The government needed two extensions and until the last possible day to come to an agreement on a new stimulus bill. Sounds like a group of college kids during finals week.
This week the S&P 500 closed at 3,709.41, a gain of 1.25%, the NASDAQ finished at 12,755.64, a gain of 3.05%, and the Dow ended at 30,179.05, a gain of 0.44%.
Summary
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine began being rolled out, as the first Americans got vaccinated on Monday. Moderna’s vaccine was approved by the FDA for emergency use at the end of the week and now begin being distributed.
Sunday afternoon Congress agreed to a $900 billion COVID stimulus package. The deal still needs to be voted on and pass in the House and Senate, which it is expected to get through.
The Federal Reserve met this week to assess the economy. They raised their forecast for 2021 GDP to 4.2% and expect the unemployment rate to end 2020 at 6.7%. They also committed to continuing buying bonds until the economy reaches full employment and inflation stays at 2%. To no surprise, they kept short-term interest rates near zero.
Worth Mentioning
- The Federal Trade Commission is requiring several technology companies, including Facebook and Amazon, to share information about how they collect and use their user’s data
- This week reports surfaced that parts of the government and thousands of companies were hacked
- Nike reported earnings Friday after hours. They beat on earnings and revenue estimates. They reported online sales grew at 84% and their stock was up more than 5% after hours
- Weekly jobless claims hit 885,000. This is the highest number since early September
- Retail sales dropped 1.1% for November. This was below estimates and the second month in a row it decreased
- FedEx reported quarterly earnings after hours Thursday, beating estimates. They continue to see increased demand due to the pandemic. Their stock was down about 5% Friday
- General Mills announced they beat EPS and revenue estimates for their most recent quarter
- Apple’s stock was up Tuesday after reports they will make more iPhones than anticipated due to increased demand
- Google suffered widespread outages to their services, including Gmail and YouTube Monday morning. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, was hit with a lawsuit this week from many US states about their monopoly power
- AstraZeneca has agreed to buy Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion
- Bitcoin hit an all-time high this week, reaching $23,000 this week
- Tilray and Aphria announced a merger this week to become the world’s biggest cannabis producer. This comes on the heels of several states voting to legalize marijuana in last month’s elections
- Tesla will be added to the S&P 500 before the market opens on 12/21
Looking Ahead to Next Week
- The stock market closes at 1 PM Thursday and is closed Friday in observation of Christmas
- The bond market closes at 2 PM Thursday and is also closed all of Friday in observation of Christmas
- Moderna’s vaccine will be distributed
- Notable earnings for this week include Cintas, Carmax, and Paychex
Weekly Change in Each Sector:
| Price, 12/11 | Price, 12/18 | Change | |
| XLC — Communications Service | $66.94 | $67.11 | 0.25% |
| XLY — Consumer Discretionary | $156.30 | $159.99 | 2.36% |
| XLP — Consumer Staples | $67.32 | $67.93 | 0.91% |
| XLE — Energy | $41.12 | $39.40 | -4.18% |
| XLF — Financials | $28.46 | $28.49 | 0.11% |
| XLV — Health Care | $111.68 | $113.00 | 1.18% |
| XLI — Industrials | $88.77 | $88.84 | 0.08% |
| XLK — Information Technology | $124.30 | $128.25 | 3.18% |
| XLB — Materials | $70.90 | $72.21 | 1.85% |
| XLRE — Real Estate | $36.27 | $36.44 | 0.47% |
| XLU — Utilities | $62.24 | $62.29 | 0.08% |
Treasury Yield Rates
The 10-Year ended the week at 0.95%, compared to last week’s end of 0.90%
The 2-Year ended the week at 0.13%, compared to last week’s end of 0.11%