The S&P 500 enters bull market Stocks closed the week modestly higher as the S&P 500 Index moved into bull market territory, or up more than 20% off its mid-October lows. Market advance is broadening, with small-caps outperforming large-caps, and value shares outperforming growth stocks. An equally weighted S&P 500 Index also rose more than its capitalization-weighted counterpart for the first time in eight weeks and by the largest margin since late March.

The major US equity indices recorded solid gains for the week, with the S&P 500 Index touching its highest intraday level since mid-August 2022. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index notched its sixth consecutive weekly gain and hit its best level since mid-April 2022. In contrast with the past several weeks, however, the rally was broad-based, with strong gains in both value and growth stocks, as well as small-caps.

The Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is up 24% year-to-date — a stark contrast to the 0.16% decline of the narrowly focused Dow Jones Industrial Average over the period. Alongside the debt ceiling negotiations, the signal event in the week may have been Thursday’s 24% jump in the shares in chipmaker NVIDIA, which took the company’s market capitalization to nearly USD 1 trillion, the sixth most highest market cap in the world.

US stocks recorded solid gains for the week, with the S&P 500 Index breaching the 4,200 level in intraday trading for the first time since late August. The market’s advance remained notably narrow, however. The equal-weighted S&P 500 Index is up only 0.93% year-to-date, which is 825 basis points behind the weighted index.

The major US equity indexes ended mixed for the week as Q1 earnings season neared its end. The Nasdaq outperformed, helped by a surge in Alphabet following the unveiling of its new AI-based search platform. The Dow Jones lagged, weighed down by Disney. Financials stocks underperformed, dragged lower by ongoing concerns over the strains facing certain regional banks.

The Friday rally didn’t save the week Despite a rally on Friday, the S&P 500 Index ended the week lower on comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that suggested a pivot to cutting rates might not occur as quickly as the market had hoped. Unease around the U.S. debt ceiling may also have weighed on sentiment, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified congressional leaders in a letter that the agency might not be able to meet its debt obligations “potentially as early as June 1.” Within the S&P 500, Tech stocks fared the best while Energy shares pulled back in sympathy with the price of WTI crude oil.

Stocks recorded mixed returns this week as attention focused on earnings reports. 35% of S&P 500 Index companies (or 44% of its market capitalization) were scheduled to release results during the week. Meta and Microsoft jumped while other FAANGs were mixed. Cyclical sectors generally performed poorly, however, as investors weighed several new signs of an economic slowdown.

The major US equity indices ended mixed following a week while the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, fell to its lowest level since late 2021. 88 S&P 500 Index companies had reported earnings as of Friday. Financials outperformed overall during the week despite a brief plunge in shares of Goldman Sachs after the investment banking giant missed consensus revenue estimates.

The Dow Jones was up for a 4th week in a row as investors weighed slowing growth signals against signs that inflation pressures were receding a bit more than expected. In the US, Materials and industrials shares outperformed while Technology lagged mainly due to NVIDIA decline. Banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup kicked off Q1 earnings season. All three topped consensus estimates and brought some relief to investors.

The major US equities indices were mostly lower over a holiday-shortened week that was characterized by light and choppy trading. Several important economic releases weighed on sentiment. On Monday, the ISM gauge of March factory activity fell back to a nearly three-year low. The ISM’s services sector gauge, released two days later, indicated that the services sector was still expanding, but at a significantly slower-than-expected pace.