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From Briefing.com: 2:00 pm Weekly Wrap

Limited economic reports and corporate data didn't prevent the market from logging solid gains and hitting a fresh 52-week high during the holiday-shortened week. Volume was low as many market participants took an extended holiday, with the stock market closing early on Thursday and closing for the whole day on Friday in recognition of Christmas.

The market averaged around 800 million shares on the NYSE, well below the 52-week average of 1.4 billion.

Buying interest was broad-based despite the light volume, with all 10 sectors advancing for the week.

Cyclical stocks outperformed as investors continue to show an increased appetite for risk. Materials climbed 2.3%, tech advanced 1.9% and energy gained 1.7%. Conversely, the utilities sector underperformed, settling near the unchanged mark.

In the end, all of the major indices hit fresh 52-week highs, as can be seen in the graphic below. (graphic only available to Briefing In Play subscribers).

There was not much in terms of corporate news this week. Walgreen (WAG) posted slightly better-than-expected quarterly earnings ($0.49 vs. consensus of $0.48), as did ConAgra Foods (CAG), which posted $0.52 vs. the consensus estimate of $0.47.

Economic data were mixed.

Existing home sales rose by a stronger-than-expected rate of 7.4% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 6.54 million units. That exceeded economists' median estimate of 6.25 million units. The news helped lift the stock market.

But later in the week, November new home sales disappointed with an 11.3% month-over-month drop to an annualized rate of 355,000, well below the median forecast of 438,000. Still, the data had a limited impact on the market, as this report can be very volatile month to month.

Third quarter GDP did not grow as strongly as originally thought, the Bureau of Economic Analysis third revision showed. GDP grew at a 2.2% annual rate, down from the second revision figure of 2.8% and missing the consensus of 2.8%. The lower reading was due to revisions to personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, change in private inventories, imports and government spending.

On a positive note, weekly initial jobless claims dropped by a larger-than-expected amount to 450,000 from 480,000 in the prior week. This beat the consensus estimate of 470,000 and was the lowest level since fall 2008. While the labor market remains weak, the trend in jobless claims has been heading in the right direction.

In fixed income, Treasuries saw pressure across the yield curve. The 10-year note started the week with a yield of 3.54% before settling at 3.78%. The 30-year bond started the week at 4.46% and ended the week at 4.64%.

Separately, the Senate passed its health care bill, although the news had a limited impact on the stock market. The Senate and House are expected to reconcile their bills in January.

The stock market has had its worst decade since the 1930s, but as the table below shows, it is on pace for a solid year of gains.

 
 Index     Started Week Ended Week Change % Change  YTD 
 DJIA 	    10328.89 	10520.10  191.21   1.9 %  19.9 % 
 Nasdaq 	     2211.69 	 2285.69   74.00   3.3 %  44.9 % 
 S&P 500      1102.47 	 1126.48   24.01   2.2 %  24.7 % 
 Russell 2000  610.57      634.07   23.50   3.8 %  27.0 %

1:00PM Qualcomm announced that Len Lauer, chief operating officer, has resigned and accepted a CEO role at another company (QCOM) 46.10 +0.15 :