More than 70 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar third-quarter earnings this week. Of those companies, 81% have posted better-than-expected results, FactSet data shows. Some of the companies posting stronger-than-forecast results this week include Bank of America, Netflix, J.P. Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Their results helped push the major indexes higher for the week.
Optimism around Brexit also gave stocks a boost this week. The U.K. and European Union struck a long-awaited draft Brexit deal. British and EU officials reached the agreement after successive days of late-night talks and almost three years of tense discussions.