Market Indexes
The S&P 500 and Dow led the way in this final week of the year, with the Russell Small caps trailing by a wide margin. There was light volume, as is usual in holiday-shortened weeks. The NASDAQ led all indexes by a wide margin in 2020, gaining 43.64%, vs. 18.34% for the Russell small caps, 16.26% for S&P 500, and 7.25% for the DOW.
“The S&P 500 climbed 16.3% to end the year at a record, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 44%, its best year since 2009. The Russell 2000 small-cap stock index has roughly doubled from its March low.” - Wall St. Journal
Volatility
The VIX rose 5.7% this week, ending at $22.75.
High Dividend Stocks
These high dividend stocks go ex-dividend next week: MAIN, BNS), DOC, WSR, BRX, ETH, CIO, T, UVV.
Market Breadth
24 out of 30 DOW stocks rose this week, vs. 12 last week. 96% of the S&P 500 rose, vs. 48% last week.
FOREX
The US Dollar fell vs. most major currencies in December.
Economic Reports
Pending Home sales fell-2.6% in November, following a -0.7% retreat in November. Initial claims fell from 806,000 to 787,000 in the last week of 2020. Another 308,262 applications for benefits were filed last week through a temporary federal-relief program created during the pandemic, putting the total number of new claims last week at 1.15 million. Combined claims have yet to fall below 1 million a week.
Week Ahead Highlights
The Non-Farm Payrolls Report is due out on Friday, It’ll be a data-heavy week, with several mfg. reports due out.
Next Week’s US Economic Reports
Sectors
Utilities led this week, with Energy lagging. Tech led all sectors in 2020 by a wide margin.
Futures
WTI rose 6.79% in December, ending at $48.42. .
