The S & P 500 made a clean sweep, closing higher every day last week. Aside from Nvidia ‘s earnings report, which turned out to be pretty uneventful in terms of impact on the overall market, investors continued to branch out into stocks beyond tech. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reflected that trend and led the way higher with a 1.96% gain. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq — both weighted heavier in tech — each advanced roughly 1.7% for the week. Wall Street had stumbled in the five sessions ended Nov. 15 after surging election week on Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race. All sectors closed higher on the week, led by materials which advanced roughly 3.1%, followed by utilities which increased about 2.8%, and energy which gained about 2.7% on the week. .SPX .DJI,.IXIC mountain 2024-11-18 S & P 500, Dow, Nasdaq performance since Nov. 18 A trio of Club names reported earnings last week, and all of them were out Wednesday. Before the bell, TJX Companies , in pure TJX fashion, delivered strong quarterly results with a suboptimal guide. We aren’t concerned though, given management’s tendency to under-promise and over-deliver. Shares of the off-price retailer behind T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods posted modest weekly gains. Nvidia’s quarter was also strong, with reported results and guidance both coming in ahead of expectations after the close. While the magnitude of the guidance beat was perhaps not enough to satiate the most demanding of bulls, the stock was flat on the week. Palo Alto Networks delivered a high-quality report Wednesday evening — but, like Nvidia, was met with some profit-taking as it failed to satisfy lofty investor expectations. Shares of the cybersecurity company lost 2% for the week. Our other cybersecurity stock, CrowdStrike , is one of the main events of this holiday-shortened week on Wall Street. The markets are closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday and close early on Friday. Before CrowdStrike’s earnings after Tuesday’s close, Best Buy reports its quarter Tuesday morning. The holiday week is also jampacked with several important economic reports. Here’s a look at what we expect. Earnings Best Buy kicks it off before the bell on Tuesday. Last week, we booked some profits in the stock in acknowledgment that shares have recently been under pressure due to the threat of higher tariffs on Chinese imports under a second Trump administration. We wanted to protect hard-fought gains. Housing dynamics also have not been working in Best Buy’s favor as mortgage rates stay stubbornly high, despite a pair of Federal Reserve rate cuts since September. Increased housing activity helps drive sales of big-ticket items at Best Buy such as appliances and home entertainment systems. Both of these topics will surely be in focus when Best Buy reports. On the potential for higher tariffs in 2025, it will be interesting to hear whether executives have seen consumers change their buying habits at all to try to get ahead of potentially steeper prices. As for housing, specifically, we’ll be listening for any signs that the recent hurricanes impacted their results. On the one hand, it may have dampened sales — you’re not really worried about buying a new TV when your house is in the path of the storm. But, as we saw with fellow Club name Home Depot, severe weather events result unfortunately in a need to rebuild. That could include buying new home-based electronics that were damaged. More broadly, commentary on the expectations for holiday shopping will be appreciated by investors. We’ll also be listening for management’s latest impressions of the anticipated consumer device refresh cycle, which still stands to benefit from the rollout of AI-enhanced offerings. As of Friday, the Street is looking for revenue of $9.6 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.29 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. We added to our CrowdStrike exposure last week after the stock came under pressure due to increased geopolitical tensions . That didn’t make sense, considering geopolitical tensions increase the threat of cyberattacks, making it even more necessary for enterprises and governments to use best-of-breed digital security solutions to remain secure. CrowdStrike, despite its turbulent summer, fits that bill. Similar to our expectations for Palo Alto’s release, we want to better understand how AI is changing the threat landscape, its impact on demand for cybersecurity software, and whether CrowdStrike is positioned to benefit from that. As of Friday, analysts expect CrowdStrike to earn an adjusted 81 cents per share on revenue of $982 million, according to LSEG. Economy Most of this week’s economic updates arrive Wednesday. The biggest of them all: The October personal spending and income release, which contains the core PCE price index , the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. Economists are expecting to see a 2.8% year-over-year increase at the core level, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, and a 2.3% year-over-year increase at the headline level, according to Dow Jones estimates as of Friday. This is the final PCE release before the Fed’s December policy meeting, adding to its importance. It will help investors get a better sense of the Fed’s next move — will the central bank cut its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point, or opt to keep rates where they are until more data flows in? On Friday afternoon, traders were pricing in a roughly 53% chance of a cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That’s essentially a coin toss. October pending home sales , also due out Wednesday, will help us further understand the inflation dynamic. Shelter costs have been a key source of inflation, which is why every piece of information on the state of the housing market must be closely analyzed. If we start to see price appreciation slow materially, that will be a very positive sign for inflation going forward. Lower interest rates are, of course, the other piece of the living-affordability puzzle. But as inflation expectations come down, interest rates should follow. One more thing to keep in mind: Housing punches above its weight in the U.S. economy. New home formation brings with it many other expenditures, ranging from new service hookups to shopping for home decor and making renovations. A secondary housing report on our radar this week is October new home sales , which is slated for release Tuesday. The final economic report of note Wednesday is second read on third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product. To be sure, it’s a backward-looking report, and the PCE index coming out at the same time will for sure steal its thunder. But it’s worth monitoring because informs us of the longer-term trend of the economy and, therefore, helps us better determine path of interest rates. Economists expect that GDP rose 2.8% in Q3, according to Dow Jones, in line with the preliminary read we got a few weeks ago. Week ahead Monday, Nov. 25 Before the bell: Bath & Body Works (BBWI), AutoZone (AZO) After the bell: Zoom Video (ZM), Fluence Energy (FLNC), Semtech (SMTC), Agilent Tech (A) Tuesday, Nov. 26 10: a.m. ET: New Home Sales Before the bell: Best Buy (BBY), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Kohl’s (KSS), Macy’s (M), Burlington (BURL), DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS), J.M. Smucker (SJM) After the bell: CrowdStrike (CRWD), Dell Technologies (DELL), Workday (WDAY), Autodesk (ADSK), Ambarella (AMBA), HP (HPQ), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Nordstrom (JWN) Wednesday, Nov. 27 8:30 a.m. ET: Gross Domestic Product 8:30 a.m. ET: Personal Spending & Income 8:30 a.m. ET: Initial Jobless Claims 10 a.m. ET: Pending Home Sales Thursday, Nov. 28 Stock market closed for Thanksgiving holiday Friday, Nov. 29 Stock market closes early at 1 p.m. ET (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. 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The New York Stock Exchange floor.
Source: NYSE
The S&P 500 made a clean sweep, closing higher every day last week.
