In November the Dow climbed 11.08% which brought it into positive territory for year , the S&P 500 rose 10.86% bringing the year-to-date numbers in at + 12.64%, and the NASDAQ climbed +12.94% for the month, continuing a great year setting at +36.00% year-to-date. The bond market, as measured by the performance of the 10-year U. S. Treasury Note rebounded 0.4% but remains negative year-to-date.
With the election behind us, sort of, we view this more as a vote for peace & quiet than a vote for the more left policies of the Democratic Party. What we have heard is Biden is expected to unveil executive orders on Day 1. We expect, pending the outcome of the Georgia Senate runoff in January, a divided government means minimal impact on the technology sector. Our research also indicates a split Congress is the best outcome for healthcare, and also that railroads, defense, and waste industries benefit from a split government. Since the election, stocks have soared as investors anticipate that a split Congress will raise legislative hurdles hampering attempts to change corporate taxes and adjusting regulatory oversight.
Pfizer Inc. announced their COVID-19 vaccine was 90% effective and they would be able to deliver some 25m doses before year end and Moderna Inc. released some data about their vaccine trial that indicated 94.5% positive results. Uncertainty remains, it’s never fully gone, but when we compare the unknowns of today to that of just seven months ago, the risk to remaining invested in great companies has substantially declined. Give thanks for progress.
We sincerely hope you have a safe and merry Christmas!
A few, little known Christmas facts:
- Jingle Bells was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas, as the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”.
- In the Netherlands, Santa Clause arrives from Spain, not from the North Pole.
- Using data from the United Nations – Santa makes 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles, over 36 hours through multiple time zones his average speed is 650 miles per second.
- The most common time for couples to break up, you guessed it: two weeks before Christmas which edges out two weeks after Valentines by a Red Nose (according to Facebook).
- The X in Xmas represents the Greek alphabet “chi” is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ or Christos, so when you see Xmas don’t feel like someone took Christ out of Christmas, just assume they’re speaking/writing Greek.
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Have a question? Let me know! Email me at kcompton@wsmtexas.com.