Optimism surrounding inflation and smaller interest rate hikes gave stocks a boost
It was a shortened week on Wall Street, with markets closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and closing at 1:00 P.M. on Friday. However, there was still plenty of market movement for investors to unpack. Monday's trading was lackluster, though stocks roared to life on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) adding over 300 points as some traders began pricing in slowing inflation and a more dovish Fed approach for the year's end. The Fed's November meeting minutes wound up injecting more optimism into Wall Street, after the central bank signaled smaller rate hikes going into the end of the year. All three major indexes are headed for weekly wins.
These Stocks Could Keep Rallying Into Holiday Season
Though the market remains shaky, there are several stocks bullish investors should keep an eye on. Etsy (ETSY), in particular, stands out as a winning pre-holiday buy, with a promising technical setup and plenty of bearish sentiment to be unwound. Meanwhile, Casava Sciences (SAVA) and Chesapeake Energy (CHK) both pulled back to trendlines that have garnered healthy returns in the past. MetLife (MET) could also see some more upside next month, as it's flashing a historically bullish signal right now.
What to Expect During the First Week of December
As Wall Street returns from the holiday-shortened week, there will be more than enough economic data to go over, including plenty of clues to the state of inflation. The purchasing managers' (PMI) index, personal consumer expenditures (PCE), and gross domestic product (GDP) are on tap in conjunction with the deluge of employment data.
Several major companies will report earnings next week too, including, Big Lots (BIG), ChargePoint (CHPT), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Dollar General (DG), Five Below (FIVE), Kroger (KR), Okta (OKTA), Pure Storage (PSTG), Salesforce.com (CRM), Snowflake (SNOW), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Workday (WDAY), and Zscaler (ZS). In the meantime, check out what to expect after this week's Black Friday event.