Day three of the federal government shutdown came and went Friday, with no end in sight. The stock market saw more all-time highs before the rally ran out of steam. The S & P 500 on Friday eked out a fractional gain for its 29th record-high close since the market’s tariff lows in early April. The Nasdaq fell modestly Friday. The record close on Thursday was the Nasdaq’s 30th since early April. They both logged four positive weeks out of the past five, getting the new month off to a solid start after strong September and third-quarter performances. Jim Cramer said on Tuesday, hours before federal funding ran out, that a government shutdown is a non-event. “I don’t want anyone to sweat it,” he added. The market came to the same conclusion. .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 (SPX) year-to-date performance The best portfolio stocks for the week were health-related: Shares of life sciences firm Danaher surged more than 16% and drugmaker Eli Lilly jumped nearly 16%. The relief rally in this recently struggling sector came after President Donald Trump’s deal to exempt Pfizer from pharmaceutical tariffs in exchange for the company’s commitment to sell drugs for less and invest more to bring manufacturing back to the United States. Healthcare was the strongest for the week among the S & P 500’s 11 sectors. Utilities and information technology were No. 2 and No. 3 this week as the artificial intelligence trade continued to work. Utilities got a boost because of the power needed to run AI data centers. Tech jumped as Club stock Nvidia soared to record highs Thursday. It was modestly lower Friday. Utilities also rose as power provider AES surged on a report that BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners was in talks to buy it for $38 billion. GIP, the infrastructure fund manager that BlackRock acquired last year, was also said to be in talks to purchase Aligned Data Centers for around $40 billion. Shares of BlackRock ended flat Friday and just under Tuesday’s record-high close. NKE YTD mountain Nike YTD Nike stock advanced after posting quarterly earnings Tuesday evening that far exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The results showed investors that CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround strategy has made progress. Nike previously forecasted that revenue would fall by mid-single-digits on a percentage basis this quarter —but instead, revenue increased by 1%. “Turnarounds require management credibility, and the best way to create that is by beating the guidance you give the Street,” Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club, wrote in his earnings analysis. “Nike’s results were far better than the guidance that executives offered three months ago.” Management’s efforts to fix Nike’s structural issues are a key reason why the Club initiated its position last week. On Wednesday, we bought more shares after the earnings report highlighted further signs of improvement. We started a Nike position on Sept. 26. BMY YTD mountain Bristol Myers Squibb YTD On…
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