Monday, December 28, 2020
Top Story
Solid holiday shopping season. Holiday sales grew 3%, beating forecasts for a 2.4% increase according to MasterCard’s SpendingPulse. Online sales rose 49% year over year. These results were impressive for a recessionary period—the comparable figure dropped 3.5% in 2008—and highlight the resiliency of the US consumer and the benefits of stimulus.
Daily Insights
Stocks open higher after a shortened holiday week. Stocks opened higher after the long weekend and after President Trump signed the coronavirus relief bill, averting a government shutdown.
- European stocks are higher in midday trading while the United Kingdom (UK) is closed for Boxing Day
- UK and EU leaders confirm post-Brexit trade deal
- Asian markets are mostly higher with China the laggard
Week ahead. The economic calendar for the holiday-shortened week includes:
- Tuesday: S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index (Oct.)
- Wednesday: Wholesale Inventories (Nov.), Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI, Dec.), and Pending Home Sales (Nov.)
- Thursday: Initial Unemployment Claims
January 1, 2021: LPL Financial and the stock and bond markets will be closed on January 1.
Technical update. Stocks consolidated in a tight range just below all-time highs last week. The S&P 500 Index has tactical support at 3630 and will look to eclipse record highs at 3725 this week.
COVID-19 news. New COVID-19 cases over the weekend were mostly lower, although fluctuations in testing due to the holiday might skew the data.
- The near-term concern will be on monitoring for a post-holiday surge
- Total confirmed infections in the United States surpassed 19 million on Sunday (source: COVID Tracking Project)
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