Market Recap
US Markets:
Stocks sharply fell on Monday to end November as traders took profits, and monitored the progression of COVID. Over 266,000 people have now died from the pandemic in the U.S., with more than 13 million confirmed cases in the country. Los Angeles County in California also imposed a new stay-home order before the weekend began.
Market sentiment took a further hit after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is considering blacklisting leading Chinese chipmaker SMIC and China’s national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC.
The Dow Jones dropped 271.73 points, or .91% after dropping by as much as 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 slid 0.46%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.06%.
Despite today’s losses, the major indices posted strong monthly gains. The Dow rose 11.8% in November, its best monthly performance since January 1987. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also climbed 10.8% and 11.8%, respectively, in November-their biggest monthly gains since April. The small-cap Russell 2000 index however led the way, and had its best monthly performance ever, gaining over 18%.
Cryptocurrency:
After plummeting by nearly $3,000 on Thanksgiving day, Bitcoin has now fully recovered. In fact, Bitcoin hit an all-time high today, and soared to as high as $19,864. This shattered the previous record of $19,666 back in December 2017. Bitcoin’s value is now up over 150% since the beginning of the year, and has been propelled by economic stimulus, validation from public companies such as Paypal, and interest from major investors. Although some believe a Bitcoin correction is inevitable, others believe that it could exceed $20,000 as a hedge against inflation. BitcoinCash also surged by over 7.63% today.
Overall Market:
European equities traded slightly down on Monday and closed with double-digit gains for November fueled by COVID-19 vaccine hopes and the prospect of easing restrictions. The DAX 30 closed November up 15% and enjoyed its best performance since April 2009. France’s CAC 40, despite the unrest in the country, posted its best month in over three decades, and the FTSE MIB and IBEX 35 gained more than 20%-the most in history.
After briefly turning positive, WTI crude futures dropped over 1% to trade around $44.9 a barrel. However, the commodity still closed its best month since May, and rose over 27%. The lumber market also enjoyed a robust November, with futures climbing almost 30% to around $650 per 1000 board feet- a level that has not been seen since September 15. Despite lumber prices being down more than 30% from the record $1000 hit in August, lumber futures are still twice above their average level.
WHATS UP
Today, Travelers and Chevron were among the worst-performing Dow stocks, falling 3.6% and 4.5%, respectively. Energy witnessed its worst day since June 24, and was the worst performing sector in the S&P 500, losing 5.4%.
Cruise lines and airlines, despite performing strongly this month, also underperformed on Monday. Carnival dipped 7.4%, and Norwegian slid 3.4%. American Airlines dropped more than 5%, and Delta fell 2%.
Moderna spiked 17% today after announcing that new trial data showed its Covid-19 vaccine candidate was more than 94% effective. Moderna further added that it will ask the FDA for emergency approval later today.
November is now over, and it will be a market performance that we will never forget. Cyclical stocks led November’s rally due to the amount of positive vaccine news. Energy, which has been 2020′s biggest loser, gained 26.6% this month, while financials, industrials and materials all gained at least 12.2% during the same time period.
Boeing and American Express were the best performing Dow stocks this month, rising 45.9% and 30%, respectively, in November. Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Disney and Honeywell also each rose more than 20% this month.
