The S&P 500 finished the week flat despite more positive news on vaccine developments. Small caps continued to perform well and gained 1.9% on the week. Value outpaced growth by 1.3% on the week and now more than 6% over the last two weeks.
S&P 500 one-week performance was strong. Over the period, the index was up 3.81%. This performance was led by Energy, up 14.29%, and Financials, up 10.20%. These are the two sectors which have struggled the most this year.
With a week having passed since Election Day, it would seem the path forward, politically speaking, should be relatively clear. Americans came out in force to cast their votes as the turnout for the 2020 election was the highest seen in 50 years, and as of last weekend, Joe Biden was declared by the Associated Press to be the president-elect.
The markets were positioned for this to be one of the highest-volatility elections ever. As of this writing, there are several states extremely close in their counts. Scrutiny on the ballot counting process added fuel to the fire, and it will likely be a lengthy process before a conclusion is reached.
We continue to navigate our way through earnings season this week. With a little over 50% of S&P 500 companies reporting, it looks like things were not as bad as we thought they would be.
Equity markets drifted lower as stimulus talks continue to be pushed out. Plenty of headlines and no action has whipped the market around for most of the month. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 1.5%.
How to Measure the Market
Indexes have been a quick and relatively easy way for investors to track broad market performance since Charles Dow developed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIJA) in 1884.
Markets have traded off in the last few days after strong performance toward the end of last week. The turn comes as uncertainty increases around the timing of stimulus relief and a global increase in COVID-19 cases.
With less than a month to go, the anxiety surrounding the presidential election is reaching fever pitch. Reflective of the highly polarized political environment we currently find ourselves in, proponents of the two major parties are working overtime to convince voters the other side will have a draconian effect on the U.S.