John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended November 22

Small-cap surge

Rallies on Thursday and Friday for a U.S. small-cap stock benchmark, the Russell 2000, pushed the index to a weekly return of 4.5%—a result that offset the previous week’s 4.0% decline. Even with the earlier setback, the Russell 2000’s month-to-date gain for November was nearly 10% as of Friday’s close, owing in part to a small-cap surge just after this month’s U.S. election.

Value beats growth

A U.S. large-cap value stock benchmark significantly outpaced its growth counterpart, eroding some of the growth style’s year-to-date performance advantage. The value index posted a 2.5% return for the week versus 1.7% for the growth benchmark.

Consumer sentiment slips

The first postelection reading from a gauge that tracks U.S. consumer sentiment showed a modest downturn relative to a preliminary reading from a consumer survey done the day before the November 5 vote. Friday’s final reading from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed the gauge slipping to 71.8 from the 73.0 preliminary figure.

Earnings scorecard

With nearly all third-quarter results in as of Friday, companies in the S&P 500 are expected to post an average earnings gain of 5.8% over the same quarter a year earlier, according to the latest data from FactSet. If that positive result holds, it would mark the index’s fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth.

Source: https://www.jhinvestments.com