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Wall Street on Friday posted its best week since mid-May. Moreover, the benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) notched a new intraday peak and record close for the first time since February. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) also achieved both those milestones for the first time since December last year.
The sentiment was driven by the end of a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, which drove down oil prices (CL1:COM)(CO1:COM) and tamed inflation fears. After hovering near record levels on Thursday, the final push for stocks came on Friday following the finalization of a trade agreement between the U.S. and China under which tariff rates will come down, and rare earth exports will be expedited.
Turning to the week's economic calendar, the highlights were the third estimate of U.S. Q1 GDP growth—which was revised lower—and a slightly hotter-than-expected core personal consumption expenditures price index reading.
Also of note, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, where he stuck to a wait-and-see approach and did not echo Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller’s recent speculation that rate cuts may come as soon as the July Fed meeting.
On the earnings front, memory chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) reported solid quarterly results and guidance. The world's largest shoe company, Nike (NKE), warned of a $1B additional cost increase due to tariffs, but its plans to reduce its reliance on China by reallocating supply to other countries cheered investors.
For the week, the S&P (SP500) climbed +3.4%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) surged +4.3%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) added +3.8%. Read a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.
Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week
Overreaction? Deciphering Altimmune's (ALT) MASH Crash.
DNP Offers 8% Dividend Yield With Tax-Efficient Income.
Sunoco (SUN): Buy The Dip Despite Questionable M&A.
Upgrading Amprius (AMPX) On Commercial Momentum.
CarMax (KMX): Solid Execution, But I'm Still Concerned.
Crocs (CROX) Is Currently Flashing Concerning Signals.
Target (TGT): Value Trap And Latest Victim Of Amazon.
It's Time To Move On From Occidental Petroleum (OXY).
Protect Your Bucks By Selling The Underperforming BUCK.
Mastercard (MA) Faces Unprecedented Stablecoin Threats.
Weekly Movement
U.S. Indices
Dow +3.8% to 43,819. S&P 500 +3.4% to 6,173. Nasdaq +4.3% to 20,273. Russell 2000 +3.% to 2,173. CBOE Volatility Index -20.9% to 16.32.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples +0.3%. Utilities +1.4%. Financials +3.4%. Telecom +6.2%. Healthcare +1.5%. Industrials +3.4%. Information Technology +4.7%. Materials +2.3%. Energy -3.5%. Consumer Discretionary +4.4%. Real Estate -0.8%.
World Indices
London +0.3% to 8,799. France +1.3% to 7,692. Germany +2.9% to 24,033. Japan +4.6% to 40,151. China +1.9% to 3,424. Hong Kong +3.2% to 24,284. India +2% to 84,059.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI -12.6% to $65.52/bbl. Gold -2.5% to $3,302.3/oz. Natural Gas -4.9% to 3.754. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.274.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +1.71%. USD/JPY -0.98%. GBP/USD +1.98%. Bitcoin +4.9%. Litecoin +6%. Ethereum +5.3%. XRP +5.5%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
NIKE (NKE) +20%. Arista Networks (ANET) +15%. Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) +15%. Albemarle (ALB) +15%. Coinbase Global (COIN) +15%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
Equinix (EQIX) -11%. CF Industries Holdings (CF) -9%. Halliburton (HAL) -8%. APA (APA) -7%. Occidental Petroleum (OXY) -7%.
Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.
