Stocks wrapped up an impressive week on a positive note, with all three indexes notching new record closing highs – and the S&P 500 briefly climbing above the psychologically significant 6,000 level for the first time ever.
By the numbers, the S&P 500 added 0.4% to close at 5,995 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 43,988. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.09% to 19,286. It was the biggest weekly percentage gain for the S&P 500 (+4.7%) and Dow (+4.6%) since November 2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“The Trump rally isn’t over with stocks reaching fresh all-time highs as investors look ahead to tax cuts, deregulation, and Made in America policies to power future gains,” says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. The Fed’s latest rate cut is also providing a tailwind for stocks, as is news that consumer sentiment spiked this month, he adds.
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Indeed, the University of Michigan said its Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 73.0 in November from October’s reading of 70.5 – the highest level since April. The survey concluded on Monday and does not include any reactions to the election outcome.
Year-ahead inflation expectations fell to their lowest point since December 2020, while long-run inflation expectations ticked up to 3.1% from 3.0% in the month prior.
The latest inflation numbers arrive next week, starting with Wednesday morning’s release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Stocks on the move
In single-stock news, Airbnb (ABNB) slumped 8.7% after the travel booking and rental platform reported lower-than-anticipated earnings and issued a revenue outlook for its fourth quarter that was just shy of analysts’ expectations.
“On the positive side, we see ABNB as the best-positioned travel company based on its strong global brand (limited Google risk) and ability to quickly adjust to travelers’ demands through the combination of unique-supply and flexible terms,” says Oppenheimer analyst Jed Kelly, who has a Perform (Hold) rating on the consumer discretionary stock.
However, “investors appear to be baking in strong execution, and we see a high degree of multiple compression risk into uncertain macro with decelerating nights,” he warns.
Pinterest (PINS) was another post-earnings loser, plunging 14.0% after the do-it-yourself (DIY) social media platform reported a top- and bottom-line beat for its third quarter but issued weak Q4 revenue guidance.
“Management continues to demonstrate strong execution against its user engagement and monetization strategy, with several early initiatives in place to drive growth over the intermediate-term,” says Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt (Neutral, the equivalent of Hold).
For now, though, investors will debate the sustainability of high revenue growth against higher comparisons, the impact of more ads on user engagement, and headwinds from weakness in the food and beverage category, Devitt says.
On the positive side of the ledger was Upstart (UPST), which soared 46.0% after the artificial intelligence (AI) lending marketplace reported a Q3 beat and issued an outlook for the fourth quarter that was well ahead of expectations.
Still, Needham analyst Kyle Peterson maintained a Hold rating on UPST after earnings. “While we are constructive on UPST’s growth trajectory over the medium term, we believe that it is still relatively early on in the days of a growth recovery,” he says.
Elsewhere, Icahn Enterprises (IEP) plunged 6.1% after Carl Icahn’s holding company said it will halve its dividend to 50 cents per share from $1.00 per share. IEP, which is classified as an energy stock, is now down 30% for the year to date.
The dividend cut was done to fund the purchase of 15 million additional shares of CVR Energy (CVI) shares. “IEP is proposing the tender offer because it believes that CVR’s shares are undervalued in the market and represent an attractive investment opportunity, and that CVR’s shareholders will benefit from an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium to their trading price,” the company said in a press release.
Last week, CVI stock plummeted more than 24% after the company said it is suspending its third-quarter dividend.
