US stocks weekly: Running the table

United Rentals

17/01/2025 21:36

** S&P 500  .SPX  snaps two-week losing streak, rallies 2.9% amid easing inflation jitters, strong start to earnings season  .N 
    ** Dow  .DJI  advances 3.7%, Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC  ascends 2.4%
    ** U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield  US10YT=RR  pulls back to around 4.6%
** Indeed, SPX finds support, vaults to the upside, ends down less than 1.7% from its record highs
** This as the broader market, which has been on the back foot, finally catches a break
    ** Every sector has a winning week; Energy, Financials and Materials most decisive
** Energy  .SPNY  surges 6.1%. Oilfield services firm SLB  SLB.N , previously called Schlumberger, rises on Q4 profit beat, buybacks and dividend boost. Crude oil futures  CLc1 : About to make a big leap, or come up lame?
** Financials  .SPSY  swell by 6.1%. Big banks jump as investment banking powers profits, in stellar Q4
    For the week, S&P 500 banks index  .SPXBK  pops 7.4%, ends Fri at record closing high, while KBW regional banking index  .KRX  scores 8% gain
And BlackRock  BLK.N  gains as assets hit record $11.6 trillion in Q4
** Materials  .SPLRCM  climb 6%. Specialty chemicals firm Celanese  CE.N  gains on BofA double upgrade
** Industrials  .SPLRCI  up 4.8%. United Rentals  URI.N  rises 15% on deal to acquire H&E Equipment Services  HEES.O 
** Tech  .SPLRCT  up 1.6%. Chip-equipment firms Applied Materials  AMAT.O  and Lam Research  LRCX.O  advance after analyst upgrades
    Semiconductor index  .SOX  up >5%
** Communication Services  .SPLRCL  up 1.3%. Instagram-owner Meta Platforms  META.O  edges into positive territory Fri after US Supreme Court rules against Tiktok
** Healthcare  .SPXHC  ticks up 0.3%. Though Moderna  MRNA.O  slides 19% after 2025 sales forecast cut, hurt by slow RSV shot launch and weak COVID-19 vaccines demand
** Meanwhile, individual Investor bulls flee, bears make themselves known
    ** SPX performance YTD:
     
 Energy                        9.2%
 Materials                     5.0%
 Industrials                   4.5%
 Utils                         4.1%
 Financials                    3.8%
 Discretionary                 2.7%
 Comm Svcs                     2.0%
 SPX                           2.0%
 Healthcare                    1.8%
 Real Estate                   0.9%
 Tech                          -0.2%
 Staples                       -1.0%
     

(Lance Tupper and Terence Gabriel are Reuters market analysts. The views expressed are their own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com
terence.gabriel@tr.com))