Thursday, December 24, 2020
Top Story
Markets Close Early Today
The NYSE and NASDAQ will close at 1 p.m. ET today. The bond markets will close at 2 p.m. ET. All markets will be closed Friday, December 25, and will resume normal business hours on Monday, December 28.
Happy holidays to all from LPL Research!
Daily Insights
US Equities Open Marginally Higher
US equities opened in the green this morning amid uncertainty with regard to COVID-19 relief and the government funding bill.
- Asian Markets ended their trading session higher
- European markets are fractionally higher during midday trading, per the STOXX Europe 50 Index.
2021 GDP expectations. Despite new restrictions to combat virus spread, we continue to expect the US economy to grow in the fourth quarter. Bloomberg consensus forecasts are calling for 4.6% annualized growth in US gross domestic product (GDP).
Kwanzaa begins December 26. Kwanzaa, the annual celebration of African-American culture, begins December 26 and lasts through January 1, 2021.
Technical update. The major averages finished mixed Wednesday with the Dow Industrials up slightly, the Nasdaq down slightly, and the S&P 500 Index little changed. The small cap Russell 2000 Index closed at another record high and has more than doubled off its March 2020 lows, an achievement only accomplished once in under a year in the index’s history (1982–83). Value-style stocks outperformed growth, led by strong gains from the energy and financials sectors, while real estate and technology were among the laggards.
COVID-19 news. Pfizer and the US government have struck a deal to provide 100 million more coronavirus vaccine doses, including 70 million by June 2021.
- Inoculations have begun in Mexico.
- A vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac reportedly was found to be more than 50% effective, though key supporting data wasn’t released according to Bloomberg.
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