S&P 500 and Nasdaq Close Another Week at Record Highs
The week’s trading saw the Dow ended lower, the S&P 500 closed the week flat while Nasdaq posted gains, continuing its streak of positive weekly performance. However, the SPX made another record high during the week.
Nvidia led individual stock gains with a significant rise following its earnings report and stock split announcement, while tech giants like Microsoft also reached new highs. Overall, despite some declines among major stocks, the market sentiment remained largely positive, partly due to the lower inflation expectations from the University of Michigan survey.
S&P 500 Chart Weekly – The 20 SMA Held As Support
The USD experienced a decline as consumer confidence in Michigan improved, influencing market sentiment. The University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment report for May showed notable increases in confidence, expectations, and current conditions, reversing some of the significant changes from the preliminary figures, which had shown a drop in confidence due to rising inflation. Additionally, inflation expectations decreased, further aiding the USD decline. Political bias before the US elections also played a role in these shifts.
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final Report for May
- Consumer Sentiment: 69.1 points vs. 67.5 points estimate and 67.4 points preliminary. (Last month: 77.2 points)
- Expectations: 68.8 points vs. 66.5 points preliminary. (Last month: 76.0 points)
- Current Conditions: 69.5 points vs. 68.8 points preliminary. (Last month: 79.0points )
- 1-Year Inflation Expectations: 3.3% vs. 3.5% preliminary. (Last month: 3.2%)
- 5-Year Inflation Expectations: 3.0% vs. 3.1% preliminary.
The NASDAQ index has continued its upward trajectory this week, outperforming other major indices and on track to achieve its fifth consecutive weekly gain. Currently, the index is up by almost 1.0%, or 168 points, surpassing its previous all-time high closing level reached on Tuesday at 16,832.62. This consistent upward movement reflects sustained bullish sentiment in the NASDAQ, with each week ending higher than the previous one for the past five weeks.
US Index Performance
- Dow Industrial Average: Closed nearly unchanged at 39,069.58, up just 0.01%.
- S&P 500 Index: Closed up 36.86 points, or 0.70%, at 5,304.71, slightly below its record close of 5,321.42 reached on Tuesday.
- Nasdaq Index: Closed up 184.76 points, or 1.10%, at 16,928.79.
Weekly Performance
- Dow Industrial Average: Fell by 2.33% for the week.
- S&P 500 Index: Achieved a small gain of 0.03%, marking its fifth consecutive positive week.
- Nasdaq Index: Rose by 1.41%, also marking its fifth consecutive weekly gain.
Individual Stock Performance
- Nvidia: Shares rose by 15.13% following an earnings beat and the announcement of a 10:1 stock split.
- Meta Platforms: Increased by 1.34%.
- Amazon: Fell by 2.14%.
- Alphabet: Declined by 0.60%, after closing at a record level last week.
- Microsoft: Closed at a record level, up 2.37%.
- Apple: Increased by 0.05%.
- Tesla: Rose by 1.0%.