John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended December 20th
Consumers confident
A monthly gauge of consumer confidence rose to the highest level since May. The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment climbed to 99.3, up from a reading of 96.8 in late November.
Momentum builds
Stocks extended their recent positive run entering the closing days of 2019, with the market rallying on Monday and Friday, and the major U.S. indexes posting weekly gains of around 1% to 2%. For the S&P 500, it was the 10th positive week out of the past 11.
Economic stability
Two indicators of the U.S. economy’s health were unchanged from earlier readings. The government’s final estimate of third-quarter GDP growth came in at an annual rate of 2.1%—the same as an estimate made four weeks earlier—while the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index showed no overall change in December relative to November.
Earnings recovery ahead?
Wall Street analysts are forecasting a return to a typical earnings growth rate in 2020, in contrast with the current year’s essentially flat results relative to 2018. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect that 2020 earnings of companies in the S&P 500 will increase 9.6%—slightly above the average annual growth rate of 9.1% over the past 10 years.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/