PAS Weekly Commentary

Slim Gains Over a Short Week

The stock market logged some gains on this holiday-shortened week.

The equity market closed at 1:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and remained closed on Wednesday for Christmas Day.

The "Santa Claus rally" period (i.e. the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the new year) began on Tuesday and doesn't always lead to gains in the stock market, but usually features a positive skew. The S&P 500 closed 0.7% higher on the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled 0.4% higher than last Friday, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% higher this week.

There wasn't a lot of market‐moving news and volume was thin ahead of another abbreviated week. The equal‐weighted S&P 500 settled fractionally higher than last week.

Gains in some mega caps and chipmakers provided some support to the broader equity market. NVIDIA (NVDA) closed 1.7% higher, Tesla (TSLA) gained 2.5%, and Broadcom (AVGO) surged 9.5%.

Qualcomm (QCOM) was another winner from the semiconductor space after jurors found that the chip company didn't violate terms of its agreement covering Arm Holding's (ARM) designs. Shares settled 2.9% higher than last Friday.

Eli Lilly (LLY) was another story stock, closing 2.0% higher for the week, after the FDA approved Zepbound (tirzepatide) as the first and only prescription medicine for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.

The economic calendar was light, featuring a better‐than‐expected weekly jobless claims report. Weekly initial jobless claims for the week ending December 21 checked in at a lower than expected 219,000 (Briefing.com consensus 232,000) while continuing jobless claims for the week ending December 14 hit their highest (1.910 million) since November 13, 2021.

  • Nasdaq Composite: +0.8% for the week / +31.4% YTD
  • S&P 500: +0.7% for the week / +25.2% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.4% for the week / +14.1% YTD
  • S&P Midcap 400: +0.5% for the week / +12.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +0.1% for the week / +10.7% YTD

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Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Diversification does not guarantee investment returns and does not eliminate the risk of loss.

Data and rates used were indicative of market conditions as of the date shown and compiled by Briefing.com. Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and statements of financial market trends are based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice. References to specific securities, asset classes and financial markets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to purchase or sell a security. S&P 500 Index is a market index generally considered representative of the stock market as a whole. The index focuses on the large-cap segment of the U.S. equities market. Each company’s security affects the index in proportion to its market value. NASDAQ Composite Index is a market value-weighted index that measures all NASDAQ domestic and non-U.S. based common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock market. Dow Jones Industrial Average is a widely used indicator of the overall condition of the stock market, a price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue chip stocks, primarily industrials, but also includes financial, leisure and other service-oriented firms. Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies in terms of market capitalization. MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance of emerging markets.

Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). PAS is a registered broker/dealer offering competitive investment products, as well as a registered investment advisor offering financial planning and investment advisory services. PAS is a member of FINRA and SIPC.

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6974283.17 (Exp. 03/25)

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