Stocks Notch 4th Week Of Gains - Tech Falters As Yields Rise; Gold Steady At $2,000: Friday's Market Recap

U.S. stocks marked their fourth consecutive week of gains, the longest winning streak since June, in a week marked by thinner trading volumes due to the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays.

Small-cap stocks outperformed, while tech stocks lagged behind as U.S. Treasury yields surged following better-than-expected services PMI data in November.

Both the 10-year and 30-year Treasury bond yields increased by 7 basis points, resulting in a 1.1% decline in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT.

The remaining sectors of the S&P 500 saw little movement, with energy and materials slightly outperforming by the end of the session.

Elsewhere, gold held above the psychological $2,000/oz threshold, signaling renewed optimism among investors.

Friday’s US Index Performance

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY closed flat at $455.21.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA ended 0.4% to $353.91. 
• The Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ eased 0.15% to $289.48.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rose 0.66% to $179.31, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Chart Of The Day: Nasdaq 100 At Less Than 5% Distance From All-Time Highs

Sector, Industry ETFs Performance

Healthcare stocks led gains among equity sectors, with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV up 0.55%.

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK were the laggards, down 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.

Among industries, oil services, as monitored through the VanEck Oil Services ETF OIH edged higher by 0.5%.

Solar stocks, as tracked by the Invesco Solar ETF TAN, underperformed, down by 1.4%.

Latest Economic Data

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for the U.S. recorded a slight decrease, falling from 50 to 49.4 points in November, signaling a reentry into contraction territory. In contrast, the S&P Global Services PMI rose from 50.6 to 50.8 points, surpassing expectations of 50.4.

Stocks In Focus

• Nordstrom Inc. JWM and Best Buy Co. BBY rose 6% and 2.9%, respectively, thanks to deeper discounts that drew in shoppers seeking clothing and electronics.
Coinbase Global Inc. COIN rose 5.8%, as cryptocurrencies surged across the board.
• NVIDIA Corp. NVDA fell 1.9%, marking the second straight decline following its earnings release.
• First Solar Inc. FSLR fell 3.5% as buyers take a respite after the 15% gain seen in the prior week.

Commodities, Other Global Equity Markets And Crypto

The United States Oil Fund, LP USO, closed 1.2%.

Gold, as monitored through the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, rose 0.4% to $2,000/oz. Silver rallied 2% to $24.30.

European equity indices inched higher. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF  FEZ edged up 1.1%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD was 1.4% up to $37,815, while Ethereum ETH/USD rose 1.8% to $2,099.

Shanthi Rexaline contributed to this report.

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