In a week that Wall Street won’t forget in a hurry, the S&P 500 soared past the 5,000 mark, and the Nasdaq approached 18,000. These milestones mark the fifth consecutive week of gains for the two indices and the 14th positive week out of the last 15. The rally has been nothing short of breathtaking, catapulted by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence.
Notably, shares of NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) have surged nearly 50% since the start of the year, propelling the semiconductor giant to a market capitalization exceeding $1.8 trillion.
Collectively, the Magnificent Seven – a term coined for the seven largest U.S. companies by market capitalization – now hold a combined market cap of $13.2 trillion, almost half the size of the rest of the 493 stocks within the S&P 500.
Adding to the exuberance, the Russell 2000 index of small caps has risen to the 2,000 mark, outperforming its large-cap peers.
On the data front, Friday’s Consumer Price Index revision didn’t ruffle any feathers, as the fourth-quarter 2023 numbers remained broadly unchanged.
Turning the spotlight onto Bitcoin, the major cryptocurrency surged over 5% to surpass $47,000 in its most substantial weekly rally in four months. In addition, newly launched Bitcoin spot ETFs have already accumulated over 200,000 coins worth a staggering $9.56 billion.
Performance In Major Indices, ETFs
| 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) was 0.4% higher at $500.44, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) eased 0.2% to $386.53, and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.8% to $436.72, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Looking at sectors, the Technology SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLK) outperformed, rising 1.3%, while the Energy SPDR Select Sector Fund (XLY) lagged, declining 1.4%.
In terms of industries, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) surged 1.9%, while the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) rocketed 3.3%.
Stock Movers
- Enphase Energy Inc. (ENPH) rose over 6%, capitalizing on a bullish momentum following the company’s positive outlook for 2024. Peer First Solar Inc. (FSLR) also rose by nearly 6%.
- New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) rallied 11% after company executives and board members bought nearly $1 million of the battered stock.
- Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) tumbled nearly 20%, despite beating both revenue and profit estimates last quarter. The move was sparked by a downgrade by Bank of America amid softer-than-expected fourth-quarter bookings and first-quarter 2024 expected growth rate.
- Cloudfare Inc. (NET) rose 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.
