stocks were mixed on Friday in a holiday-shortened trading day, but the major averages managed to finish the week higher.
Analysts appear to be optimistic about the five trading weeks left in 2023, hoping that holiday sales will boost retailers as technology advances and energy prices soften.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a gain of 117 points, or 0.3%, to 35,390.15. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 2.7 points to 4,559.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 15 points to 14,250.85.
For the week, the Dow Jones rose 1.3%, the S&P 500 added 1%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%. Since Oct. 30, when stocks bottomed after a pullback from last summer’s highs, the Dow Jones is up 7.1%. The S&P is up 8.7% and the Nasdaq is up almost 11%.
Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) – Get a free report was the Dow winner, up 1.1%. Only three Dow stocks fell: Apple (AAPL) – Get a free report, 0.7% less; Nike (OF) – Get a free report0.3% less, and Microsoft (MSFT) – Get a free reporta 0.1% discount.
Chip maker Nvidia (NVDA) – Get a free report was the biggest loser among stocks in the Nasdaq-100 index. The chipmaker, which makes chips used in artificial intelligence applications, fell 1.9% to $477.76. Shares have fallen 5.5% since November 21. Reports on Friday said Nvidia could delay the launch of an artificial intelligence chip designed for customers in China until early next year.
The Nasdaq-100 lost 19 points, or 0.1%, to 15,982. After a 2.9% weekly gain, the index is up a whopping 46% for the year.
Historically, markets are open for a short day after Thanksgiving, a nod to the fact that many Americans go out holiday shopping.
About 182 million Americans are expected to make purchases online or in stores between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (including 130.7 million today), according to the National Retail FederationAlthough pandemic-era savings are likely fading, resumption of student loan payments and elevated inflation are limiting spending growth to the slowest pace in five years.
Still, consumers are likely to spend between $957.3 billion and $966.6 billion in November and December, according to NRF forecasts, providing a valuable boost to the broader U.S. economy, which relies on spending on services for about two thirds of his life. its growth, which should cause recession forecasts to deepen next year.
Retail stocks rose across the board during the day. The SPDR S&P Retail Exchange Traded Fund (XRT) – Get a free report rose 0.7% to $63.89. Walmart (WMT) – Get a free reportAim (TGT) – Get a free reportMacy’s (METER) – Get a free reportand Amazon.com (AMZN) – Get a free report They were all taller.
Interest rates rose slightly, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.47%. Oil prices fell again. West Texas Intermediate finished at $75.54, down $1.56. The national average price for AAA gasoline dropped slightly to $3.265 a gallon. It is disabled on 65 of the last 67 days.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose 0.28% in midday trading in Frankfurt following data from Germany that confirmed the region’s largest economy shrank 0.01% over the three months ending in October and rose the prospect of a recession early next year.
In Asia, stocks had mixed results: the MSCI benchmark excluding Japan fell 0.8% thanks to a decline in China markets, while the Nikkei 225 closed at a four-month high of 33,625.53 points.
Martin Baccardax’s first reports were included in this report.
