It was another record-setting week, as the market remained undeterred by the coronavirus and stayed on its bullish trend. The Nasdaq Composite (+2.2%) and Russell 2000 (+1.9%) set the pace, followed by the S&P 500 (+1.6%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.0%).
Most of this week’s gains came on Monday as investors continued to pile into shares of mega-cap technology companies. Reports that highlighted the slowing rate of the coronavirus solidified the gains, and the market barely reacted to follow-up reports indicating a spike in new cases
All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished with gains, including four that rose at least 2.0% -- real estate (+4.8%), consumer discretionary (+2.6%), utilities (+2.4%), and information technology (+2.3%). The energy sector (+0.3%) underperformed despite a 3.1% bounce in WTI crude ($51.93/bbl, +1.58).
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index regained momentum, rising 5.0% this week amid positive analyst recommendations and encouraging results and guidancefrom NVIDIA (NVDA). Shares of NVIDIA climbed 15% this week
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index regained momentum, rising 5.0% this week amid positive analyst recommendations and encouraging results and guidancefrom NVIDIA (NVDA). Shares of NVIDIA climbed 15% this week
There was still a defensive tone, though, evidenced by the gains in the real estate and utilities sectors. U.S. Treasuries finished the week little changed from the prior week. The 2-yr yield increased three basis points to 1.42%, while the 10-yr yield remained unchanged at 1.58%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.4% to 99.12.