Three out of four major market indexes — the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 — all closed at new record highs this Monday, perhaps on renewed exuberance regarding the presidential signage of a new relief bill for American pandemic sufferers. Both the Dow and Nasdaq rose by 0.7% on the day, while the S&P 500 grew 0.87%. Only the small-cap Russell 2000, which had set a new intra-day high, slid into the close, finishing -0.4% Monday.
The House of Representatives is currently setting up a vote on additional stimulus beyond the $900 billion bill President Trump finally signed, whereby $2000 checks would be mailed out to American citizens instead of the now passed $600 checks. The $2000 vs. $600 checks had been a sticking point for the president for much of last week, and the cause was quickly picked up by Democrats on the Hill. The Democrats now find themselves in the odd position of siding with Trump and against the president’s Republican party leaders.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) AAPL gained 3.5% on the day to lead the Dow and Nasdaq, while Disney DIS rose 3%, after enjoying opening-weekend success for its “Wonder Woman 84” film which, while pelted with a chorus of negative reviews, nevertheless saw the biggest theater attendance film since before the pandemic began. The bullish sentiment surrounding getting our “old” economy back seemed to be the catalyst in Monday trading.
Here, between Christmas and New Year’s, traditionally we see lower trading volume as many people take off for the holidays. Though air travel reportedly picked up over this past weekend, we don’t think as many market participants are away from their trading desks this year. Then again, with few pieces of economic data and even fewer quarterly earnings reports these days, we do see markets taking a relaxed approach to buying and selling.
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