The stock market finished the week strong, with the S&P 500 climbing 1% and the Dow Jones rising 334 points. Big Tech stocks led the way, with companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla gaining. SLB, a provider of services to oilfields, jumped 6.1% after delivering better-than-expected profits and revenue for 2024.
The company also raised its dividend and announced a $2.3 billion stock buyback program. The rise in stock prices was partly fueled by an easing in Treasury yields, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 4.61% from 4.76% a week earlier. This helped boost stock prices, particularly for investments considered expensive.
Banking stocks continued to show strength, with Truist Financial rising 5.9% after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a 1.5% increase in average deposits. Learn more about the best stock scores HERE.
Big Tech leads stock market gains
However, not all banking results were positive, with Regions Financial falling 1.3%.
Transportation company J.B. Hunt Transport Services saw the biggest loss in the S&P 500, dropping 7.4% due to higher equipment and insurance-related costs. In overseas markets, indexes rallied in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia. Chinese indexes rose modestly after authorities reported the world’s second-largest economy met the government’s growth target.
The S&P 500 is set for its best first week for any president since Ronald Reagan. This comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been talking up policies to boost the economy and lower taxes, while dialing back plans to immediately disrupt the world trading order. In the precious metals market, front-month gold futures settled up 0.4% to $2,755 an ounce, marking the third-highest close in history.
This comes amid a surge in open interest in precious metals futures and relief from tariff worries.
