Search
Close this search box.

Weekly Market Recap | 11/25/2024

Weekly-Market-Recap-Image_Blog-Header

What Happened Last Week

  • Stocks Rose: S&P 500 closed within a hair of all-time highs on the back of easing growth concerns, Trump’s cabinet picks, and generally positive earnings reports.

  • NVDA Earnings: Strong, but not strong enough – the stock, despite ending flat on the week, did not prevent the NASDAQ 100 from outperforming the S&P 500.

  • Treasury Pick: After Friday’s close, Scott Bessent, Wall Street’s preferred candidate, was picked to lead Treasury.

What We’re Watching This Week

  • Inflation Data: PCE in the U.S. is unlikely to impact the Fed’s December decision, but Japanese and European CPI data could impact BOJ and ECB policy actions.

  • U.S. Growth Data: Consumer confidence, personal income and spending, and the second update of 3Q GDP are the economic highlights in a light week.

  • Retailer Earnings: Speciality retailers dominate the earnings calendar as the market looks for more positive consumer support.

Investment Management Team’s Views

  • Global stocks rose on the back of U.S.-led strength last week as investors weighed the incoming newsflow around key Trump Cabinet picks, retailer and Nvidia (NVDA) earnings, and forward-looking economic survey data. The S&P 500 closed within 1% of its all-time highs on Friday, while small-caps more than unwound their weakness during the post-election week. Better earnings reports from many of the national retail chains likely contributed to the rally in small-caps and higher beta large-caps as growth concerns faded. NVDA’s earnings were strong but this was their smallest beat since the start of the AI investment cycle. Despite the relative weakness (flat on the week) in this key name, the tech-heavy NASDAQ actually outperformed broad large-caps.
  • One key theme for market participants is discerning the policy priorities for the new Trump administration. The information on that front was generally market-friendly last week as Matt Gaetz withdrew his consideration for Attorney General and Howard Lutnick was tapped for Commerce and not Treasury (as had been rumored). Over the weekend, markets got what they have been really after – the nominee for Treasury Secretary. Scott Bessent is a steady hand that is well known and liked by the market; we expect last week’s positive price action to continue into this week and through the end of the year. But as the post-election week reminded us, the path higher is likely to be bumpy as competing factions in the new administration vie for power and influence.
  • Turning to the shortened week ahead, we get inflation data out of the U.S. (PCE), Japan, and Europe. The international inflation data is likely to matter more for interest rates and currency movements given the relatively weaker growth backdrop ex-U.S. Secondary economic data in the U.S. is likely to be outweighed by a host of consumer-centric companies’ earnings reports.
Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) is the total value of goods and services purchased by US residents, either directly or on their behalf, and is a key indicator of inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of a country’s economic activity that is calculated by adding up the total value of all goods and services produced within a specific time period.The commentary in this report is not a complete analysis of every material fact with respect to any company, industry, or security. The opinions expressed here are not investment recommendations, but rather opinions that reflect the judgment of Horizon as of the date of the report and are subject to change without notice. Forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. We do not intend and will not endeavor to provide notice if and when our opinions or actions change. This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or product and may not be relied upon in connection with the purchase or sale of any security or device. Before investing, an investor should consider his or her investment goals and risk comfort levels and consult with his or her investment adviser and tax professional. Equities are represented by the S&P 500 Index, which is a market- capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a stock index of the 100 largest companies by modified market capitalization trading on Nasdaq exchanges. The index includes companies in basic materials, consumer discretionary spending, consumer staples, healthcare, industrials, technology, telecommunications, and utilities. References to indices or other measures of relative market performance over a specified period of time are provided for informational purposes only. Reference to an index does not imply that any account will achieve returns, volatility, or other results similar to that index. The composition of an index may not reflect the manner in which a portfolio is constructed in relation to expected or achieved returns, portfolio guidelines, restrictions, sectors, correlations, concentrations, volatility or tracking error targets, all of which are subject to change. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.This commentary is based on public information that we consider reliable, but we do not represent that it is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. Horizon Investments and the Horizon H are registered trademarks of Horizon Investments, LLC.© 2024 Horizon Investments, LLC.
You are now leaving this website to go to HorizonMutualFunds.com