The S&P 500 rose 2.50% for the week to close at 4,515.77 points, posting gains in four out of five sessions. Wall Street's benchmark index notched its best weekly performance since mid-June, helped by a host of economic data that pointed towards a slowing economy and boosted bets that the Federal Reserve could hold off on further rate hikes. Technology stocks also contributed to the S&P 500's weekly advance, adding onto their gain from last week. The week was crammed with key economic data on the labor market and inflation which will probably be instrumental in shaping the decision of the Fed's monetary policy committee at its meeting later this month. Many of the indicators pointed towards cooling in the economy, strengthening hopes that it would be enough for the central bank to keep rates steady. Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed an uptick in the unemployment rate. Market participants took heart from the data, which suggests that the highly resilient labor market is finally cracking and that the effects of the Fed's aggressive tightening campaign is showing up. Investors are hoping that the reports have been enough to convince the central bank to stop hiking. The only blip was jobless claims numbers, which fell for a third straight week. See a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.
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| | Top News  Shutterstock The S&P 500 rose 2.50% for the week to close at 4,515.77 points, posting gains in four out of five sessions. Wall Street's benchmark index notched its best weekly performance since mid-June, helped by a host of economic data that pointed towards a slowing economy and boosted bets that the Federal Reserve could hold off on further rate hikes. Technology stocks also contributed to the S&P 500's weekly advance, adding onto their gain from last week. The week was crammed with key economic data on the labor market and inflation which will probably be instrumental in shaping the decision of the Fed's monetary policy committee at its meeting later this month. Many of the indicators pointed towards cooling in the economy, strengthening hopes that it would be enough for the central bank to keep rates steady. Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed an uptick in the unemployment rate. Market participants took heart from the data, which suggests that the highly resilient labor market is finally cracking and that the effects of the Fed's aggressive tightening campaign is showing up. Investors are hoping that the reports have been enough to convince the central bank to stop hiking. The only blip was jobless claims numbers, which fell for a third straight week. See a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch. | | Featured  Small-cap stocks are trading at historically low valuations, with the S&P 600 index at a 26% discount compared to the large-cap S&P 500's premium. That's the subject of a new report, 'Top 10 Stocks for Under $10', from our Head of Quantitative Analysis, Steven Cress. All ten stocks reflect a 'Strong Buy' rating, and have compelling upside potential ahead. That's according to our Quant system, which tracks key metrics like valuation, growth and profitability. And it works. In January, Super Micro Computer ( SMCI) was picked as a 'Top Stock' for 2023 - and it's now up 236%. Meanwhile, the Top 10 stocks from January are up 45% in total.* Get the report by joining Premium - and experience all the value yourself. Read the report now* Calculation based on average of returns, assuming stocks are bought on January 5, 2023 and held by August 29, 2023. For more on Quant Ratings, click here https://seekingalpha.com/performance/quant. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or financial situation and does not offer personalized investment advice. | | | | | Financials Bitcoin ( BTC-USD) traded above the $27,000 level after a federal court vacated an SEC ruling that had prohibited Grayscale from starting a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S. Cryptocurrencies jumped on the news on Tuesday, as well as stocks exposed to the industry. "This is a monumental step forward for American investors, the Bitcoin ecosystem, and all those who have been advocating for Bitcoin exposure through the added protection for the ETF wrapper," Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein declared. While things could still get held up, the company plans on "next steps" to bring OTC:GBTC to NYSE Arca as a spot Bitcoin ETF, which could potentially pave the way for similar products. ( 88 comments) | | | | | Global There's a new target date for the expansion of the European Union proposed by European Council President Charles Michel. Coming meetings by EU leaders should focus on the enlargement of the trade bloc by 2030 in order to boost influence and assertiveness, and help remodel the global approach to development. Parts of the speech at the Bled Strategic Forum also focused on not importing past conflicts to block the accession process, but sticking to a merit-based process that outlines economic, judicial and administrative reforms needed for membership. "It will be difficult and sometimes painful," Michel declared, "[but] enlargement is no longer a dream. It is time to move forward." ( 7 comments) | | Manufacturing Resolving the biggest single mass tort in U.S. history, 3M (MMM) agreed to a $6B settlement for over 300K lawsuits claiming the company sold the U.S. military defective combat earplugs. 3M had argued the earplugs worked properly when soldiers were trained on how to use them, but veterans had sued subsidiary Aearo Technologies, claiming that its foam earplugs were flawed and didn't protect them from damage to their hearing. The case is one of two big disputes that 3M has found itself in. The other is related to "forever chemicals," with the potential for liabilities that analysts have estimated may cost the company billions of dollars. (11 comments) | | Weekly movement U.S. Indices
Dow +1.4% to 34,838. S&P 500 +2.5% to 4,516. Nasdaq +3.3% to 14,032. Russell 2000 +3.6% to 1,921. CBOE Volatility Index -16.5% to 13.09.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples -0.3%. Utilities -1.7%. Financials +2.%. Telecom +3.5%. Healthcare +0.1%. Industrials +2.%. Information Technology +4.4%. Materials +3.6%. Energy +3.8%. Consumer Discretionary +3.%. Real Estate +1.4%.
World Indices
London +1.7% to 7,465. France +0.9% to 7,297. Germany +1.3% to 15,840. Japan +3.5% to 32,728. China +2.3% to 3,133. Hong Kong +2.4% to 18,393. India +0.8% to 65,387.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI +7.8% to $86.05/bbl. Gold +1.4% to $1,966.2/oz. Natural Gas +8.7% to 2.762. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.181.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD -0.22%. USD/JPY -0.12%. GBP/USD +0.1%. Bitcoin -0.8%. Litecoin -2.5%. Ethereum -0.8%. XRP -5.2%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
Western Digital (WDC) +16%. Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) +14%. Catalent (CTLT) +12%. Micron Technology (MU) +10%. Intel (INTC) +10%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
Dollar General (DG) -16%. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) -7%. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) -6%. Evergy (EVRG) -6%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) -5%.
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