November closed as the best month of the year for the stock market, so December, which is often a good month, has a tough act to follow. The trend, however, suggests there will at least be an effort to keep things going even if they don’t go nearly as well as they did in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latter point notwithstanding, the equity futures market is looking a little groggy this morning as participants will themselves back to work after a festive holiday week that is the gateway to Christmas and New Year festivities. MasterCard Spending Pulse reports that Black Friday sales were up 3.4% year-over-year, led by strength in online sales. Brick-and-mortar sales were said to be up just 0.7% year-over-year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, the S&P 500 futures are flat and are trading fractionally above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 31 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 22 points but are trading fractionally above fair value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sluggish disposition of the equity futures market belies what should be an active week of trading centered around political, economic, and earnings news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today will be mostly about political and economic news, although Walt Disney (DIS)<\/strong> will capture some added attention on the upbeat report that ‘Moana 2’ brought in $221 million in ticket sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to CNBC<\/em>; meanwhile, Intel (INTC)<\/strong> is making headline waves with the news that Pat Gelsinger has suddenly “retired” from the company, which will be led by interim co-CEOs until a new CEO is hired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n