John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended December 28th

Historic days

After falling sharply on Monday and taking a holiday break on Tuesday, the stock market took a huge turn. The major indexes soared around 5% on Wednesday, and the Dow’s 1,086-point surge was the biggest single-day point gain in the index’s 120-year history. Stocks rallied again on Thursday amid choppy trading, as the Dow traded in an 850-point range.

Giant steps

While many traders took the holiday week off, there was no shortage of action. Stocks made huge swings—mostly on the upside—as the major U.S. indexes climbed around 3% for the week, easing some of the pain from the previous week’s losses of  7% to 8%.

Bank outreach

Stocks got off to a rocky start for the week after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that he had called the CEOs of six major banks and reported that each bank indicated it had sufficient financial liquidity to maintain lending and perform market-related operations. The stock market responded negatively Monday, as the Dow tumbled nearly 3%.

Jobs ahead

The first major U.S. economic report of the new year is scheduled for Friday, when the latest monthly labor market data will be released. Economists are forecasting that the economy generated around 185,000 new jobs in December, up from 155,000 in November. Wage growth is expected to pick up slightly relative to November.