John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended November 29th
Growth picks up
The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster pace in this year’s third quarter than had initially been estimated. The government revised its initial estimate of a 1.9% annual growth rate in the latest quarter to 2.1%—roughly in line with the second quarter’s figure but down sharply from the first quarter’s 3.1% rate.
Back on track
On the heels of a slightly negative week, the S&P 500 bounced back to record its seventh positive weekly result out of the past eight. The S&P 500 and the Dow gained around 1% and set new records in the holiday-shortened week; the NASDAQ added nearly 2%.
Homestretch momentum
November marked the fifth positive month out of the past six for the S&P 500, which rose steadily last month. The index posted an overall monthly return of 3.6%, and it entered the final month of 2019 with a year-to-date return of 27.6%.
Small-cap surge
A small-cap index, the Russell 2000, rallied to a 2.2% gain in the latest week, outpacing large-cap indexes and extending a recent run of small-cap outperformance. For the two-month period ended November 29, the Russell 2000 added nearly 7.0%.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/