The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.1% this holiday-shortened week, ending November on a strong note as the market benchmark locked in its largest monthly increase of the year.
The S&P 500 ended Friday's abbreviated session at 6,032.38, its highest closing level ever, a day after it had been closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. The index also recorded a fresh intraday high on Friday of 6,044.17.
For the month, the S&P logged a 5.7% increase, its largest monthly increase since an 8.9% jump last November.
The index is up 26% for 2024 with a month remaining in the year.
Economic data released this week showed US real gross domestic product rose at a 2.8% annualized rate in the third quarter, in line with the prior estimate and a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. However, the measure for personal consumption expenditures was revised lower to 3.5% growth from a previously projected 3.7% gain.
All but one sector in the S&P 500 rose this week. Consumer discretionary had the largest percentage increase, up 2.3%, followed by a 2.1% rise in health care and a 2% lift in real estate.
Gainers in consumer discretionary included a 14% jump in the shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) as the beauty retailer prepares to release its fiscal Q3 results next week. Ahead of the report, Citigroup boosted its price target on the stock to $390 per share from $345.
In health care, shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) rose 6.3% as the company's diagnostic agent flortaucipir, or Tauvid, received approval from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to test whether adults with memory problems have Alzheimer's disease.
In real estate, shares of Equinix (EQIX) rose 4.8% as the company said it has issued an additional 1.15 billion euros ($1.21 billion) in green bonds. Truist Securities raised its price target on the stock to $1,090 per share from $935.
Energy was the lone sector in the red for the week, falling 2%. Crude oil futures also declined as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict eased, reducing concerns about supply disruptions.
Among the decliners in the energy sector, shares of Diamondback Energy (FANG) fell 4.2% and Devon Energy (DVN) shares shed 3.8%.
Next week, the market will kick off December with reports on October construction spending and November manufacturing data, but all eyes will be on November's employment data coming later in the week.
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