** S&P 500 .SPX ekes out 0.1% gain in volatile trading as fading rate cut hopes offset relief over end of US government shutdown .N
** Dow .DJI edges up 0.3%, but Nasdaq Composite .IXIC loses 0.5%
** Traders eye S&P 500 index's impressive run above its 50-DMA; survives another test on Fri
** Bulls attempt to shut down the Nasdaq's decline, and on Fri, IXIC also sees the 50-DMA work its magic
** U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR at around 4.15%, on track for a weekly rise US/T. This as markets eye levels, await data
** Only a minority of sectors endure the turbulence: Healthcare provides most stability, while bond proxies and Consumer Discretionary wobble
** Healthcare .SPXHC surges 3.9%. Eli Lilly LLY.N shares hit record high as analysts point to "multiple waves of obesity treatment adoption drivers." AI and tech have been stars, but are these understudies taking the stage?
Nasdaq Biotech index .NBI hits record high, notches >4% gain on week
** Consumer Staples .SPLRCS up 0.6%. Walmart WMT.N says CEO McMillon to retire after a decade, shares tick lower
** Tech .SPLRCT rises 0.5%. Cisco CSCO.O reaches 25-year peak after raised FY26 forecast on robust AI-fueled networking equipment demand
AMD AMD.O jumps after it projects $100 bln annual data center chip rev in five years, market to grow to $1 trln
Nvidia NVDA.O slips on Tues as SoftBank 9984.T offloads its remaining shares in the chipmaker for $5.83 bln, though NVDA registers 1% weekly advance
Applied Materials AMAT.O initially falls on Fri, then ends session in the green as chip equipment maker forecast reduced China spending in 2026 on tighter US curbs. Still, AMAT down ~2% on week
Semiconductor index .SOX sheds 2%
** Financials .SPSY sag 0.7%. Crypto exchange Coinbase COIN.O worst sector performer, down 8%, as bitcoin slides to 6-month low
** Communication Services .SPLRCL down 0.8%. Disney DIS.N falls after qtrly rev miss, warns of potentially long distribution dispute with YouTube TV
However, Verizon VZ.N rises; source says telecom firm to cut about 15,000 jobs as new CEO Schulman restructures
** Consumer Discretionary .SPLRCD tumbles 2.7%. Home Depot HD.N and Lowe's LOW.N down; Stifel cuts PTs on both on weaker comparable sales performance and delayed home improvement category inflection
Conversely, Nike NKE.N gains after Wells Fargo turns bullish on improving visibility
** Meanwhile, individual investor bears jump to an "unusually high" level
** SPX performance YTD:
Tech | 24.5% |
Comm Svcs | 22.7% |
Utils | 16.8% |
Industrials | 15.2% |
SPX | 14.5% |
Healthcare | 10.1% |
Financials | 8.3% |
Energy | 7.1% |
Materials | 3.6% |
Discretionary | 2.7% |
Staples | 0.8% |
Real Estate | 0.8% |
(Lance Tupper and Terence Gabriel are Reuters market analysts. The views expressed are their own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com ; terence.gabriel@tr.com))