The S&P 500 index rose 0.8% last week as a Thursday-Friday rally managed to erase declines posted earlier in the week amid geopolitical turmoil.
This marks the S&P 500’s first weekly gain since the week ended Feb. 4. With just one session remaining in the month, the index is down 2.9% for February to date. It is down 8% for the year to date.
In the first two sessions of the week, the S&P 500 tumbled as Russia attacked and invaded Ukraine amid an effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to topple the Ukraine government. The Ukraine locations being attacked included the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as well as the now-defunct, Soviet-built Chernobyl nuclear power station, the site of the world’s worst atomic energy disaster.
However, later in the week, the index bounced back as the US announced new sanctions on Russian banks and elites while hopes began to emerge that Russian President Putin might still be open to negotiations. The S&P 500 recorded a 2.2% jump Friday as Moscow signaled openness to talks with the Ukrainian government which helped move the index into the black.
The health care and real estate sectors had the largest percentage gains of the week, up 2.7% each, followed by a 2% rise in utilities. Three sectors still ended the week in the red: Consumer discretionary fell 2.2% while consumer staples and energy slipped 0.3% each.
This week, the market expects to receive quarterly earnings results from HP (HPQ), Target (TGT), Salesforce.com (CRM), Kroger (KR) and Costco Wholesale (COST).
The week’s economic data will feature February jobs data to be released Friday by the Labor Department. Other economic reports due next week include February readings on the manufacturing and services sectors from the Institute for Supply Management as well as from Markit.
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