Welcome to the last trading week of 2020, a year we can’t see fast enough. Actions are on the rise after President Donald Trump signed the $ 900 billion stimulus bill, despite calls for 11 hours for more aid checks.
With only a handful of trading days before the end of the year, our company call of the day says investors need to prepare for a rough start to 2021 if we close the year with stock market records.
It was an “unprecedented year for financial assets”, with stock markets melting earlier this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by impressive growth as authorities spilled the stimulus, notes John Hardy, head of FX strategy , the Saxo Bank.
“Market historians look back to another incredible year – 1999 – in which the S&P 500 closed the year at a new all-time high, they will remember that the initial few days of 2000 saw a vicious correction. Yes, the times were different, and then the focus was on Y2K and the concentrated balloon of the time, but investors need a reminder that, even in the important bull market, significant failures can be seen, ”said Hardy. a note to customers that published on Monday.
The new closing highs hardly look like a discouraged idea for Monday’s session. On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed its record low of 3722.48 on December 17 by just 0.5%. Futures stocks indicate that S&P cannot open too far from this level.
Others talked about the unpleasant parallels between this market and 1999. The S&P 500 ended that year with 19%, but fell by 10% in 2000. That’s because the bears on the market remain hard to find these days, with an average price of year-end target for the S&P 500 out of 4,027.21 among major Wall Street forecasters.
markets
YM00 futures,
ES00,
NQ00,
they are bigger. The markets in London are closed for an extended banking holiday, while the European markets SXXP,
also raised, helped by last week’s post-Brexit trade agreement, which provides GBPUSD,
a big boost. Asian markets have grown largely, and bitcoin BTCUSD,
it amounts to $ 26,000, after surpassing a record $ 28,000 over the Christmas weekend. But is it right for your portfolio?
Buzz
President Trump signed the stimulus bill, but also said Congress would vote on raising individual incentive payments to what he wanted – $ 2,000 – from the agreed $ 600. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would hold another vote Monday, but Republicans blocked such an effort last week.
Alibaba BABA,
9988,
has increased its share buyback program from $ 6 billion to $ 10 billion, but the e-commerce giant’s shares have fallen nearly 8 percent in Hong Kong, continuing to suffer from an antitrust probe by Chinese regulators. Over the weekend, authorities also requested the online financing platform Ant Group, of which Alibaba holds a 33% stake, clears its business and presents a plan for it, after suspending its stock debut last month.
The EU COVID-19 vaccine campaign started this weekend. US officials are “very seriously” looking at a new strain of the virus in the UK, says the government’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci. He also warned of a possible “growth after growth” after the US Christmas
US holiday spending rose 3% between October 11 and December 24, according to the Mastercard Spending Pulse survey. The biggest jump was seen in furniture and home furnishings, while clothing spending fell.
The man believed to be responsible for the Nashville Christmas bombing is believed to have died in the blast, investigators say.
Chart
With a “slightly larger” and “older” stimulus package now approved, Goldman Sachs has raised its US growth forecast. A team led by chief economist Jan Hatzius now predicts a 5% increase in the first quarter of 2021 from 3% previously and “significantly higher levels of production in all four quarters”.
It is expected that there will be a significant increase in disposable income in the first quarter:
Random readings
UK government plans to use supermarket home lines to fight obesity
Seen in the Indian Ocean, a previously hidden group of blue whales
Italy plans COVID-19 vaccinations in flowering pavilions to help receptors cool
You need to know to start early and update up to the opening bell, but sign up here to deliver it once in the inbox. The emailed version will be sent at approximately 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Want more for the next day? Sign up for The Barron’s Daily, a morning briefing for investors, including exclusive comments from writers Barron and MarketWatch.