Wall Street Snaps Losing Streak

After three weeks of severe losses, the S&P 500 benchmark index managed to close in the green, up 2.67% at 5,099.96, helped by a strong rebound in tech giants such as Nvidia (NVDA, up 15.14%) and Alphabet (GOOG, up 11.54%), the parent company of Google. The GOOG stock skyrocketed following the announcement of higher-than-expected first-quarter revenue and the introduction of a first-ever 20 cents per-share dividend. Cutting a four-week losing streak, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also led the way up with a weekly gain of 4.23% after suffering a 5.52% drop last week.

European indices followed suit. The MSCI EMU added 1.82% while the FTSE 100 jumped 3.09%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 2.34% to 37,934.76 amid BoJ's dovish signals. The central bank decided to keep rates at near-zero, leading the yen to a new 34-year low, as investors expect that the rate differential between the U.S. and Japan will maintain the pressure on the Japanese currency. In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.76%. Chinese markets saw a significant recovery from the 5-year lows they hit in late January, amid some signs of improvement in the Chinese economy and Beijing's continued liquidity injections.

All S&P Sectors Paint Green    

For the second time this year, all 11 sectors marked gains with information technology, up 5.11%, leading the S&P 500 benchmark index. It was followed by the consumer discretionary sector, up 3.50%, boosted by the Tesla stock (TSLA), up 14.44%. The EV manufacturer reversed the bearish trend after announcing it would introduce "new models" by early 2025 using its current platforms and production lines. The communication services sector also performed well (+2.72%) despite disappointing Meta news. Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, highlighted that future revenues might be impacted by increased spending on AI. The META stock dipped by more than 7.85% over the week.

The poorest performances came from the basic materials and energy sectors, up 0.65% and 0.74% respectively. Oil prices edged higher this week with the WTI crude up 0.85%, rebounding after a two-week decline as traders digested the latest growth and inventories data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gasoline stockpiles decreased less than projected while distillate stockpiles rose contrary to the anticipated drop, reflecting signs of slowing demand.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.