major u.s. stock indexes retreated friday as the election-fueled rally moderated this past week. the dow jones industrial average, the s&p 500 and the nasdaq composite all posted weekly gains that were smaller than those just after the election. the dow industrials, for example, added 0.1% after the previous week<u+2019>s 5.4% rise was its best since 2011. the more-muted moves masked some sector shifts. <u+201c>the movement in the overall market really belies the turbulence that<u+2019>s been going on below the surface,<u+201d> said jack ablin, chief investment officer at wealth manager bmo private bank. the blue-chip index slipped 35.89 points, or 0.2%, on friday to 18867.93 as investors<u+2019> rush into industrial companies abated. such firms helped boost the dow industrials after donald trump<u+2019>s election sparked expectations of infrastructure spending. the s&p 500 slipped 5.22 points, or 0.2%, on friday to 2181.90 but was up 0.8% over the week. financials continued to rise, buoyed by bets on rising interest rates and loosened regulation after the election, adding 2.2% for the week. through friday<u+2019>s close, the s&p 500 was up 2% from the nov. 8 election. excluding financials, the s&p 500 would be up 0.6% in that period, according to s&p dow jones indices. health-care stocks, some of the best performers right after the election, pulled back. the sector was the biggest decliner of the week in the s&p 500, shedding 1.2%. biotechnology companies had jumped as some investors expected drug-pricing restrictions would be less likely under mr. trump than they would have been under democratic candidate hillary clinton. the nasdaq biotechnology index rose 14% for the week ended nov. 11, and followed that with a weekly loss of 1.1%. in the days immediately following mr. trump<u+2019>s win, shares of large technology companies tumbled and the performance gap between the tech-heavy nasdaq composite and the dow industrials widened. from the close on nov. 8 through nov. 14, amazon.com <u+2019>s stock dropped 8.7%. in recent sessions, however, these companies<u+2019> shares have rebounded slightly. amazon.com<u+2019>s stock closed the week up 2.9%. tech stocks in the s&p 500 rose 1% for the week, and the nasdaq composite posted a 1.6% weekly gain. early friday, the nasdaq hit a new intraday high before pulling back. the index fell 12.46 points, or 0.2%, on friday to 5321.51. oil companies also were big gainers as crude prices rebounded. u.s. crude for december delivery increased 5.3% during the week to $45.69 a barrel, snapping a three-week losing streak , as hopes grew that major oil producers would reach agreement to cut output. in the week ended nov. 16, financial, health-care, biotechnology and industrials sector funds all registered new weekly inflow records, as did u.s. equity funds, while emerging-market bond funds had their biggest-ever outflow, according to cameron brandt, global director of research at fund-tracker epfr global. <u+201c>investors are just looking at what<u+2019>s in front of them today: the economy is improving, u.s. interest rates are going to be rising, and we<u+2019>ll get some infrastructure spending next year<u+2014>that<u+2019>s a very positive message in the short term,<u+201d> said colin graham, chief investment officer at bnp paribas investment partners . earnings reports swung some individual stocks friday. abercrombie & fitch <u+2019>s stock fell $2.33, or 14%, to $14.60 after it posted its third consecutive quarter of declining same-store sales. gap<u+2019>s stock declined 5.10, or 17%, to 25.61 as the apparel maker reported a drop in quarterly profit . write to riva gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and corrie driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com
stocks can<u+2019>t match election-week gains - wsj
riva gold corrie driebusch