#stocks #trade #traders #rally #jobs #NFPs #ETFs #SEC #Florida #cryptocurrency #politics
“On 5 November I announce that my benchmark index targets for this yr were marked, and asked, what is next?”– Paul Ebeling
The answer to that Q was, take some money off the table, let the consolidation happen and be ready for the Santa Claus Rally, meaning stand aside, but pay attention to the tests and buy the Key reversal, that happened Thursday.
DJIA +617.75 at 34639.79, NAS Comp +127.27 at 15381.34, S&P 500 +64.06 at 4577.10
Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 1.4%, the DJIA (+1.8%) and Russell 2000 (+2.7%) outperformed, while the NAS Comp underperformed on a relative basis with a 0.8% gainer.
Supportive factors included 1) a bargain-hunting mindset amid an increasing number of stocks trading near 52-wk lows, 2) a view that the Omicron variant might not be as bad as feared after the 2nd reported case in the US produced mild symptoms in a vaccinated person like the 1st case, and 3) a recognition that the S&P 500 reclaimed its 50-Day MA at 4543. The selling was overdone.
All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher, featuring leadership positions from the cyclical industrials (+2.9%), energy (+2.9%), financials (+2.8%), and materials (+2.0%) sectors. The information technology (+0.8%), consumer staples (+0.8%), and health care (+0.4%) sectors trailed with more modest gainers.
- S&P 500 +21.9% YTD
- NAS Comp +19.3% YTD
- DJIA +13.2% YTD
- Russell 2000 +11.7% YTD
The Memes
Thursday’s leading gainer on our list was Farmmi Inc. (NASDAQ:FAMI). The company announced Thursday morning that Nasdaq has agreed to an extension until May for the stock to achieve a share price of at least $1/each. FAMI finished at $0.2402 or +2.53% on the day.
Genius Brands (NASDAQ:GNUS) traded up more than 5.5%, at $1.24 in a 52-wk range of $1.16 – 3.12.
Crypto
Early this yr, in a major struggles the crypto community had to deal with was the reluctance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a crypto-related exchange-traded fund (ETF).
With the SEC now finally approving a number of Bitcoin futures ETFs like that of ProShares and VanEck, the focus has shifted as the community now wants the financial regulator to approve one of the numerous Bitcoin spot ETF applications before it.
The most recent effort from the community on this front is a letter written by Grayscale, the leading digital asset management company, where it stated that the Gary Gensler-led commission could be in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
The US Economy
- For the wk ending 27 November, initial jobless claims increased by 28,000 to 222,000, Continuing claims for the wk ended 20 November decreased by 107,000 to 1.956-M.
- The Key takeaway from the report is that initial jobless claims are firming up at lower marks seen before the start of the VirusCasedemic.
Just In:
The U.S. economy added back fewer jobs than expected in November, while the unemployment rate fell further than anticipated to the lowest since February 2020.
The Labor Department released its November jobs report Friday at 8:30a EST. Here are the Key metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates:
- NFPs: +210,000 vs. +550,000 expected and a revised +546,000 in October
- Unemployment rate: 4.2% Vs 4.5% expected, 4.6% in October
Politics
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing $3.5-M to establish a 200-person volunteer Florida State Guard under his direction to supplement the federal-controlled Florida National Guard.
“We are proud of our veterans and active-duty military members and proud of what our communities do to support them,” Governor DeSantis wrote in a statement announcing the proposal. “Florida is one of the most veteran friendly states, and I think there are very few places that you would rather be on duty than in the state of Florida.
“As a veteran, I really appreciate what everyone who wears the uniform does in our state and am excited about these proposals – they will go a long way and have a meaningful impact. In Florida, we are going to continue our momentum of supporting our military, supporting our veterans and being good stewards of our military installations.”
Have a prosperous day, Keep the Faith!
