** S&P 500 SPX loses 2.1% as Powell douses hopes for Dec rate cut
** Weakness sets in just as SPX nears big barrier just above 6k; indeed, bulls suddenly in no hurry as post-election rally stalls
** Nasdaq composite IXIC races to new highs, and for once, not gasping for “breadth,” but then reverses; by Fri, Nasdaq advance/decline line hits new lows, IXIC ends down 3.1% for the week
** Nearly all sectors take a plunge: Healthcare drenched most, while just Energy and Financials stay afloat
** Healthcare S5HLTH plummets 5.5%. Drugmakers extend declines after Trump picks RFK Jr to lead top US health agency. Vaccine maker Moderna MRNA sheds 21% on week
AbbVie ABBV declines as schizophrenia drug fails in mid-stage studies
For the week, Nasdaq Biotech index NNBI sinks 10%
** Materials S5MATR melt 3.3%. Might gold’s GOLD recent stumble turn into a real tumble? ARCA gold bugs index (.HUI) craters ~8%
** Tech S5INFT descends 3.2%. Applied Materials AMAT falls as fiscal Q1 rev forecast signals weak spending outside AI chips
Semiconductor index SOX submerges nearly 9%
** Industrials S5INDU sag 2.1%. Defense, government contractor stocks extend recent slide as investors eye Trump’s proposed DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). Leidos LDOS and General Dynamics GD fall 19% and 7%, respectively, on the week
S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense index (.SPLRCAERO) loses 5%
** Communication Services S5TELS slip 2.1%. Though Disney DIS jumps and is top SPX performer as ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ stars in quarterly beat. DIS notches 16.2% weekly gain for best such showing in 24 years
** Consumer Discretionary S5COND dips 1.1%. Though Home Depot HD up after forecasting smaller drop in annual same-store sales
And Coach parent Tapestry TPR hits over decade-high after pulling $8.5 bln deal for Capri CPRI
** Financials SPF climb 1.4%. Charles Schwab SCHW gains on strong client asset growth in October
** Meanwhile, Bitcoin BTCUSD soars above $90,000 as it extends post-election gains, amid volume surge
** SPX performance YTD:
