the Securities and Exchange Commission within the past two weeks.

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This article is independent news commentary. Equity Insider is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. MEL has not been paid by any company mentioned in this article. MEL and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates do not currently own any shares of the companies mentioned in this article, but reserve the right to, and will, buy and sell shares of those companies at any time without further notice. Index and share price levels are as of 9:57 a.m. ET on November 9, 2026, drawn from third-party market data, and changes are measured against the November 6, 2026 closing levels. Policy and calendar references are drawn from the Federal Reserve's October 28, 2026 FOMC statement and the Bureau of Labor Statistics release schedule, and company figures and quotes are drawn from each company's own news release as filed with the SEC. Information is drawn from company news releases and filings, government and industry data, published reporting and third-party data believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. Investing in securities carries risk, including the loss of some or all of your investment. This document is governed by the laws of Ireland.

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