What Moved Markets This Week

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It was a contrasting week for Wall Street’s major averages: the benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) posted losses, but the blue-chip Dow (DJI) gained. Sentiment was mixed: a less hawkish-than-expected Federal Reserve interest rate decision was offset by a slump in the artificial intelligence trade.

The Fed concluded its final monetary policy committee meeting of the year on Wednesday by delivering a third straight 25-basis-point reduction to its key policy rate. The central bank’s updated projections showed no more rate cuts for this year or beyond. However, this was countered by bullish expectations for economic growth and a largely unchanged outlook on the unemployment rate. Notably, the decision saw the most dissents since September 2019.

Traders felt encouraged by the Fed’s economic growth and unemployment rate projections. This positive mood helped the S&P 500 (SP500) and the Dow (DJI) achieve new record closes on Thursday, the first time since late October and mid-November, respectively.

But those gains were not entirely sustained, as the AI trade took a hit after disappointing quarterly reports from Oracle (ORCL) and Broadcom (AVGO). The cloud software giant’s guidance and increased spending forecast disappointed investors. Meanwhile, the chipmaker warned of margin pressures, and its backlog figure for AI product orders was underwhelming.

For the week, the S&P (SP500) slipped -0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) retreated -1.6%. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) advanced +1.1%. Read a preview of next week’s major events in Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch.

Seeking Alpha’s Calls Of The Week

This Is Now A Great Time To Add GOF – These Moments Are Rare.

Bullish On Civitas’ (CIVI) Transformational Deal With SM Energy (SM).

Adobe (ADBE) Is The Most Overlooked AI Turnaround In The Market.

Improved Risk/Reward – SentinelOne (S) Is Finally Worth A Nibble.

Texas Roadhouse (TXRH): Attractively Valued, But Beef Prices Hurt.

ASML (ASML): Don’t Sell The King Of EUV Lithography Just Yet.

Simon Property’s (SPG) Dividend Growth Could Ignite Next Rally.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD): Strategic Uncertainty Worsens.

iRobot (IRBT) May Not Benefit From Potential U.S. Robotics Policy.

Caleres (CAL) Is A Sell – Worsening Fundamentals Make It A Mess.

Weekly Movement

U.S. Indices
Dow +1.1% to 48,458. S&P 500 -0.6% to 6,827. Nasdaq -1.6% to 23,195. Russell 2000 +1.2% to 2,551. CBOE Volatility Index +2.1% to 15.74.

S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples +1.1%. Utilities -1.1%. Financials +2.3%. Telecom -3.2%. Healthcare +0.4%. Industrials +1.4%. Information Technology -2.3%. Materials +2.4%. Energy -0.6%. Consumer Discretionary +0.3%. Real Estate -0.8%.

World Indices
London -0.2% to 9,649. France -0.6% to 8,069. Germany +0.7% to 24,186. Japan +0.7% to 50,837. China -0.3% to 3,889. Hong Kong -0.4% to 25,977. India -0.5% to 85,268.

Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI -4.4% to $57.44/bbl. Gold +2% to $4,328.3/oz. Natural Gas -22.2% to 4.113. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.196.

Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +0.83%. USD/JPY +0.3%. GBP/USD +0.31%. Bitcoin +1.2%. Litecoin +0.6%. Ethereum +1.6%. XRP flat.

Top S&P 500 Gainers
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) +15%. The Mosaic Company (MOS) +11%. Molina Healthcare (MOH) +11%. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) +10%. American International Group (AIG) +10%.

Top S&P 500 Losers
Oracle (ORCL) -13%. AutoZone (AZO) -10%. Sandisk (SNDK) -10%. Robinhood Markets (HOOD) -9%. Texas Pacific Land (TPL) -9%.

Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.