Thank God, It’s Over

Tale of the Tape

Good evening, everyone. Happy freakin’ New Year!! 🥳

The markets barely budged as we turn the page on the most unprecedented year ever

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed at new all-time highs while the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 are only a stone’s throw away. Will this market rally roar into 2021? 🦁 Place your bets… 

Here are the closing prints: 

S&P 5003,756+0.64%
Nasdaq12,888+0.14%
Russell 20001,974-0.26%
Dow Jones30,606+0.65%

The major market indices all surged. Here’s the YTD performance for the major indices: 

✧ S&P 500 $SPX △ 16.42%
✧ Nasdaq $COMPQ △ 43.64%               
✧ Russell 2K $RUT △ 18%               
✧ Dow Jones $DJIA △ 7.31%

And the YTD performance for each sector:

✧ Technology $XLK △ 43.50%               
✧ Cons. Discretionary $XLY △ 29.61%               
✧ Communications $XLC △ 29.96%               
✧ Materials $XLB △ 20.44%
✧ Health Care $XLV △ 13.31%               
✧ Industrials $XLI △ 10.97%               
✧ Cons. Staples $XLP △ 10.13%               
✧ Utilities $XLU △ 0.52%
✦ Financials $XLF ▼ 1.74%               
✦ Cons. Staples $XLRE ▼ 2.16%               
✦ Energy $XLE ▼ 32.67%

See a few yearly charts below.

Although stocks are trading fresh highs, the economy needs to catch up. Jobless claims slightly declined week over week after 787,000 filed initial claims. 

Here’s the chart from FRED:

The Roaring 20s

This year has been unbelievable— WWIII, Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash, widespread social unrest, the pandemic, the election..the economy…the stock market

But will the next decade bring back the Roaring 20s for round 2? 

In American history, prosperous eras typically follow periods of distress or war. That’s why some analysts say 2021 will bring a “post-war euphoria” to launch us into a new golden economic era. 

After all, the last time we had the Roaring 20s, it was after the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919. And let’s not forget— the Dow tripled in value during the Golden Age of the 1950s after WWII: 

Stay safe, stay optimistic, and happy freakin’ New Year!  🥳🥂

20 Yearly Charts:

As we closed out 2020 here are 20 12-month charts for your viewing pleasure: 

S&P 500 $SPX △ 16.42% YTD

Nasdaq 100 $NDX △ 43.64% – YTD

Russell 2000 $RUT △ 18% – YTD

Dow Jones Industrial Average $DJIA △ 7.31% – YTD

Bitcoin $BTC.X △ 302.4% – YTD

US Dollar Index $DXY ▼ 6.75% – YTD



Emerging Markets $EEM △ 14.69% – YTD



Nikkei 225 $NI225 △ – YTD

Technology $XLK △ 43.50% – YTD

Financials $XLF ▼ 1.74% – YTD

Energy $XLE ▼ 32.67% – YTD


Solar $TAN △ 220% – YTD



Gold $GLD △ 23.9% – YTD

China Technology ETF $CQQQ △ 56.58%

Apple $AAPL △ 78.24% – YTD

Amazon $AMZN △ 71.6% – YTD

Qualcomm $QCOM △ 76.16% – YTD

Zoom $ZM △ 390.86% – YTD

Tesla $TSLA △ 720.05% – YTD 

Nikola $NKLA ▼ 54.79% – YTD

Links That Don’t Suck

🤖 2020 Will Change the Way We Look at Robotics

❄️ Preserved Woolly Rhino Unearthed in Russian Arctic

🌎 If You Want to Travel Next Year, You May Need a Vaccine Passport

📈 Wall Street Revives Dream of Bitcoin ETF With New SEC Filing

🖥️ Microsoft Hacked in Russia-Linked SolarWinds Cyberattack

💡 What Giant Skeletons and Puppy Shortages Told Us About the 2020 Economy

☃️ Alternative Ways to Spend the Holidays