What a week for stocks! Markets rallied on Monday on hopes that closer ties among European Union countries could help the region deal with the sovereign- debt crisis that has parked dark storm clouds over the global economy. The excitement continued on Wednesday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world agreed to ease dollar funding costs to help improve liquidity for European banks.
Thanks to the big jumps on Monday and Wednesday, the S&P 500 tacked on 7.4% for the week while the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Top 3 Performing Sectors
S&P Sector |
Weekly Price Change |
November Price Change |
---|---|---|
Energy | 10.9% | 1.7% |
Materials | 10% | (0.1%) |
Financials | 9.1% | (5%) |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Nov. 25-Dec. 1. Monthly price change is Oct. 31-Nov. 30.
Not surprisingly, the week's top winner from the S&P 500 came from one of these sectors. While there wasn't much specifically happening for Alpha Natural Resources
Joining the coal clique in the top performers was Genworth Financial
Top 3 Performing S&P 500 Companies
Company |
Weekly Price Change |
---|---|
Alpha Natural Resources | 27.6% |
United States Steel |
22.6% |
Genworth Financial | 22.3% |
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Weekly price change is Nov. 25-Dec. 1.
Also among the other top performers for the week was First Solar
That's it for this week's top-performers recap. You can stay up to date on any of these companies by clicking the "+" button next to the ticker and adding it to your watchlist. Don't have a watchlist yet? Don't fret -- you can set one up for free.