On Thursday, the S&P 500 reached its highest levels since August. The market gauge and other indices ended the week on a high note as a result of strong macroeconomic data and constructive news from Capitol Hill.
Investors responded positively to an agreement between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a deal to temporarily suspend the U.S. borrowing limit until 2025. The debt ceiling deal passed both the House and the Senate just in time to avoid a government default.
The political success was complemented by stronger-than-expected jobs data. U.S. employers added 339,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, surpassing expectations of 190,000, with unemployment still at a historically low rate of 3.7%.
Chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) crossed the $1-trillion market cap threshold on Tuesday, riding a wave that started the previous week, when the company’s first-quarter earnings report positioned it as a leading provider of artificial intelligence infrastructure technology.
Shares of electric vehicle maker Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) dropped by double digits on the week after the company announced a capital raise of $3 billion, including a stock offering and a $1.8-billion private placement from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Athleisure apparel company Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) became one of the biggest movers of the week, rising over 15% after hours Thursday, after the retailer posted first-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations. The retailer’s sales growth of 24% year-over-year was led by the Chinese market.
What To Watch: Next week, investors should be ready to watch out for earnings of British plumbing and heating products distributor Ferguson (NYSE:FREG) on Monday, supermarket giant Kroger (NYSE:KR) on Tuesday, digital signing platform Docusign (NASDAQ:DOCU) on Thursday and Chinese EV maker NIO (NYSE:NIO) on Friday.
