Weekly Wrap-Up: Stocks Move on Trump Tweets; Banks Pop

Several stocks made big moves this week, after relevant tweets from President-elect Donald Trump

Dec 9, 2016 at 11:44 AM
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The Trump rally rolled on, with the Dow, S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) all scoring fresh record highs this week -- and the Dow leaving a critical level in the dust. In fact, President-elect Donald Trump's Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) account seemingly served as a puppeteer for the stock market. Specifically, Dow stock Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) took a tumble on Tuesday, after Trump posted a criticizing tweet over the cost of the Air Force One program. Elsewhere, shares of Twitter and Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) made big moves of their own, as Trump's tweet over a potential $50 billion investment from Japan's SoftBank sparked buyout buzz for the two companies.

Outside of Twitter, Trump's comments over drug pricing in Time's "Person of the Year" cover story sent biotechs tumbling on Wednesday -- putting several overloved drug stocks on notice. And while Citron Research called this company "the culprit behind pharmaceutical price gouging" and Puma Biotechnology Inc (NYSE:PBYI) plunged on downbeat drug data, not all news was bad for biotechs. In fact, shares of SAGE Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SAGE) and Neuroderm Ltd (NASDAQ:NDRM) surged on well-received updates for their respective treatments for postpartum depression and Parkinson's disease.

Elsewhere, bank stocks continued to shine in the post-Trump era, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) boasting a 4% week-to-date lead at last check. This positive price action was echoed in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) -- which started the week off with some love from the brokerage bunch -- and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), with shares of both big banks notching new highs this week. And while regional bank Regions Financial Corp (NYSE:RF) followed its more well-publicized cohorts higher, this underloved bank stock could be a proverbial diamond in the rough for contrarian traders.

Not to be outdone, tech stocks saw their fair share of action throughout the week, with chipmakers seeing the bulk of the upside. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO), for instance, seems set to close out the week at record highs, thanks to a positive earnings reaction. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) also notched a notable milestone -- before taking an expected breather in Friday's trading. Elsewhere in the tech sector, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) unveiled its first foray into the brick-and-mortar grocery business, rumors swirled over a potential Apple takeover of streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) could be facing more legal headaches overseas, and Barron's was quite impressed with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Amid these headlines, "FANG" stocks followed the COMP higher, with all four on pace to log weekly wins.

With markets raging higher, though, several sentiment indicators we follow are reaching extreme levels of optimism. Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White specifically ran the numbers of the massive build in SPX buying climaxes and the recent spike in bullishness among financial advisors, with both signals suggesting near-term headwinds could be on the horizon.

Nevertheless, at last check, the Dow was up 2.4% week-to-date, while the SPX and COMP were boasting week-to-date leads of 2.7% and 3.5%, respectively. What's more, the Russell 2000 Index (RUT) continues to outperform, up 5.7% since last Friday's close. Looking ahead, next week could certainly be a volatile one, with the December Fed meeting on tap -- and expectations high that the central bank is poised to pull the trigger on its first interest rate hike in a year.

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