Market Update- November 30, 2020
The Week on Wall Street
Stocks surged last week, ignited by another COVID-19 vaccine announcement, encouraging economic data, and the easing of political uncertainty.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.21%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 added 2.27%. The Nasdaq Composite index, which has led all year, gained 2.96%. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, climbed 1.54%. i,ii,iii
Dow Breaks 30,000
For the third consecutive week, markets opened on Monday to yet another announcement of a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
Stock prices found additional support on news that President-elect Biden would be nominating Janet Yellen, the former Chair of the Federal Reserve, to be Secretary of the Treasury. Investors reacted well to the choice, encouraged by her previously voiced support for greater fiscal stimulus and relieved that a candidate less antagonistic to the industry was selected.
Positive momentum continued into the following day, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index, and the Russell 2000 to record high levels, with the Dow closing above the 30,000 milestone.iv
Stocks eased off their highs in pre-Thanksgiving trading, though they recovered some of those losses on Friday, as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite closed with fresh record highs.v
A Microcosm of the Economy
The economic outlook has been difficult to figure out due to conflicting signals. One day it’s a historic jump in economic growth; another day it’s a record high in new COVID-19 infections. Last week was a good illustration of this. Reports of healthy consumer spending, a solid rise in durable goods orders, and sales of new homes remaining near almost-14-year highs were balanced by a jump in new jobless claims, a decline in household income, and new state and local COVID-related restrictions. vi
Last week investors chose to see the glass half full and look past the near-term challenges the economy faces.
THIS WEEK: KEY ECONOMIC DATA
Tuesday: Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index.
Wednesday: Automated Data Processing (ADP) Employment Report.
Thursday: Jobless Claims, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services Index.
Friday: Employment Situation, Factory Orders.
THIS WEEK: COMPANIES REPORTING EARNINGS
Monday: Zoom Video Communications (ZM)
Tuesday: Salesforce.com (CRM)
Wednesday: Splunk (SPLK), Snowflake, Inc. (SNOW), Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD)
Thursday: Marvell Technologies (MRVL), Dollar General (DG), Docusign (DOCU)
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i The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2020
ii The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2020
iii The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2020
iv CNBC, November 24, 2020
v The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2020
vi The Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2020