Hi Everyone,
The stock market finished significantly higher on the heels of an overnight rally in Chinese and European assets, as investors shrugged off the large number of new COVID infections. The Dow was up 460 or 1.8%, to 26,287, the Nasdaq gained 226, or 2.2%, to 10,434, while the S&P 500 rose by 50, or 1.6%, to 3,180. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 7-to-3 ratio on the NYSE, where volume was very light.
Traders said that while today’s session saw typical “holiday” trading conditions, stocks remained encouragingly strong. As one trader explained, “The Nasdaq hit a new all-time high for the second session in a row, and while stocks drifted sideways in choppy trading for most of the session, bulls managed to stage a promising late-day ramp.”
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both rose for the fifth day in a row, and while the Dow broke its winning streak last week, the industrial average also showed strength today. While it’s hard to overstate the role of the market-leading tech giants, more and more stocks are getting close to their all-time highs. Amazon (AMZN, +5.8%), Apple (AAPL, +2.7%), Microsoft (MSFT, +2.2%), and Tesla (+12.1%) clearly led today’s rally, but almost 200 different stocks hit new 52-week highs across the exchanges, which is the highest number since the start of the COVID-crash.
The strong overnight rally in China made headlines across the globe today, and for a good reason. The Shanghai Composite registered its biggest daily jump in years, and since investors are closely watching the post-lockdown trends in the country, it’s no surprise that European and U.S. stocks also surged higher. The fact China is ahead of virtually the whole world in the post-lockdown recovery makes the bullish market shift very important, even though the pressure on some of the emerging markets, such as India and Brazil, remains troubling.
As always, have a great evening and stay tuned!!!
Joe
