Dow +395.19 at 37863.80, Nasdaq +255.32 at 15310.97, S&P +58.87 at 4839.81
S&P 500: +1.5%
Nasdaq Composite: +2.0%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.5%
S&P Midcap 400: -1.5%
Russell 2000: -4.1%
The stock market closed this abbreviated week on a strong note on above-average volume at the NYSE. The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high (4,839.81) with a 1.2% gain. The Dow logged a 1.1% gain and the Nasdaq Composite closed 1.7% higher.
Strong mega-cap and semiconductor shares were propping up index gains in the early going while the broader market traded more mixed. Semiconductor and mega-cap stocks maintained their outperformance, but by the close, just about everything was trading higher.
The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) jumped 4.0%; the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) closed 1.6% higher; the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) rose 0.8%; the Russell 3000 Growth Index saw a 1.4% gain; and the Russell 3000 Value Index registered a 0.9% gain.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed with a gain and five of them jumped more than 1.0%. In addition to the sectors that house mega-cap components, the real estate (+1.0%) and financials (+1.6%) sectors saw the largest gains. The latter was helped in part by a sizable gain in Travelers (TRV 211.67, +13.32, +6.7%), which reported above-consensus earnings and revenue.
The gain in Travelers also offered a measure of support to the Dow Jones.
The most hated sectors right now are energy (XLE) and utilities (XLU).
Here’s a quick video wrap of last week’s action.
We had a couple of stops end of the week, I’ll look to reload for us this week.