Weekly Snapshot February 8th, 2021
Market Review: Week Ending 2/5/2021
The equity markets were solidly higher this week, recapturing all of last week’s declines and posting their best weekly gain since November 2020. The lack of any contagion from the recent retail short squeeze and related hedge fund de-risking allowed the markets to focus on more traditional investment factors. These factors included large-scale stimulus gaining traction, quarterly earnings exceeding expectations, vaccination pace accelerating, and the Federal Reserve’s continued commitment to provide ample liquidity.1
For the week, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced 3.9%, the S&P500 Index (S&P500) gained 4.7%, and the NASDAQ Composite (NASDAQ) jumped 6.0%. Of note was the small-cap Russell 2000 index that rallied 7.7% for its best weekly performance since June 2020. Year-to-date, DJIA returned 1.8%, S&P500 3.5%, and NASDAQ 7.5%.2 The large-cap S&P500 Index, NASDAQ Composite, and small-cap Russell 2000 Index all reached record highs this week. Economic and interest rate sensitive sectors led the markets higher, with Financials moving higher [6.6%], Industrials rising [4.9%], and Energy gaining [8.3%]. As last week’s trading frenzy dissipated and the markets rallied, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell back to 21- a level seen as “normal” with no significant market disruptions.3
Optimism on COVID-19 trends, vaccine distributions, monetary and fiscal stimulus, and continuing economic recovery have propelled the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury higher. On Friday, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield reached 1.17%.4 Higher Treasury yields so far have not been a detriment to stocks but viewed as signs of economic growth.
One note of caution is the continued weakness in the labor markets as U.S employment growth rebounded less than expected in January and job losses for December were revised higher. On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department’s Job Report added only 49,000 jobs, a disappointment given market expectations of 105,000.5 Ironically, this negative data point was turned into a positive by the markets as the likelihood of additional relief money to aid the recovery increased. On Friday without any Republican support, the Senate passed a budget resolution moving forward the process to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
WHAT WE WILL BE WATCHING THIS WEEK
- Continued reporting of corporate earnings led by Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, and DuPont. – Is there an earnings recovery outside of Technology?
- Former President Trump’s Senate impeachment hearing (Tuesday the 9th). – Increased potential for market volatility.
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
On Wednesday, Google’s parent company Alphabet (held in Fundamentum GIE) rose sharply on strong earnings and a revenue beat versus consensus led by a healthy rebound in Ad spending (Google Search +17.4%, YouTube +48%).
As always, we appreciate your confidence in our team.
Fundamentum Investment Committee
John Nichol, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer
Trevor Forbes – Investment Committee
Robert Armagno – Investment Committee
Matt Dunn, CFA® – Chief Compliance Officer
Sources:
1 FactSet – 2/5/2021
2 Charles Schwab – 2/5/20221
3 FactSet – 2/5/2021
4 FactSet – 2/5/2021
5 Charles Schwab – 2/5/2021
Investment advice offered through Fundamentum LLC a registered investment advisor. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the investment objective of any investment strategy will be attained. Investing involves risk including loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
