The S&P 500 fell 0.4% in the week of October 19 to 23, its second straight weekly loss. It is up 12.3% this year. Elsewhere, the Nasdaq-100 fell 0.8%, the Dow rose 0.4% and the Russell 2000 (small caps) rose 2.0%. The average S&P 500 stock rose 1.1%, so the biggest companies were the ones dragging.
How the week unfolded: Monday +0.4%, Tuesday +0.3%, Wednesday +0.5%, Thursday -1.2%, Friday -0.5%. The best day was Wednesday and the worst Thursday.
The theme of the week: Construction & engineering stocks sold off together (median -11.9%, against -0.4% for the index): Comfort Systems USA -19.2%, Quanta Services -13.6%, Emcor -10.3%, Jacobs Solutions +2.8%. The biggest mover, Comfort Systems USA, fell after a leadership change1, despite better-than-expected results2.
Under the surface, a rotation: the week's 10 biggest losers had been up a median 45% this year going into the week, while its 10 biggest gainers had been down 4%. Investors sold this year's winners and bought its laggards. Barron's described it as “Coca-Cola, Visa and Mastercard Hit Records as Investors Rotate Out of Chip Stocks”3.
Who moved the index: Alphabet (-5.7%) took off the most, about 0.3 of a percentage point, followed by Meta Platforms (-9.5%), Nvidia (-1.4%). Those three explain about 150% of the week's move. Pulling the other way: Tesla (+4.8%), Apple (+1.3%), Palo Alto Networks (+11.4%).
Earnings: 76 S&P 500 companies reported this week and 56 (74%) beat analysts' earnings estimates. The best reaction: Equifax jumped 11.3% on its report as AP News reported “Most US stocks rise following strong profit reports from Equifax, Hasbro and other big companies”4. The worst: Lam Research dropped 11.8% on its report after an analyst cut its price target5.
Rates and risk: over the week the 10-year Treasury yield fell 13 basis points to 5.0% and the VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, eased to 19.0.
Coming up: Next week 245 S&P 500 companies report, led by Apple, Alphabet, Alphabet and Microsoft. On the economic calendar: Tuesday: Housing starts; Wednesday: Fed interest-rate decision (FOMC); Thursday: Weekly jobless claims; Thursday: GDP. Day by day: Tuesday: Visa (after the close); Wednesday: Alphabet (after the close), Alphabet (after the close), Microsoft (after the close), Meta Platforms (after the close); Thursday: Apple (after the close), Amazon (after the close), Eli Lilly (before the open), Mastercard (before the open); Friday: AbbVie (time not set), Chevron (before the open).
| Hasbro (HAS) After the company raised its outlook6 and results came in ahead of expectations7. Now up 46% this year. | +18.9% |
| Roper Technologies (ROP) After the company raised its outlook8. Now up 1% this year. | +16.0% |
| Charles River Laboratories (CRL) No company-specific story in the news; its sector's median stock moved +2.2% this week. Now up 73% this year. | +15.1% |
| Allegion (ALLE) No company-specific story in the news; its sector's median stock moved +1.3% this week. Now up 14% this year. | +14.4% |
| CrowdStrike (CRWD) After a new partnership9. Now up 120% this year. | +13.5% |
| Comfort Systems USA (FIX) After a leadership change1, despite better-than-expected results2. Now up 25% this year. | -19.2% |
| Howmet Aerospace (HWM) No company-specific story in the news; its sector's median stock moved +1.3% this week. Now down 9% this year. | -15.9% |
| Flex (FLEX) No company-specific story in the news; it had been up 50% this year before the week, part of the selling in this year's winners. Now up 27% this year. | -15.4% |
| Quanta Services (PWR) As Yahoo Finance reported “Quanta Services (PWR) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market: Key Insights”10. Now up 29% this year. | -13.6% |
| Bloom Energy (BE) As Yahoo Finance reported “Bloom Energy Beats Earnings, but Shares Still Tumble”11. Now up 122% this year. | -12.8% |
| Market | Friday close | Week | Year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (SPY) | 760.0 | -0.4% | +12.3% |
| Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | 704.4 | -0.8% | +15.1% |
| Dow (DIA) | 521.4 | +0.4% | +9.7% |
| Russell 2000 (small caps) (IWM) | 275.8 | +2.0% | +12.8% |
| Average S&P 500 stock (equal weight) (RSP) | 216.5 | +1.1% | +14.4% |
Indexes are tracked by their exchange-traded funds. Rates and oil are the latest daily readings from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED).
| Day | Company | When |
|---|---|---|
| Tue Oct 27 | Visa Inc. (V) | After the close |
| Wed Oct 28 | Alphabet Inc. (Class A) (GOOGL) | After the close |
| Wed Oct 28 | Alphabet Inc. (Class C) (GOOG) | After the close |
| Wed Oct 28 | Microsoft (MSFT) | After the close |
| Wed Oct 28 | Meta Platforms (META) | After the close |
| Thu Oct 29 | Apple Inc. (AAPL) | After the close |
| Thu Oct 29 | Amazon (AMZN) | After the close |
| Thu Oct 29 | Lilly (Eli) (LLY) | Before the open |
| Thu Oct 29 | Mastercard (MA) | Before the open |
| Thu Oct 29 | Intel (INTC) | After the close |
| Fri Oct 30 | AbbVie (ABBV) | Time not announced |
| Fri Oct 30 | Chevron Corporation (CVX) | Before the open |
Subscribers see how the Torvanta model portfolios respond each trading day: every proposed trade, sized and explained.
See plansResearch only, not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Rankings change as data changes and can be wrong. Torvanta and its founder may hold positions in securities discussed, and trade only after the information is published to all subscribers. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
torvanta.ai · Plans · Free weekly newsletter · Disclaimer
Data powered by Tiingo.com