The stock market rebounded following the previous week’s big declines. Although there were broad gains, the market was led by the mega caps and semiconductors. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) jumped 5.5% and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) surged 10.0%. NVIDIA (NVDA) was a standout performer, bouncing 15.8% following last week’s slide.
Only one S&P 500 sector ended lower for the week with energy dropping 0.7%, while the technology sector led the pack by a wide margin, climbing 7.3%. The S&P 500 gained 4.0%, the Nasdaq 6.0%, and the Russell 2000 +4.4%.
Last Wednesday started on a downbeat note after the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of August. The report stoked caused a downward move in the market due to core-CPI, which excludes food and energy, remained well above the Fed’s 2.0% target at 3.2% year-over-year. The S&P 500 was down as much as 1.6%, the Nasdaq Composite was down as much as 1.4%, and the Russell 2000 was down as much as 1.9% that morning. However, stocks staged a turnaround, that left the major indices significantly higher. That day the S&P 500 logged a 1.1% gain and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.2%, propelled by strength in the semiconductor space and mega cap stocks.
The release of the preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey for September showed that year-ahead expectations for personal finances and the economy both improved over August. This helped improve market sentiment in regards to the expectation that the US economy will avoid a recession.