A trader is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost ground last week, but they rebounded on Wednesday after markets were closed for Thanksgiving.
High-growth stocks have been put under pressure by rising Treasury yields. The S&P 500 is up less than 1% for the week, while the Dow has gained 0.6%.
Santa Claus rallies are usually a good time for the market to be strong, with Wall Street usually happy during the last weeks of the year. The S&P 500 is up 25% this year.
Friday is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, as investors look for insight from Black Friday to determine the mood of the consumer.
Retail stocks have moved in both directions during the earnings season. On Wednesday, shares of Gap and Nordstrom tanked, but shares of Kohl's jumped after reporting strong sales growth.
Retail executives talked about how they are managing supply chain issues. It's not clear if the discussion about supply chain issues caused consumers to start shopping early, which could hurt fourth-quarter sales.
Sarah Henry, a portfolio manager at the company, said that she would not be surprised if that was a dynamic around the holiday season. She said that her firm was looking for companies with long-term strategic advantages than trying to bet on the best holiday sales results.
Personal incomes and consumer spending for October came in higher than expected, and initial jobless claims hit their lowest level since 1969. The Core PCE remained elevated at 4.1%.
There are no major releases on Friday. The market will close at 1 pm. The holiday weekend is on Friday.
