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Market Recap
WEEK OF DEC. 2 THROUGH DEC. 6, 2024
The S&P 500 index rose 1% last week, reaching new highs on gains in the consumer discretionary, communication services and technology sectors. The remaining eight sectors in the S&P 500 fell on a weekly basis, yet the market benchmark ended Friday's session at a new closing high of 6,090.27. It also reached a fresh intraday high on Friday at 6,099.97 and is now up nearly 28% for the year to date.
The weekly climb was driven by gains in retailers such as Lululemon Athletica (LULU) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) that released better-than-expected fiscal quarterly results. The S&P 500 also got a boost from the shares of Meta Platforms (META) as a federal appeals court on Friday in Washington upheld a new US law that would result in a US ban of TikTok if its Chinese parent company doesn't sell the social media app by a Jan. 19 deadline.
Also on Friday, data showed US non-farm payrolls rose by 227,000 in November, surpassing a Bloomberg survey's expected increase of 220,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in November from 4.1% in October, compared with expectations for no change. However, the labor force participation rate slipped to 62.5% from 62.6% in the previous month.
The consumer discretionary sector had the largest percentage increase of the week, rising 5.9%, followed by a 4.1% increase in communication services and a 3.3% gain in technology.
Lululemon was the best performer in the consumer discretionary sector for the week, rallying 25% as the athletic apparel and footwear company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results and raised its fiscal-year outlook amid positive momentum in international markets.
Ulta shares were also strong, up 11% as the beauty products retailer also posted higher-than-expected fiscal Q3 results and raised its fiscal-year guidance range.
In communication services, shares of Meta Platforms jumped 8.6% amid the US federal appeals court ruling that could result in a US ban of TikTok. Meta's Facebook and Instagram social media platforms compete with TikTok for users and advertising.
In the technology sector, shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) soared 35% as Elon Musk's xAI startup unveiled plans for an expansion of its "Colossus" supercomputer facility in Memphis, Tennessee and said Super Micro Computer is among the hardware providers that will establish operations in the city for the project.
On the downside, the energy sector fell 4.5%, followed by a 3.8% drop in utilities and a 3% decline in materials. Real estate, industrials, health care, financials and consumer staples also moved lower on a weekly basis.
The drop in the energy sector coincided with a decline in crude oil futures as OPEC+ decided to delay and extend the return of voluntary production cuts to market amid expectations supply will soon begin to swell above demand.
The energy sector's decliners included shares of Texas Pacific Land (TPL) and Halliburton (HAL), which fell 16% and 9.7%, respectively.
Data due this week include the November consumer price index on Wednesday and the November producer price index on Thursday.
Also, earnings reports are expected from companies including Oracle (ORCL), Adobe (ADBE), Broadcom (AVGO) and Costco (COST).
