The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.5% this week in a broad advance led by the energy sector despite turmoil in chip stocks.
The S&P 500 ended the week at 7,561.67. This represents the market benchmark's first weekly gain since the week ended Oct. 9. It is now down 0.2% for the month but up 10% for the year.
Data released this week showed the consumer price growth slowed in October but still exceeded Wall Street's projections, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December. US producer prices rose less than expected in October on a monthly basis, but annual growth hit the highest level in nearly four years amid surging energy costs.
All of the S&P 500's 11 sectors rose this week. Energy had the largest percentage gain, climbing 5.1%, followed by a 3.7% rise in industrials and a 3.5% advance in communication services. Consumer discretionary, consumer staples, financials and health care were also strong, rising more than 2% each. The materials sector had the smallest gain, edging up just 0.3%.
The energy sector's advance came as natural gas futures rose on expectations for cold weather to boost near-term heating demand.
Targa Resources (TRGP) was the best performer in the energy sector, climbing 12% on the week. Analysts at Scotiabank and Morgan Stanley boosted their price targets on the stock.
Bloom Energy (BE) was among the top gainers in the industrials sector, rising 11%. Noting that the US midterm election results showed increased opposition toward data centers and calls for increased oversight, RBC Capital said in a note to clients: "Inevitably this slows the pace of development and the near-term uncertainty is a headwind, but we believe BE remains in a relatively favorable position."
In communication services, Charter Communications (CHTR) was the top performer, jumping 17%. The company's subsidiaries launched eight cash tender offers to buy back up to $1.5 billion in notes.
However, chip stocks were weighed down by trouble at the top of NVIDIA (NVDA), where Jensen Huang resigned his role as chief executive following revelations of affairs that included an alleged Chinese spy. Huang was asked to voluntarily testify before the US Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 3, according to a Nov. 12 letter by the Committee Chair, Tim Scott, posted on X on Friday. NVIDIA's stock fell 13% this week.
NVIDIA will remain in focus next week as the company is scheduled to release its quarterly results.
Other companies on next week's earnings schedule include Home Depot (HD), Walt Disney (DIS), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), TJX (TJX), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Intuit (INTU), and BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ).
Economic data will include October retail sales, housing starts, industrial production, and capacity utilization.
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