Key Highlights

● Mondelez beat third-quarter Earnings estimates by $0.07 a share.

● The shares rose in extended trading after the October 29 release.

● Consumer staples ranked just behind health care and real estate in the regular session.

● West Texas Intermediate settled at $102.00 a barrel, with Brent at $114.88.

Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ), the maker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolate, topped profit forecasts after Thursday's close, extending a strong day for consumer staples into extended trading.

A sweet surprise after the bell

Mondelez International gave snack-stock investors something to chew on late Thursday. The company behind brands such as Oreo, Cadbury and Ritz reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's estimates by $0.07 a share, according to market data.

The shares climbed in extended trading after the release on October 29. Two sources showed the shares higher after hours, with one pointing to the company's Dividend appeal as part of the attraction. Another headline listed Mondelez among the notable after-hours gainers in the S&P 500, alongside FedEx Freight (NYSE:FDXF).

As always with extended trading, the moves came on lighter Volume and could shift before Friday's regular session.

Staples in demand

The earnings beat landed on fertile ground. Consumer staples was one of the strongest sectors in the S&P 500 during the regular session, ranking just behind health care and real estate. Utilities posted a similar advance.

That Leadership reflected a defensive rotation. Investors pulled money out of mega-cap technology after Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) suffered its worst day since its 2004 IPO, erasing about $500 billion of market value. They put it into sectors with steadier earnings and reliable dividends, the kind of profile Mondelez offers.

"Money is rotating within the market rather than leaving it," one market strategist said, according to market commentary. One Investment strategist told a news agency: "There's plenty of other places to go with your money outside of the AI trade that have pretty decent prospects."

A split market

The numbers told the story of two markets. The S&P 500 slipped 23.59 points to 7,720.39, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 365.13 points to 26,184.72. Yet more than 400 S&P 500 members closed higher, and the Russell 2000 climbed 28.71 points to 2,859.22. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by 1.95 to 1.

Volume was unremarkable, at 17.05 billion shares against a 20-day average of 17.09 billion, suggesting an orderly reshuffle rather than panic selling.

Inflation is the wild card

For a packaged-food company, the macro backdrop is a double-edged sword. Thursday's data showed third-quarter GDP growing faster than economists expected, which supports consumer spending. But September PCE Inflation ran hot, with energy and gasoline prices jumping amid war-related pressure on oil supplies.

Higher costs for energy, transport and ingredients can squeeze margins for food makers unless they can pass price increases on to shoppers. Oil remained elevated, with West Texas Intermediate settling at $102.00 a barrel and Brent at $114.88.

The Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday, but two officials dissented in favor of a hike, and traders continued to lean toward a December increase.

Not every report was welcome

Mondelez's after-hours gain stood out against a tough evening for other reporters. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) both fell sharply in extended trading, pulling Nasdaq-100 futures lower. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) slipped after hours as soft U.S. traffic clouded its beat, while Reddit (NYSE:RDDT), Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) and Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) each tumbled.

What to watch

Friday's regular session will reveal whether Mondelez can hold its after-hours advance once full trading volume returns. Investors will want more detail on pricing, volumes and cost trends as they comb through the full report.

The broader calendar is busy. The third-quarter Employment Cost index arrives Friday morning, and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) report earnings. With the November 3 midterm elections and the Fed's December 8 to 9 meeting ahead, defensive names like Mondelez may keep drawing interest if the AI trade stays shaky.