[ad_1]
The Dow gained about 40 points in Friday’s early trading, or 0.1%. It is up 19% this year. The Nasdaq rose 0.2% on Friday and is up more than 22% in 2021, while the S&P 500, which also rose 0.2% in early trading, is up more than 27% this year.
It is the third consecutive year of gains for all three major indices, each of which is not far from record highs. The S&P 500 has even closed 70 times this year at a record high.
However, optimism about vaccine effectiveness has excited investors, as has the steady hand of the Federal Reserve and other central banks, which have typically pledged to exercise caution in normalizing monetary policy and raising interest rates slowly. .
The US economy wobbled a bit in the third quarter, with growth slowing to an annualized pace of just 2.3%. Nevertheless, consumer spending remains relatively strong and the red-hot housing market remains a bright spot for the economy.
But investors will be watching the Fed closely in 2022.
Traders currently estimate a greater than 50% chance that the Fed will raise rates for the first time since 2018 at its March meeting and that Jerome Powell & Co. next year will raise interest rates a total of three times to fight inflation.
Investors will also be watching Washington to see if more stimulus from the White House and Congress can come after President Biden’s plan to pass a Build Back Better Act fails.
The market will also monitor Covid cases to see if more companies will delay return to work plans or be forced to impose stricter restrictions such as mask and vaccine mandates.
The winners and losers
DIY store (HD) and Microsoft (MSFT) led the Dow this year, with every blue chip stock rising more than 50% this year. Oil companies Devon Energy (DVN) and Marathon (MRO) were the top performers in the S&P 500 and recovered on the back of rising crude oil prices. Both shares have more than doubled.
Top technologies such as Apple (AAPL), Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL) and Nvidia (NVDA) were also big winners.
Biotechnology Modern (MRNA), one of the many makers of Covid-19 vaccines, also prospered, winning over 140%. rivals Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) rose by nearly 60% and 215% respectively.
Leisure stocks, however, were big losers. Disney (DIS) was the largest dog in the Dow, down nearly 15% this year. The company was hurt by increased competition from Netflix (NFLX) and others in streaming media.
Casino Owners Penn National Gaming (PENN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) each collapsed about 40% and were the laggards of the S&P 500.
A slowdown in tourism, particularly in the gaming mecca of Macau in Asia, and a fierce battle for customers in the emerging legal US sports betting market hurt casinos.
|
Sources 2/ https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/31/investing/dow-stock-market-today/index.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]