John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended December 3rd

Elevated volatility 

A measure of investors’ expectations of short-term U.S. stock market volatility surged on Friday to the highest intraday level in more than 10 months. The Cboe Volatility Index—also known as the VIX—jumped to as high as 35 in afternoon trading, extending a recent surge that dates to the emergence of the Omicron variant in late November.

So-so jobs report

The U.S. economy generated 210,000 new jobs in November, far below economists’ consensus forecast and lagging the previous month’s strong result. However, the unemployment rate fell sharply, from 4.6% to 4.2%, and the labor participation rate rose as more Americans entered the labor force. 

Taper talk

Congressional testimony on Tuesday from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell weighed on the markets, as he indicated that the central bank was growing more concerned about persistent inflation. Powell suggested that the Fed could try to contain inflation by accelerating its plan to taper down its bond-buying stimulus program.

Mixed November

In the wake of a strong October, November marked something of a setback for the major U.S. stock indexes, largely due to a retreat in the closing days of the month. The S&P 500 slipped 0.8%, the Dow fell 3.7%, and the NASDAQ managed to post a 0.3% gain. At the sector level within the S&P 500, information technology had the strongest performance and energy had the weakest.

Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/