This week, it was more of the same for traders. As we’ve seen throughout the year, investors have continued to weigh the positives versus the negatives in a spectacular manner. This has caused tons of volatility through the year. This week was no expectation.
On the positive U.S. news, investors continued to focus on the recent presidential election and win of president-elect Joe Biden. Continued expected stimulus measures and the overall stalemate in Congress was seen as encouraging news this week; as were recent innovations on the coronavirus front. The great news with regards to vaccines, treatments and other measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus allowed traders to look ahead and see the end of the pandemic in sight.
Data and earnings also provided a nice bump during the week. Key economic data points across industrial activity, consumerism and inflation show a slightly rebound economy. As did earnings. So far, the latest quarter has seen relatively positive results and many firms have continued to earn stronger guidance for the rest of the year. Dividend activity also saw a boost this week as well.
However, gains were kept in check by the sheer number of rising COVID-19 cases. The U.S. continues to see the number of infected spike and worries about a nation-wide shutdown have now taken hold.
At the end of the day, the markets did rise, but many of the gains were limited by the pandemic.
Be sure to check out our previous Wrap here, when stocks rose with the election results.
