Traders Deleverage, Take Profits, Stack Cash Ahead of Santa Claus Rally

#stocks #traders #deleverage #risk #bullish #SantaClaus #rally #economy #memes #commodities #cryptocurrencies #politics #omicron #bitcoin

$DIA $SPY $QQQ $RUT $VXX $JPM

"There are no direct flights from South Africa to California, we have not learned which city/airport the Omicron patient connected through. The Big Q: Why not?" -- Paul Ebeling

"The recent variant could actually speed the way to an end to the pandemic, buy the dip" -- JPMorgan Chase & Co.

DJIA -461.68 to 34022.04, NAS Comp -283.64 to 15254.07, S&P 500 -53.96 to 4513.04

Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%after being up 1.9% intraday, as momentum faded.

The DJIA fell 1.3%, the NAS Comp fell 1.8%, and Russell 2000 lost 2.3%

• S&P 500 +20.2% YTD

• NAS Comp +18.4% YTD

• DJIA +11.2% YTD

• Russell 2000 +8.7% YTD

Stay tuned for understanding the Santa Claus Rally.

The Key Commodities

WTI Crude Oil futures settled lower by 0.8%, or 0.53, to $65.61bbl, Gold futures settled 7.80 higher (+0.4%) at 1,784.30oz, and the US Dollar Index was flat at $95.99.

The Cryptocurrencies

Tysons business software company MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) has purchased more Bitcoin: $414.4-M for 7,002 units of the cryptocurrency. With the new purchase, MicroStrategy said it now holds roughly 121,044 bitcoins acquired at an aggregate purchase price of $3.57-B, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The Memes

Among meme stocks, decliners outnumber advancers.

Vertex Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR) stock traded up 5.89% at 5.21 on no specific news.

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) was among the stocks trading lower to -7.75%, or 23.93. The company had no specific news.

The US Economy

• The November ISM Manufacturing Index checked in at 61.1% up from 60.8% in October. A number above 50.0% is indicative of expansion. November marked the 18th month running of expansion for the manufacturing sector.The Key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing activity is still running at a good clip despite supply chain, transportation, and labor constraints; meanwhile, it was noted that manufacturers' sentiment remains strongly optimistic.

• Total construction spending increased 0.2% month-over-month in October. Total private construction declined 0.2% month-over-month while total public construction spending increased 1.8%.The Key takeaway from the report is the decline seen in new single family and multifamily construction. That is most likely the consequence of ongoing supply chain pressures, labor constraints, and higher costs for builders that are standing in the way of building more affordable homes.

• The ADP Employment Change report estimated 534,000 jobs were added to private-sector payrolls in November. The increase in October was downwardly revised to 570,000 from 571,000.

• The final IHS Market Manufacturing PMI for November checked in at 58.3, down from 59.1 in the preliminary reading.

• The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 7.2% following a 1.8% increase in the previous wk

Politics

The federal government moved another day closer to a weekend shutdown.

Have a prosperous day, Keep the Faith!