November's rally was extended into December as stocks rise to highs for 2023. November’s big rally was due in part to investors beginning to believe the Federal Reserve may be done raising interest rates and that the central bank may even start cutting rates in the first half of next year. November’s gains snapped a three-month losing streak with the S&P 500 increasing by 8.9%, the Nasdaq rallying 10.7% and the Dow Jones surging 8.8%. Last week, the S&P 500 added 0.77%, while the Dow Jones rallied 2.4% and the Nasdaq advanced 0.38%, marking the fifth consecutive week of gains for the stock market.
Economic reports from last week came back mixed:
•New Home Sales - lower than expectation
•Pending Home Sales - higher than expectation
•Manufacturing (Dallas) - lower than expectation
•Manufacturing (Richmond) - lower than expectation
•Single-Family Home Values - higher than expectation
•Personal Income - in-line with expectation
•Construction Spending - higher than expectation
•Jobless Claims - lower than expectation
This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Vehicle Sales, Job Openings, Employment, Labor Productivity, Consumer Credit, Consumer Sentiment and Jobless Claims.