What's Going On With Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) This Week?

Benzinga · 10/18 18:54

This week, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NASDAQ:VOO) saw a roughly 0.7% gain, reflecting a broadly positive sentiment on Wall Street driven by a combination of upbeat earnings and macroeconomic factors.

VOO, which is designed to track the performance of the S&P 500, benefits from movements in its underlying components, making it a key barometer for the overall U.S. stock market.

What’s Happening: One of the major drivers for VOO's upward movement was a strong start to earnings season that boosted investor confidence. Notably, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) surged 10% after reporting an earnings beat.

As Netflix is a significant part of the S&P 500, its performance positively influenced VOO's price. Other companies, such as Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), which jumped over 9% on earnings, further contributed to the bullish market sentiment.

On Thursday, semiconductor stocks fueled a major push for the S&P 500, as strong earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSMC) invigorated investor confidence in the tech sector.

This semiconductor rally played a pivotal role in driving the S&P 500 higher, and by extension, VOO, as technology remains one of the largest sectors in the index.

What Else: Gold miners saw strong momentum as gold prices reached new record highs, with the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NASDAQ:GDX) climbing nearly 4% Friday.

While VOO's exposure to gold miners is limited, the broader gains in commodity-related sectors helped balance weaker performances in sectors like energy.

Macroeconomic data released on Thursday also played a role in sustaining the market's positive momentum. September retail sales exceeded expectations, signaling robust consumer spending, while jobless claims fell, underscoring labor market strength.

Although the positive data slightly diminished hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts in November, it reinforced the view of economic resilience, which supported investor sentiment across equity markets. VOO, as a broad-market ETF, was a key beneficiary of this optimism.