Market Recap
US Markets:
The vaccine rally returned to close off the week as investors bet again on cyclical value stocks dependent on a vaccine and recovery from COVID.
The Dow Jones jumped 399.64 points, or 1.4%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.4% to a record closing high. The Nasdaq also gained 1%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 jumped more than 2% to an intraday record and its first all-time closing high since August 2018.
Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s announcement that their vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective in trials caused markets to surge, and a rotation out of tech and “stay-at-home” stocks into cyclical stocks that would benefit from recovery from COVID next year.
The Dow rose 4.1% for the week, while the S&P 500 closed 2.16% higher for the week. The Nasdaq declined 0.6% this week-its third weekly loss in four weeks.
Cryptocurrency:
Bitcoin charged further past its $16,000 level, and rose again. After eclipsing $16,200, Bitcoin continues its surge towards $20,000. Many are expecting Bitcoin to consolidate before December, and to break past $20,000 sooner rather than later. Litecoin led the cryptos today, skyrocketing by over 6%. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit and had strong days today as well. Ethereum rose by over 1.6%, XRP rose by over 3%, and Chainlink rose by 3.23%.
Overall Market:
European stocks gained for the second week in a row. Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.2%, while other major European markets gained between 0.3% and 0.8%. Mexico’s IPC also rose by 1.1%, Canada’s TSX rose .7%, and Brazil’s Ibovespa gained 2.2%.
WTI Crude fell 2.4% to $40.13 a barrel, but notched its 2nd weekly gain in a row. The Dollar declined for a 2nd session in a row as coronavirus surges to record levels in the US, causing new shutdowns. US producer prices also beat estimates and increased by 0.3%.
WHATS UP
COVID recovery stocks led the way as cruise operator Carnival rose more than 7%. Airline United Airlines and aircraft manufacturer Boeing were both up more than 5%. Disney also closed 2.1% higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Energy and industrials led the S&P sectors rising 3.8% and 2.2%, respectively, while Financials were up more than 1%.
Source: CNBC, TradingEconomics, Yahoo! Finance
