Lots of trading action but no trend so far from Santa Claus

Lots of trading action but no trend so far from Santa Claus

Today, Wednesday December 30, is pretty much the reverse image of yesterday’s stock market action. Traders are having fun–and making money, I’d hope–in the day to day action but I don’t see a trend in this market that might extend into 2021. So, for example, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.13% today at the close in New York after falling 0.22% yesterday

Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Monday) says, For the two weeks ahead expect Ho, Ho, Huh! Is this the shape of this year’s Santa Claus rally to come?

Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Monday) says, For the two weeks ahead expect Ho, Ho, Huh! Is this the shape of this year’s Santa Claus rally to come?

The major indexes aren’t showing much of a move today even on the news that a new coronavirus stimulus/relief bill is like to pass today (along with the massive fiscal 2021 spending bill for the rest of the government.) I think a good part of that lack of reaction comes since the market has been assuming a stimulus bill would pass for days if not weeks and the actual bill is priced in to a great degree. That isn’t to say that there weren’t big moves to the upside of the sort that I expect could be the order of the day during the low volume trading days around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. In many years bulls try to use the low trading volumes during these days to generate moves to the upside.

Initial claims for unemployment climb again

Initial claims for unemployment climb again

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment in regular state unemployment programs climbed by 30,000 in the week ended November 21, the Labor Department reported today, November 25. For the week initial claims in state programs rose to a seasonally adjusted 778,000. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected 730,000 new claims for the week. This is the second straight week for an increase in new claims for unemployment and adds to other data showing the U.S. economy is slowing under the impact of a new surge in coronavirus infections and a rising number of restrictions on economic activity as states attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

This market is way, way too complacent

This market is way, way too complacent

The VIX, the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index, gained 11% today to close at 26.03. But the index, which measures how much investors and traders are wiling to pay in the options market to hedge risk on the Standard & Poor's 500 index of stocks looking out over the...