Wall Street Closes Out Its Best Week Since August, With the S&P 500 Up 2.5%, Even as Nvidia Drags Friday Lower
The Dow edged up to 52,347.55 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped on Friday, yet all three indexes finished the week firmly higher after a hot inflation scare and a chip-sector shock.
Friday, November 13, 2026/2 min read
It was a week that felt worse than it finished. After a hot inflation print, a 5% yield and the sudden exit of Nvidia's chief executive, the three big US indexes still ended Friday well above where they started on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 2.51 percent over the five sessions, the Nasdaq Composite 2.27 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2.07 percent, according to Reuters, and CNBC described all three as their best weeks since early August.
Friday itself was messier. The Dow added 50.46 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 52,347.55, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 7,561.67 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.91 percent to 25,136.27, CNBC's closing figures show. It was the second straight session in which the Nasdaq gave ground, following Thursday's close.
How did the stock market close on Friday?
Technology did the damage. Reuters said the S&P 500's technology sector lost 1.7 percent, the worst of the index's 11 sectors, as Nvidia shares fell about 2 percent and recorded a sixth straight weekly decline following the resignation of chief executive Jensen Huang on Thursday. Leadership uncertainty at the world's biggest chip designer, an analyst told Reuters, has raised concerns about how durable the AI trade really is.
Not everything fell. Microsoft finished slightly higher after an early drop linked to a global Outlook and Teams outage, and Apple touched an intraday record of $360.80, CNBC reported. Cisco, by contrast, fell about 6 percent even after a better-than-expected quarter and a raised forecast.
What did the inflation data say?
The October producer price index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, showed final-demand prices up 0.3 percent on the month, below the 0.4 percent economists had expected. The annual rate was another matter: 6.5 percent, the largest 12-month rise since November 2022, with goods prices up 10.2 percent on the year.
A softer monthly number did not change the rates story. Markets still price a Federal Reserve rate rise at the 8 to 9 December meeting as almost certain, and the 10-year Treasury yield ended the day at roughly 5.15 percent, up from about 4.9 percent at the start of the week, according to The Epoch Times and IBTimes. Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 for the first time since August, CNBC reported, and the dollar index climbed to its highest level since April 2025.
What comes next for stocks?
The week ahead is crowded. Nvidia reports its quarterly results on Tuesday, and its first earnings under interim chief executive Colette Kress will test whether the weekly slide of about 13 percent has gone too far. Retail sales, the Fed's minutes and results from Walmart, Target and Home Depot follow, with a Fed rate rise already priced in.
For investors, Friday's close is a reminder of how narrow the market has become. When one company stumbles, the Nasdaq feels it first, and a 6.5 percent producer-price rate leaves little room for another shock. A positive week is welcome, but the tone on Monday will depend on Nvidia and the bond market rather than on the weekly total.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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