All data is for the week ended December 31, 2021
Stocks
Equities rose for the final week of the year in nearly all of the major markets in a week that has historically been marked by low volumes due to the holidays. The S&P 500 increased 0.87% while the Russell 2000 advanced 0.21%. The NASDAQ declined by 0.05%. Overseas, the international developed markets (MSCI EAFE) added 0.96% while the emerging markets (MSCI EM) grew 1.15%. In the US real estate and materials were the best performing sectors while communications services and consumer discretionary were the lagging sectors. Value outperformed growth stocks.1
Fixed Income
Bond prices eased while yields edged up across most maturities. The 2-year, 10-year and 30-year Treasuries ended the week with yields of 0.73%, 1.52% and 1.90%, respectively. Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages were unchanged from the prior week at 3.27%.1
Commodities
US crude oil inventories decreased by 3.6 million barrels during the week ended Dec. 24 from the prior week. Inventories are about 7% below the five year average for this time of year.2 The price of West Texas crude finished the week at $75.21 per barrel, up 1.92% for the week.3 OPEC will meet this week to consider boosting oil production.4
Economic Data
First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to the second lowest tally during the pandemic, indicating continued recovery in the labor market. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 25 were 198,000, the lowest level since late 1969. Continuing claims dropped to a fresh pandemic low of 1.7 million.5
Company News6
Target Corp. (TGT), a Core Select holding, advanced 4.72% and The Home Depot (HD), a Core Select and G50 holding, advanced 4.52% following a report that US holiday sales across all retailers rose 8.5%, much stronger than anticipated given concerns for supply chain issues and the latest Covid variants.7
Did you know…
Confetti may not be a new concept, but in 2015 “wishfetti” became a part of the tradition on New Year’s Eve in New York. People write their wishes for the new year and submit them to the Wish Wall in Times Square (or online), and those wishes are turned into the 2,000 pounds of confetti that falls over the crowd at midnight.
Mariann Montagne, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Sources:
1 JP Morgan Weekly Market Recap 1-3-22
2 Energy Information Administration 12-29-21
3 oilprice.com
4 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
5 Department of Labor 12-+30-21
6: All weekly changes in company stock prices: Yahoo Finance
7 Associated Press, “Despite Supply Issues and Omicron, Holiday Sales Rise 8.5%” 12-26-21For the latest industry updates, follow us!