Stocks closed out a stellar week on a quiet note as the momentum that sent the main indexes jolting higher Tuesday faded into Friday's close. Still, all three benchmarks ended with impressive weekly gains.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a fractional gain at 34,947, while the S&P 500 (+0.1% at 4,514) and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1% at 14,125) muscled higher. For the week, the Dow jumped 1.8%, the S&P 500 surged 2.1% and the Nasdaq gained 2.2% – their third straight weekly win.
It was a relatively light day for economic data, with housing starts and building permits the lone report on the docket. According to the Census Bureau, construction on new homes rose 1.9% from September to October to 1.37 million. While this was more than economists were expecting, it still remains 4.2% lower than October 2022. Building permits, which are an indicator of future construction, were up 1.1% month-over-month in October.
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"Builders undoubtedly perceive there's a viable market for new housing and that they can sell the houses fairly quickly without inventory building if there's a recession," says Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. "With so much concern over the resiliency of the all-important consumer, today's reports suggest that builders do not expect an impending recession."
Gap stock spikes after earnings
In single-stock news, Gap (GPS) stock surged 30.6% after the apparel retailer unveiled earnings. "Improved promotional activity" helped Gap report top- and bottom-line beats in its third quarter, while same-store sales declined less than expected.
"As we enter the fourth quarter, we have a balanced view of the holiday season," said CEO Richard Dickson on the company's earnings call. "Inventory positions are well-controlled, and our financial position is strong. However, we remain mindful of the uncertain consumer environment."
The retail stock had a rough start to 2023 and was down 34% for the year-to-date in late May. Since then, shares have rebounded more than 135%.
Nvidia earnings on deck
Looking ahead, next week is a short one with the stock market closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, Nvidia (NVDA, -0.4%) makes an appearance on the earnings calendar, with the chipmaker slated to disclose its Q3 results after Tuesday's close.
Nvidia is arguably the hottest stock of the year – and analysts are anticipating explosive growth in its top and bottom lines too. For Q3, specifically, industry analysts anticipate a per-share profit of $3.10 compared to a year-ago profit of 58 cents per share. Revenue is forecast to arrive at $14.9 billion, up more than 150% year-over-year.
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