Friends
It was a choppy day for stocks as the range of traders’ emotions went from despair (Covid-19 cases rising causing more and more shutdowns) to hope (McConnell and Schumer talking about stimulus) throughout the trading session. It has been a tug of war between the good news on vaccines and the bad news on the virus spreading.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44 points to finish the day at 29,483. The S&P 500 was up 14 points to close at 3,581. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 103 points to close at 11,904. Gold was down $10 to trade at $1,863 per ounce, while oil was up $.10 to trade at $41.92 per barrel WTI.
As we move into the second half of the 4th quarter (thank God this year is coming to a close) it will be interesting to see what market participants focus on. Valuation is not cheap and a majority of the S&P is trading above its 200 moving average (technically a bit extended). The political landscape is still a bit unpredictable and it will be hard for economist and strategist to handicap the economy while we seem to be going back into shut down mode. But, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with the wonderful news we continue to get on vaccines and therapeutics. So, as we move into the final weeks of the year, will investors focus on the current landscape or look into the brighter lights of the future? Stay tuned. In the meantime, let’s see how this week finishes up tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
