December 23, 2022

Markets:

Stock futures were little changed Friday as traders try to recover some of the ground lost in the previous session.

Friday’s moves followed another down session for markets as December’s sell-off resumed and hopes for a Santa Claus rally faded. The Dow on Thursday tumbled 348.99 points, or 1.05%, but finished well off its 803-point low. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dove 1.45% and 2.18%, respectively.

Those losses put the S&P 500 down 0.8% for the week, on pace for its third-straight weekly decline. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile has lost 2.1% this week. The Dow has been the outperformer this week, gaining 0.3%.

Recession fears have resurged recently dashing some investors’ hope for a year-end rally and leading to big losses in December. Investors worry that overtightening from central banks worldwide could force the economy into a downturn.

For December, the S&P 500 has lost more than 6%, while the Dow and Nasdaq have lost 4.5% and 8.7%, respectively. It would be the biggest monthly declines for the major averages since September. Stocks are also on pace for their worst annual performance since 2008.

Investors await more economic data due out Friday, including November’s personal consumption expenditure report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation — and personal income. New home sales and December consumer sentiment index are also slated for release.

Portfolio:

We enter the last trading session of the week and the last one before the Christmas holiday holding positions in PDSB, AAL, and ZIM. What a week of swings and once again 3800 was defended. We remain in the 3800 to 3900 range in the S&P. Whichever way this breaks, up or down, it's going to be explosive and provde massive trade triggers. It's coming soon, stay patient here but technically you see the price activity just developing and once a technical side has won – it's going to be super explosive as traders will pile in. Expect a rather muted session today with trade volume. Next week should be super interesting to see if the seasonal trades remain and if that alone could push us over. But better believe come 1/3, when every trade returns, this market will ignite. Have a great day and we wish you all a wonderful holiday season!