Market Update - November 29, 2020

Hope all is well with you and your family.  Markets appear to be back on track. After posting mixed results in the previous week, the major indexes resumed the upward momentum seen since the start of November. Weekly gains totaled 2% to 3%, with most of the increase coming early in the holiday-shortened week amid positive news regarding coronavirus vaccines.  Here's what you need to know from the week that was, broken down by quotes from Tom Cruise movies.

Just the shameless pursuit of immediate gratification. What a capitalist. -Joel Goodson
 
Market made record highs all around. The S&P 500 and the Dow added to the records they had set earlier in November, while the NASDAQ topped a previous all-time high that it had recorded in early September. The Dow topped 30,000 points for the first time on Tuesday but slipped below that level by Friday’s close; the NASDAQ eclipsed 12,000, a threshold it had briefly reached in early September.

You can't handle the truth! - Colonel Nathan R. Jessup
 
Despite the market optimism the truth is the economic recovery is losing steam as we experienced a jobs setback. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in five weeks—an indication that the labor market’s recent recovery could be stalling. The latest weekly report shows about 778,000 people filed for first-time benefits, marking the second consecutive weekly increase. It was the first instance of back-to-back weekly increases since late July.

"That's right, Ice…Man, I am dangerous." Maverick

Consumer confidence is shaken by the dangers surrounding us.  The latest monthly numbers on U.S. consumer confidence indicate that spiking coronavirus cases may have reversed a recent uptick in optimism. The Conference Board cited the pandemic as it reported that its confidence index fell to 96.1 in November—the lowest level since August, and down from a revised figure of 101.4 in October.
 
I am here to help at any time. If you would like to schedule a phone/web conference appointment, I have included a link to my calendar below and you can self schedule. For those of you who prefer an in person meeting I am scheduling in person meetings as well, please email me if you would prefer an in person appointment.
https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/b8hh5y90/