S&P 500, Dow touch one-week highs after business activity data

The S&P 500 and Dow hit one-week highs on Friday after data showed a still-strong economy, while small-cap stocks outperformed the large-cap index.

The S&P flash PMI showed manufacturing activity was 48.8 in November, in line with estimates in a Reuters poll of economists. Services activity was at 57, ahead of expectations. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

At 09:53 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 264.30 points, or 0.60%, at 44,134.65, the S&P 500 was up 12.58 points, or 0.21%, at 5,961.29 and the Composite was up 491.65 points. 0.07%, to 18,958.93.

Alphabet fell 0.9%, following Thursday’s 4% drop, as the Justice Department argued to a judge that the company was monopolizing online searches, capping gains on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 communications services sector was down 0.5%, though most of the 11 sectors were in the green, led by a consumer gain of 0.9%.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index rose 0.9% to a more than one-week high and was set for weekly advances of about 3%.

“With an economy that is going to expand and will see earnings growth from more economic sectors than just IT and communication services, it makes sense to shift back to those small-cap and mid-cap companies and therefore put some pressure on them. Senior Portfolio Manager at Global Investments Thomas Martin said.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow closed at one-week highs on Thursday, with AI bellwether Nvidia managing modest gains after its quarterly forecast, while investors took comfort from strong economic data. On the day, Nvidia fell 1.9%.

Three major indexes are on track for weekly gains, with sentiment still strong about the positive effects Donald Trump’s tax and tariff policies could have for corporates after winning the presidential election.

Expectations about the Federal Reserve’s policy moves in December have recently drifted between pauses and cuts, as investors weigh the impact of Trump’s policies on price pressures.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is a 59.6% chance the central bank will cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points. Most brokerages also support a quarter point cut.

Markets were also monitoring the missile exchange between Ukraine and Russia after the latter lowered its threshold for nuclear retaliation earlier in the week.

Among the top movers, Gap Inc jumped 8.7% after the Old Navy parent raised its annual sales forecast and said the holiday season was off to a “strong start.”

Intuit lost 3.9% on Thursday after the TurboTax parent reported second-quarter revenue and profit that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Honeywell International advanced 1.7% after the industrial giant said it would sell its personal protective equipment business for about $1.33 billion.

Leading issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 53 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite posted 82 new highs and 34 new lows.