The S&P 500 index rose 1.4% last week to a fresh closing high, boosted by better-than-expected monthly jobs data and quarterly corporate earnings.
The market benchmark ended Friday’s session at the highest closing level ever, ending a fourth consecutive week of gains.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed out January with a 1.6% increase for the month, its third consecutive month of gains. It is now up nearly 4% for 2024 to date.
The gains last week came as a number of large companies including Apple, Mastercard, Amazon and Meta posted quarterly financial results above analysts expectations. In the last week, some 68% of the S&P 500’s components that reported quarterly results posted earnings above analysts’ expectations, with the week’s overall S&P 500 earnings coming in about 7.7% above expectations, according to Bloomberg data.
Labor Department data on Friday showed stronger-than-expected job growth last month as hourly wages continued to accelerate. Non-farm payrolls rose by 353,000 in January, well above the consensus estimate for a 185,000 gain, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% on a monthly basis; a 3.8% rate had been expected.
The consumer sectors had the largest percentage increases of the week, with consumer discretionary climbing 3.8% and consumer staples up 2.1%. Health care climbed 2.0%, industrials added 1.9% and communication services rose 1.6%. Other gainers included financials, technology, materials and utilities.
Just two sectors ended the week in the red: Real estate shed 0.5% and energy declined 1.0%. The drop in energy came as crude oil futures fell.
This week’s earnings calendar features McDonald’s, Walt Disney, Uber Technologies, CVS Health, and PepsiCo, among others.
Economic reports will be on the lighter side, with data including January readings from S&P as well as the Institute for Supply Management on the services sector, the December trade deficit, January consumer credit, and December wholesale inventories.
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