The recent wobble in stocks has revealed signs of anxiety in markets, in what some investors consider a mere stumble and others an indication of worse to come.

In a choppy session on Friday, the S&P 500 dropped in early trading before recovering and ending the day close to where it started. The move followed a steep decline on Thursday, but the index still remains close to record highs, reflecting a curious mix of optimism and worry among investors as they try to plot the direction of markets.

On the plus side, companies in the S&P 500 are set to record a fourth straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth, according to FactSet, a feat last achieved in 2021, during the burst of activity after the end of pandemic lockdowns.

More than 90 percent of companies on the S&P 500 have released their financial results for the third quarter, reporting an average earnings growth of 13 percent compared with last year. The index is also about 13 percent higher from a year ago.

Companies have also enjoyed another quarter of widening profit margins, which are now the highest on record for the S&P 500, according to data from Factset that goes back to 2009. Profit margins from the latest quarter surpassed the previous peak, in 2021.

And although executives try to steer analysts’ earnings expectations to levels that they can beat — part of the farce of the quarterly earnings season — the share of companies beating those expectations has been higher than normal, a meaningful signal for investors.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.