Last Friday, the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week up by 1.5%, 1.1%, and 0.3%, respectively. This rally came as investor sentiment improved after a volatile start to the month, driven largely by gains in technology and communication services stocks, alongside stronger-than-expected earnings from major corporations. Key metrics included improving inflation data and steady Treasury yields, which alleviated concerns over aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Additionally, notable stock performances included Intrepid Potash, which surged 17.7% following a Zacks Rank upgrade, and Analog Devices, with a 30.9% increase since its upgrade to Outperform. Overall, Zacks Rank #1 stocks outperformed the equal-weight S&P 500 by 7 percentage points, returning 17.81% compared to the index’s 10.85% over the same period.
