Hey everybody, Dave Bartosiak here filling in for James “Slippin’ Jimmy” Giaquinto. He will be back to work Monday, along with the rest of us.
I am sure that by now you have heard somebody tell you “Happy New Year” prematurely. I promise, eventually, we are going to make it out of 2020 and into the New Year. On the last day of what was an historic 2020, markets did just fine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 196.9 points or 65 bps at 30,606.5. The S&P 500 finished the day at all-time highs, up 24 points or 64 bps at 3,756.1. The NASDAQ Composite added 18.28 points or 14 bps at 12,888.28. The small caps of the Russell 2000 gave up some ground, giving up 5.13 points or 26 bps at 1,974.85.
Portfolio Summary
Nothing! This big bunch of slackers did nothing, Myself included.
To be fair, the bond market closed early and most folks had their sites on the festivities at night. The session was mostly quiet until the last few minutes when everything ramped up.
Since there’s so little to cover in the way of money movement today, let’s do a quick…
Chart of the Day
S&P 500
Think about all the headlines this year. All the stress, all the ups-and-downs, all the frustration. The fear-driven headlines, the global pandemic panic, etc. Now, step back, and behold the resilience of the American consumer, the American economy, the American spirit. We are not a country of nay-sayers, we are doers. We roll up our sleeves and get it done in the face of adversity.
The result, despite all that negativity, the market marched on higher. So when you are debating whether or not you should put that money to work, trying to be the perfect market timer in your long-term investment accounts, I want you to think about 2020. If there is one thing you should have learned from this year, it’s that you should stay invested, and continue to invest no matter what the headlines might be.
Conclusion
Great way to ring out 2020. Despite this being a terrible year for our everyday lives, it was pretty darn good for equities. Here’s to another banner year for the stock market in 2021.
Have a great night,
Dave
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