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Market Recap
WEEK OF OCT. 14 THROUGH OCT. 18, 2024
The S&P 500 index rose 0.9% last week, its sixth consecutive weekly gain, as a number of heavyweight US companies released quarterly results that topped expectations. The S&P 500 ended Friday's session at a record closing high of 5,864.67. Its latest intraday high was set on Thursday at 5,878.46. The index is now up 1.8% for October and 23% for the year to date.
Companies including Netflix (NFLX), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS)and Bank of America (BAC) released quarterly results above analysts' expectations last week, giving a boost to US stocks and investor sentiment.
All but two sectors rose, led by a 3.4% climb in utilities and a 3% increase in real estate. Financials, materials and consumer discretionary were also up by more than 1% each.
The utilities sector's gainers included shares of WEC Energy Group (WEC), which rose 4.6% on the week amid price target increases from analysts at firms including Mizuho Securities and Wells Fargo.
In real estate, shares of BXP (BXP) rose 8.1% as Jefferies raised its price target on the stock to $91 per share from $78. Jefferies also maintained a buy investment rating on the shares of BXP, which plans to release Q3 results on Oct. 29.
Energy and health care were the sectors in the red for the week, falling 2.6% and 0.6%, respectively.
The energy sector's loss came as crude oil futures also fell this week. Halliburton (HAL)shares had the largest percentage drop in the sector this week, sliding 8.1% amid price target reductions from analysts at Barclays and Benchmark.
This week, companies releasing quarterly results will include GE Aerospace (GE), Danaher (DHR), Philip Morris International (PM), Verizon Communications (VZ), Tesla (TSLA), Coca-Cola (KO), International Business Machines (IBM), Amazon.com (AMZN), Union Pacific (UNP), United Parcel Service (UPS) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL).
Economic data will include September existing home sales and new home sales as well as durable goods orders.
