The stock market extended gains in the final half-hour of trading Friday, capping another week of record highs for the major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best week since August.
XThe Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% in Friday's trading as two of its largest components topped buy points.
Comcast (CMCSA) broke out of a flat base with a 47.37 buy point. Analysts threw praise on the company's new Peacock video streaming service. It launches in April. PepsiCo (PEP) cleared a flat base with a 140.55 buy point. For both PepsiCo and Comcast, volume was merely average, and the relative strength lines lagged.
Indexes closed at session highs. The S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Russell 2000 was down 0.3% at the close, however. The Dow Jones industrials edged up 0.2%.
The Nasdaq rose more than 2% for the week — its sixth consecutive weekly increase — while the S&P 500 and Dow climbed 2% and 1.8%, respectively. It was the best week for the Dow since the last week of August, when it jumped 3%.
Volume appeared to be higher on the NYSE and Nasdaq Friday, a day of options expirations.
Boeing (BA) was the biggest drag on the Dow. The stock fell more than 2% after U.S. airlines again delayed the resumption of 737 Max service. The company also disclosed Friday a new software problem with the 737 Max, though it appears to be less cumbersome than the flight control system that resulted in the plane's grounding.
Cannacord Genuity analyst Ken Herbert today lowered his sales and earnings estimates for Boeing and reduced the price target to 350 from 370. Herbert now forecasts 2020 sales at $108 billion, down from $124 billion, and EPS at $14.65, from $20.52.
Housing Stocks Climb On Starts Data
Housing-related stocks climbed after December housing starts surged 16.9%, well above forecasts.
"Wow, what a housing number," economist Joel L. Naroff wrote in an analysis. Housing starts hit a 13-year high, although permit requests dropped. "When you see this type of outsized rise, the initial reaction is to think that conditions may be changing. But the reality is that huge, unexpected increases are typically created by temporary factors." December's weather was more favorable for construction. "There was likely a solid increase in construction, but much of the rise may have been due to seasonal factors," he added.
Wood products, cement and aggregates, buildings products and homebuilder industry groups were higher.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) rose past the 59.44 buy point of a cup with handle. But volume was light, and the relative strength line is below prior highs.
With the market uptrend getting stretched, some defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate performed better. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) rose 0.7% to a record high and is above the 65.21 buy point of a flat base.
Juan Carlos Arancibia is the Markets Editor of IBD and oversees our market coverage. Follow him at @IBD_jarancibia
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