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Market Recap
WEEK OF NOV. 6 THROUGH NOV. 10, 2023
The S&P 500 index rose 1.3% last week, led by the technology and communication services sectors. The market benchmark ended Friday's session at 4,415.24, up from last Friday's closing level of 4,358.34. The index is now up 15% for the year to date.
During the prior week, the S&P 500 recorded its largest weekly increase of the year as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and a weaker-than-expected October jobs report helped ease investor worries about rate policy. The relief rally continued for much of last week, with the S&P 500 achieving its eighth consecutive daily increase on Wednesday.
The daily winning streak came to a halt on Thursday as Powell warned that the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is "not confident" that it has achieved a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to its 2% target over time.
"If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so," Powell said Thursday, prompting jitters across the market.
Still, US stocks resumed their climb on Friday as investors appeared to calm their nerves and focus on corporate earnings reports.
The technology sector had the largest percentage gain of the week, up 4.8%, followed by a 2.2% increase in communication services. Other gainers included consumer discretionary, industrials and consumer staples. However, there were still five sectors in the red, led by a 3.8% drop in energy, a 2.6% decline in utilities and a 2.1% slip in real estate.
The technology sector's gainers included shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which rose 7.4% as BofA Securities said it expects the chipmaker to post fiscal Q3 results above analysts' consensus view when the company releases its quarterly results later this month.
In communication services, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) rose 6.5% as the video game publisher reported fiscal Q2 net bookings near the high end of its own guidance and said it plans to release a trailer of the next installment in its popular Grand Theft Auto series in early December.
The energy sector's drop came as crude oil futures also fell on the week. Decliners included EQT Corp. (EQT), down nearly 13% on the week, and Marathon Oil (MRO), down 8.6%.
This week, the earnings calendar features a number of retailers including Home Depot (HD), TJX Cos. (TJX), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT) and BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ).
Economic data expected this week include key inflation readings: the October consumer price index is due on tomorrow, Tuesday and the October producer price index is due on Wednesday. Other reports will include October US retail sales on Wednesday, October industrial production and capacity utilization on Thursday and October housing starts on Friday.
