Wall Street is set to conclude yet another week of gains, with the S&P 500 index crossing the 5,000 level and the Nasdaq inching closer to 18,000 points. This extends the rally for both indices, with this week marking their fifth consecutive week in the green – the 14th positive week in the last 15 – highlighting the impressive surge driven by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence.
Shares of the semiconductor giant NVIDIA Corp. NVDA have surged by nearly 50% since the start of the year, propelling the company’s market capitalization past the $1.8-trillion mark.
In aggregate, the Magnificent Seven now boast a combined market cap of $13.2 trillion, nearly half the size of the remaining 493 stocks within the S&P 500.
The Russell 2000 index of small caps has once again reached the 2,000 mark, outperforming its large-cap counterparts.
On the data front, the Consumer Price Index revision for the fourth quarter of 2023 showed no major headline, with the numbers remaining broadly unchanged.
Bitcoin BTC/USD stole the spotlight, with the major cryptocurrency surging over 5% to surpass $47,000 in its most substantial weekly rally in four months. Newly-launched Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have amassed over 200,000 coins valued at $9.56 billion since their debut.
Performance of Major Indices and ETFs on Friday
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day % |
| Russell 2000 | 2,000.69 | 1.3% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 17,943.59 | 0.9% |
| S&P 500 | 5,019.03 | 0.4% |
| Dow Jones | 38,643.24 | -0.2% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose by 0.4% to $500.44. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA dipped by 0.2% to $386.53, while the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ climbed by 0.8% to $436.72, according to Benzinga Pro data.
In terms of sectors, the Technology SPDR Select Sector Fund XLK outperformed, rising by 1.3%, while the Energy SPDR Select Sector Fund XLY lagged, declining by 1.4%.
At the industry level, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH surged by 1.9%, while the Invesco Solar ETF TAN skyrocketed by 3.3%.
Stock Movers on Friday
- Enphase Energy Inc. ENPH rose by over 6%, riding a wave of bullish momentum following the company’s positive outlook for 2024. Peer First Solar Inc. FSLR also saw a nearly 6% increase.
- New York Community Bancorp NYCB surged by 11% after company executives and board members collectively purchased nearly $1 million of the battered stock.
- Expedia Group Inc. EXPE plummeted by nearly 20%, despite beating both revenue and profit estimates last quarter. The downward move was ignited by a downgrade from Bank of America amidst softer-than-expected fourth-quarter bookings and an anticipated growth rate in the first quarter of 2024.
- Cloudfare Inc. NET surged by over 20% following stronger-than-expected results last quarter.
- Other companies reacting to earnings were: PepsiCo Inc. PEP, down 2.7%; Pinterest Inc. PINS, down 12%; Bill Holdings Inc. BILL, down 11%; and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. TTWO, down 7%.
Photo via Pixabay.
