Wall Street ended higher on Friday in a shortened trading day, with tech stocks driving the rally to cap a robust November for equities. All three major indexes ended in negative territory, with the Dow recording a new closing high.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.4% or 188.259 points, to finish at 44,910.65 points.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% or 33.64 points, to close at 6,032.38 points to close at a new record high. Tech and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) gained 1%, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) added 0.9%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.8% or 157.69 points to end at 19,218.17 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 2.81% to 13.51. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.46-to-1 ratio. A total of 8.15 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15 billion.
Tech Stocks Lead Rally on Shortened Trading Day
Trading volume was light on Friday in a shortened session following the Thanksgiving holiday. Investors kept a close watch on retail stocks and followed how shoppers responded to the massive Black Friday discounts.
So far, reports suggest an impressive start to the holiday season, with online sales on track to hit record highs on Black Friday.
Friday’s rally was driven by tech and chip stocks. Chip stocks rallied on reports that the Biden administration was contemplating imposing stronger barriers on the sale of semiconductor equipment to China as expected earlier.
Shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) rose 2.2%, while shares of Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) gained 3.2%. NVIDIA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The small-cap Russell 2000 also gained 0.4% on Friday as treasury yields fell further from their earlier highs. Friday’s moves came as investors finished the week and month on a high, taking major indexes to new record highs in a post-election rally fueled by Donald Trump’s win.
No major economic data was released on Friday.
Weekly Roundup
Wall Street scored yet another winning week, with the Dow finishing 1.4% higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each closed the week 1.1% higher.
Monthly Roundup
November emerged to be one of the best months for stocks this year. The Dow closed the month up 7.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished November 5% and 6% higher, respectively.
Must-See: Solar Stocks Poised to Skyrocket
The solar industry stands to bounce back as tech companies and the economy transition away from fossil fuels to power the AI boom.
Trillions of dollars will be invested in clean energy over the coming years – and analysts predict solar will account for 80% of the renewable energy expansion. This creates an outsized opportunity to profit in the near-term and for years to come. But you have to pick the right stocks to get into.
Discover Zacks’ hottest solar stock recommendation FREE.NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
