LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street shares end modestly higher led by Nasdaq

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WALL STREET SHARES END MODESTLY HIGHER LED BY NASDAQ

Wall Street shares ended moderately higher on Friday, led by the Nasdaq after Amazon's AMZN.O upbeat earnings forecast, although growing uncertainty over further interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the prolonged government shutdown dimmed the market outlook.

Amazon shares surged to a record high after the e-commerce giant projected quarterly sales above Wall Street estimates. Apple AAPL.O shares, on the other hand, fell slightly despite a stronger-than-expected holiday quarter iPhone forecast, as CEO Tim Cook warned of supply constraints that could limit the upside.

Fed officials, meanwhile, dampened optimism about further easing, echoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Wednesday that a December rate is not a "foregone conclusion".

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said a December rate cut was not guaranteed, despite market expectations. Meanwhile, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack revealed that she opposed Wednesday's rate cut, citing persistent inflation concerns.

Next week, markets will look for insight on the pace of hiring via Wednesday's ADP report for October and job creation estimates at Thursday's Revelio Labs. The ISM Manufacturing and Services surveys will play an important role in helping investors estimate activity.

More earnings, meanwhile, are due out next week McDonald's MCD.N, Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O and Pfizer PFE.N among the prominent names reporting.

Here is the closing snapshot of financial markets:

(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)

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