Analysis
The Week in Markets: Records, Then a Quiet Retreat From Chips, Farm Machinery and Crypto
The S&P 500 gained 1.15% in the week to October 9 and set a record on Tuesday, but the leaders were utilities, consumer staples and energy. Chips fell 4.3%, Deere 9.6%, ether 6.8% and Solana 8%.
On the surface, it was a good week. The S&P 500 rose 1.15% between October 2 and October 9, closing Friday at 7,811.54 after setting a record of 7,818.93 on Tuesday, its first since August. The Dow gained 0.93% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.64%. The VIX volatility index ended the week at 14.84, close to its lowest levels in weeks. Look one level down, though, and the week tells a more cautious story.
The winners were defensive. Utilities (XLU) rose 3.97%, consumer staples (XLP) and energy (XLE) 3.60% each, and healthcare (XLV) 2.79%. Utilities had their best day since April 2025 on Tuesday as bond yields eased; staples had their best since July on Thursday, the day chip stocks fell. Energy rode Thursday's 4% jump in Brent crude, which ended the week at $104.72, up 2.4%.
The losers were the growth and cycle trades. The semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 4.32% and technology (XLK) 0.52%, after a Thursday selloff tied to renewed doubts about AI spending. Industrials slipped 0.41%, but farm and construction machinery had a much worse week: Deere fell 9.62% and Caterpillar 5.32%, hit first by the highest long-term yields since 2002 and a federal inquiry into the farm-equipment market, then on Friday by what analysts linked to a USDA crop report that weighed on grain prices. The small-cap Russell 2000 lost 0.91%. And on Friday, the three big wireless carriers fell around 10% each after SpaceX bought mobile spectrum.
Bonds and gold were steady. The 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest close since 2002 on Monday, at 5.31%, but ended the week slightly lower at 5.24%. Gold rose 1.3% to $4,216, its highest close since September 25, though it remains about 21% below its January peak.
Crypto went its own way, mostly down. Bitcoin fell 2.23% to $82,636 after failing below $87,000 three times and briefly dropping to $80,394 on Thursday. Ether lost 6.78%, Solana 8.02% and XRP 5.99%. Small tokens, meanwhile, had some of their wildest moves of the year: iExec's RLC rose 175% for the week, Starknet 70% and Orca 28%, while Mina Protocol lost 52%. When the largest assets drift lower and the smallest ones swing by double digits a day, it usually means speculative money is chasing short bursts rather than committing to the market as a whole.