-Darren Leavitt, CFA
Market action was mixed in a holiday-shortened week of trade. The Santa Clause rally, which runs for the last five trading sessions of the year through the first two trading sessions of the New Year, kicked off with gains from mega-cap technology. Light trading volumes can exaggerate moves, and one should not take too much from a thinly traded market. Tuesday’s abbreviated session and Thursday’s session ended flat, while Friday’s session saw a decent pullback in those same mega-cap technology issues.
The S&P 500 gained 0.7%, the Dow added 0.4%, the NASDAQ increased by 0.8%, and the Russell tacked on 0.1%. US Treasuries sold off across the curve, with longer-tenured issues taking the brunt of the sell-off. The 2-year yield increased by one basis point to 4.33%, while the 10-year yield increased by nine basis points to 4.62%. Oil prices increased by 1.5% or $1.10 to close at $70.53 a barrel. Gold prices fell by $11.20 to $2,633.20. Copper prices inched higher by two cents to $4.13 per Lb. Bitcoin traded lower by ~$2,800 to $94,400. The US Dollar index advanced by 0.42 to close at 108.04.
The economic calendar was quiet. Consumer Confidence missed the mark, coming in at 104.7 versus the street’s estimate of 113.5. The report raised concerns about the outlook for business conditions and income. Initial Claims fell by 1k to 219k; however, Continuing Claims increased by 46k to 1.910M, a three-year high. New Home sales in November came in at 664k versus the consensus estimate of 670k.
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