Aurinia Pharma Surges ($15.00, +78.8%), Restoration Hardware Pops ($233.17, +13.40%), Hecla Mining Climbs ($2.92, +5.42%) – US Broad Markets Chop Higher – Vista Partners Daily Market Recap 12/5/19

The markets continued to move higher at the end of the day today but without the US-China trade war saga causing fair bits of anguish. Today the “value” of farm goods that the U.S. supposedly desires China to acquire was the bit of negative news that gave pause to investors and caused the market’s water to be a bit choppy. The noted and highly publicized bears are gaining traction in the public eye again & are getting their stories published. I would expect a relative amount of volatility as we move into the new year. The “fear gauge” Vix (TVIX) dropped to $70.19/share at the close off -9.13%. 1o of eleven S&P 500 sectors closed in positive territory as the energy sector (+1.6%) led the way while the materials sector was the lone hold out in negative territory (-.04%). The S&P 500 ended the day up +.15% and in a reversal from yesterday, the S&P 500 materials sector (+.7%) was the leader today while the energy sector (-.5%) was at the bottom and in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up +.10%, the Nasdaq Composite gained  +.05%, & the Russell 2000 rose +.06% at the close of trading. The “fear gauge” Vix (TVIX) dropped to $68.28/share at the close off -2.72% but feels like it could surge again any day.

Economic Reports

On Monday, the ISM Manufacturing Index report for November confirmed a 48.1% reading vs. a 48.3% reading for October still south of the Mendoza line for expansion. The total construction spending report showed a decrease of -.8% month/month in October.

On Tuesday, we did not receive any economic reports of significance.

On Wednesday, we received the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index report dropped to 53.9% in November. The ADP Employment Report for November also confirmed that ~67k positions were added to private-sector payrolls. The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased by -9.2%.

On Thursday, the Initial claims report for the week ending November 30 showed a decrease of 10k to 203k while continuing claims for the week ending November 23 moved higher by 51k to 1.693M. The Factory Orders report for October confirmed it increased by .3%

Investing & Inspiration

“Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.” – Robert Orben