Indices
- Dow 44,642, -268 or -0.60%.
- Nasdaq 19,859 (new closing high), +641 or +3.34%.
- S&P 6,090 (new closing high), +57 or +0.94%.
- MSCI EAFE 2354.96, +39.19 or +1.69%.
- USD10Y 4.151%, -2.4bp or -0.57%.
- WTI Crude $67.16/bbl, -$0.84 or -1.24%.
Amidst Crazy Week, Markets Continue to Rally
What a week it was! Economic data was solid without stoking inflation fears; manufacturing while still in contraction territory, improved month over month, services data continued to be very strong, job openings increased but remain below 8 million, non-farm payrolls rebounded from last month’s strike and hurricane affected print, the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to +4.2%, and average hourly wages were unchanged.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the CEO of the largest U.S. healthcare insurance company, United Health Care, was assassinated in Manhattan in what appeared to be a professional hit (shooter was waiting for his victim, a silencer was used, a burner phone was left at the scene, bullet casings had “deny, delay, depose” carved into them, killer cleared at least one jam in his firearm). The assassin remains at large despite there being numerous photos of his face recorded by security cameras.
The same day, France’s government fell after a vote of no confidence. New elections cannot be held until early summer and the current Prime Minister, Barnier, is expected to remain in a caretaker role until that time. The upheaval continued in South Korea as their President declared martial law, was reversed by the legislature and now faces impeachment and treason charges. Finally, over the weekend, Syrian rebels entered Damascus unopposed and ended that country’s 17-year-old civil war. Former strongman Assad and his family have been welcomed by their former patrons in Moscow.
Despite all this uncertainty, the broader indices responded strongly, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 setting multiple new record highs (although the narrow breadth to the market is worrisome; the majority of S&P sectors traded down every day this week). In addition, Bitcoin continued its incredible year (+124% YTD) ripping through the $100,000 price mark before settling just below to end the week.
The Upcoming Week: Dec 9 – Dec 13
The Fed is in their quiet period as they head into their December meeting next week. However, there will be two more inflation data points forthcoming this week in the Consumer and Producer Price Indices. Earnings are light but tech heavy with Oracle (ORCL), Adobe (ADBE), and Broadcom (AVGO). Additionally, some insight into the status of the U.S. consumer may be gleaned from Costco’s (COST) earnings.
Economic Calendar
- Monday – N/A. Earnings: Oracle (ORCL).
- Tuesday – N/A.Earnings: N/A.
- Wednesday – November Consumer Price Index (CPI). Earnings: Adobe (ADBE).
- Thursday – Initial Jobless Claims, November Producer Price Index. Earnings: Broadcom (AVGO), Costco Wholesale (COST).
- Friday – N/A. Earnings: N/A.
If you know of any friends or family members who could benefit from our services and these types of communiques, we are accepting new clients and offer a complimentary one-hour review.
Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities listed above. I personally, or a family member whose account I control, have positions in the following securities/assets...Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, ACHR, BITB, NVDA, and RIVN.