Stocks Notch 4th Week Of Gains - Tech Falters As Yields Rise; Gold Steady At $2,000: Friday's Market Recap

Zinger Key Points
  • Small-cap stocks outperformed while tech stocks lagged Friday due to a surge in U.S. Treasury yields.
  • Gold remained above $2,000/oz, indicating renewed investor optimism, while other S&P 500 sectors showed minimal movement on thinner volumes.

U.S. stocks marked their fourth consecutive week of gains, the longest winning streak since June, in a week marked by thinner trading volumes due to the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays.

Small-cap stocks outperformed, while tech stocks lagged behind as U.S. Treasury yields surged following better-than-expected services PMI data in November.

Both the 10-year and 30-year Treasury bond yields increased by 7 basis points, resulting in a 1.1% decline in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT.

The remaining sectors of the S&P 500 saw little movement, with energy and materials slightly outperforming by the end of the session.

Elsewhere, gold held above the psychological $2,000/oz threshold, signaling renewed optimism among investors.

Friday’s US Index Performance

IndexPerformance (+/-)Value
Nasdaq 100-0.12%15,982.00
S&P 500 Index+0.06%4,559.33
Dow Industrials+0.33%35,390.16
Russell 2000+0.67%1,807.50
    • The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY closed flat at $455.21.
    • The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA ended 0.4% to $353.91. 
    • The Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ eased 0.15% to $289.48.

Chart Of The Day: Nasdaq 100 At Less Than 5% Distance From All-Time Highs

Sector, Industry ETFs Performance

Healthcare stocks led gains among equity sectors, with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV up 0.55%.

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK were the laggards, down 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.

Among industries, oil services, as monitored through the VanEck Oil Services ETF OIH edged higher by 0.5%.

Solar stocks, as tracked by the Invesco Solar ETF TAN, underperformed, down by 1.4%.

Latest Economic Data

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for the U.S. recorded a slight decrease, falling from 50 to 49.4 points in November, signaling a reentry into contraction territory. In contrast, the S&P Global Services PMI rose from 50.6 to 50.8 points, surpassing expectations of 50.4.

Stocks In Focus

  • Nordstrom Inc. JWM and Best Buy Co. BBY rose 6% and 2.9%, respectively, thanks to deeper discounts that drew in shoppers seeking clothing and electronics.
  • Coinbase Global Inc. COIN rose 5.8%, as cryptocurrencies surged across the board.
  • NVIDIA Corp. NVDA fell 1.9%, marking the second straight decline following its earnings release.
  • First Solar Inc. FSLR fell 3.5% as buyers take a respite after the 15% gain seen in the prior week.

Commodities, Other Global Equity Markets And Crypto

The United States Oil Fund, LP USO, closed 1.2%.

Gold, as monitored through the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, rose 0.4% to $2,000/oz. Silver rallied 2% to $24.30.

European equity indices inched higher. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF  FEZ edged up 1.1%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD was 1.4% up to $37,815, while Ethereum ETH/USD rose 1.8% to $2,099.

Shanthi Rexaline contributed to this report.

Read Next: Israel-Hamas War, Day 49: Ceasefire Begins; First Round Of Hostages Released As Fuel Heads To Gaza

Photo: Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: EquitiesLarge CapMacro Economic EventsNewsBondsBroad U.S. Equity ETFsTreasuriesEcon #sTop StoriesEconomicsETFsStories That Matter
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!