John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended December 6th
Jobs momentum
The latest U.S. employment report beat expectations, providing further evidence that recent recession fears may have been unwarranted. Stocks rallied on Friday after the government reported that the economy generated 266,000 new jobs in November and the unemployment rate slipped to 3.5%.
Retail strength
The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start. A trade group, the National Retail Federation, estimated that American shoppers increased their spending by 16% compared with last year over the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Yield rebound
Prices of U.S. government bonds fell, sending their yields higher, after China reported better-than-expected economic data on Monday. Yields climbed further on Friday following a U.S. employment report, with the yield of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond reaching 1.84%—the highest level in three weeks.
Fed ahead
On the heels of a strong monthly jobs report, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it concludes a meeting on Wednesday. That would mark a departure from the Fed’s recent policy easing; in October, the Fed cut rates for the third time in three months.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/