EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES

DJIA: 52-wk: +22.45% YTD: +4.74% Wkly: +1.97%

S&P 500: 52-wk: +31.81% YTD: +9.74% Wkly: +2.29%

NASDAQ: 52 wk: +38.95% YTD: +9.44% Wkly: +2.85%

IShares Core MSCI Europe ETF: 52-wk: +14.85% YTD: +4.56% Wkly: +0.24%

THE S&P 500: Recorded its best week of the year on Friday, up 2.3%. That added to gains that have lifted the benchmark index around 10 percent this year, setting a series of record highs.

THE RUN HAS BEEN FUELED: By a ferocious influx of cash: Investors poured nearly $60 billion into funds that buy stocks in the U.S. for the week through March 13, a record for data from EPFR Global, which has been tracking fund flows for more than 20 years.

BIG TECH IS BACK: And its momentum can keep the S&P 500 heading higher. The index gained 2.3% this past week, while the Nasdaq rose 2.9%. NVDA, MSFT, META, TSLA and AMZN collectively outperformed the market, doing much of the legwork to carry the S&P 500 over 5200 thanks to their $11 trillion-plus market value.

RECAP OF FRIDAY’S ACTION: These stocks made moves on Friday:

FedEx FDX 7.35% reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, as the shipping giant’s cost-cutting efforts overshadowed lower sales and reduced demand. FedEx also raised its fiscal 2024 guidance and announced a buyback of $5 billion of stock. Shares of FedEx gained 7.4%, while those of rival United Parcel Service rose 0.6%.

Nike NKE -6.90% posted fiscal third-quarter revenue that rose slightly from a year earlier, but shares fell 6.9% after the sneaker and apparel company said the first half of fiscal 2025 would be challenging, with sales down by low single-digit percentages year over year. “This reflects near term-headwinds from life cycle management of our key product franchises,” said Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend on an earnings call with analysts, as well as the “subdued” global macroeconomic outlook. Foot Locker rose 3.1% to $24.39 after Citi upgraded the stock to Neutral from Sell and raised the price target to $24 from $19.

Apple AAPL 0.53% rose 0.5%. Shares had tumbled 4.1% on Thursday, when the tech giant was sued by the Justice Department, which alleged the iPhone provider violated federal law to preserve its dominant position in the mobile phone market. Apple pushed back on the notion that the iPhone is a monopoly or that it had abused its position. “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” Apple said. “If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect.”

Fourth-quarter earnings at Lululemon Athletica LULU -15.80% topped expectations, but the stock tumbled 16% after the athleisure company’s guidance for the fiscal first quarter and year was short of analysts’ expectations.

Tesla fell 1.2% following a report from Bloomberg that said the company has reduced electric-vehicle production at its plant in China. Tesla earlier this month instructed employees at its Shanghai facility to lower production of both the Model Y sport-utility vehicle and Model 3 sedan by working fewer days a week, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Nvidia rose 3.1% to $942.89. UBS analysts raised their price target on the chip maker to $1,100 from $800 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock.

U.S.-listed shares of Baidu rose 0.5% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has held preliminary talks with the Chinese company about using its generative artificial- intelligence technology in its devices in China.

Reddit RDDT -8.80%, the popular news aggregation social media site, fell 8.8% to $46 on Friday. The stock debuted Thursday at $47 a share and closed at $50.44, a jump of 48.4% above the initial public offering price of $34.

Best Buy rose 1.5% to $81.66 after analysts at J.P. Morgan upgraded shares of the electronics retailer to Overweight from Neutral and raised their price target to $101 from $89.

Digital World Acquisition, the so-called blank check company seeking to take Donald Trump’s Truth Social public, fell 14% after shareholders approved a merger of the two companies. Apple’s Business Model Getting Hit From All Sides Now In addition to a government lawsuit, Apple is facing near-term challenges such as another weak iPhone cycle.

FORECASTS FOR EARNINGS IN THE FIRST QUARTER: Some analysts worry that the rosy outlook underpinning the rally could yet disappoint. Companies have been guiding analysts to expect more meager earnings growth in the future.

THIS WEEKS INTERESTING SECTOR PIECE IS ON EUROPEAN STOCKS: With the S&P 500 UP 27% from its October low, investors are looking for someplace else to put their money. European stocks are benefiting.

The yield on 10-year Treasury debt is now about 4.21%, while the earnings S&P 500 companies are expected to generate over the coming year amount to about 4.8% of the price of the index.

Money managers boosted the share of their portfolios devoted to stocks in the euro zone by more in March, relative to February, than for any other asset class in the world, according to Bank of America. The largest reduction in allocations was in U.S. stocks.

Earnings yield on the Stoxx Europe 600 is far better than for the S&P 500. The profits expected for the coming year amount to 7.2% of the European index’s price, which is far better than the yield on U.S. bonds.

Be cautious here, it’s going to take a new influx of $$$$ to keep this market going.

― Richie Naso