Wall Street makes steady gains this week, as bitcoin’s $100K race steals spotlight

The S&P 500 (SP500) on Friday advanced 1.68% for the week to end at 5,969.34 points, posting gains in four out of five sessions. Its accompanying SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) added 1.67% for the week.

The benchmark index bounced back from last week’s retreat and is now just 0.80% below its all-time intraday high. Meanwhile, fellow major average the blue-chip Dow (DJI) notched its 44th record close of the year.

It was a week marked by steady gains, geopolitical tensions arising from developments in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a focus on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s appointments for his second administration, chip giant Nvidia’s (NVDA) quarterly results, and a furious rally in bitcoin (BTC-USD) that has seen the world’s largest cryptocurrency flirt with the $100K milestone.

The war was in the spotlight at the beginning of the week, after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday updated Moscow’s doctrine on nuclear weapons, saying it could consider using them in response to “aggression” supported by a nuclear power. The move came after the U.S. authorized Ukraine to fire American-made long-range missiles into Russia. Safe haven assets such as U.S. Treasury yields (US10Y), gold (XAUUSD:CUR) and the yen (JPY:USD) did well this week.

At home, Trump continued to make headlines with his picks for his second administration. In particular, the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz from consideration as attorney general in Trump’s cabinet over ethics allegations grabbed attention. Trump’s choice of TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the agency overseeing health insurance coverage for millions of Americans had an effect on managed care players.

Wall Street ended flat on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings. The world’s largest publicly listed company has continuously delivered staggering numbers since the artificial intelligence (AI) boom amid soaring demand for its chips that can power complex AI processes, and its quarterly reports have become market-moving events.

The chipmaker’s results once again showed quarterly revenue nearly doubling Y/Y, while its data center revenue climbed to a record $30.8B. However, Nvidia’s (NVDA) current quarter revenue outlook of $37.5B (+/-2%) came in lower than some of the loftiest expectations nearing $41B. For investors used to an absolute blowout report, the slightly soft outlook sent shares falling after hours on Wednesday.

But they rebounded in regular trade on Thursday, even hitting a record intraday high at $152.89 and eventually ending in the green. Most analysts shrugged off the guidance and focused on the exceptional quarterly numbers.

The highlight of this week was almost undoubtedly bitcoin (BTC-USD). The cryptocurrency staged what looked like an inevitable march to $100K, though that level still remains elusive with bitcoin (BTC-USD) coming as close as ~$99.7K.

“Think Bitcoin near $100k and $2 trillion in market cap has people feeling flush? When else have we seen this kind of wealth get created basically out of thin air?” Bespoke Investment Group asked on X (formerly Twitter).

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is fast cementing its place – along with Tesla (TSLA) – as one of the most prominent “Trump trades” following the Republican candidate’s election victory.

“Given the short-term technicals, it would not surprise me if Bitcoin prices were to break above $100,000 by the time the U.S. stock market reopens on Monday,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, said on X.

Turning to the weekly performance of the S&P 500 (SP500) sectors, all 11 ended in positive territory, except Communication Services. Consumer Staples topped the gainers, helped by an advance in Walmart (WMT) which offset a slump in Target (TGT) after both retail giants reported quarterly results. See below a breakdown of the performance of the sectors as well as their accompanying SPDR Select Sector ETFs from November 15 close to November 22 close:

#1: Consumer Staples +3.10%, and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLP) +2.35%.

#2: Materials +2.95%, and the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLB) +3.08%.

#3: Real Estate +2.61%, and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLRE) +2.58%.

#4: Utilities +2.56%, and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLU) +2.78%.

#5: Industrials +2.46%, and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLI) +2.54%.

#6: Energy +2.33%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLE) +2.68%.

#7: Financials +1.68%, and the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLF) +1.72%.

#8: Health Care +1.62%, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLV) +1.64%.

#9: Consumer Discretionary +1.58%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) +2.18%.

#10: Information Technology +1.55%, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (XLK) +2.14%.

#11: Communication Services -0.30%, and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) +1.82%.

For investors looking to track the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500), here are some exchange-traded funds of interest: (VOO), (IVV), (RSP), (SSO), (UPRO), (SH), (SDS), and (SPXU).

For investors looking into the future of what’s happening, take a look at the Seeking Alpha Catalyst Watch to see next week’s breakdown of actionable events that stand out.

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