Index Performance

US and International Equities

This week, we gained clarity on the makeup of Congress with the Georgia US Senate runoff. Democrats will now have control of both chambers of Congress, though with only a razor-thin majority.

“There have been some concerns about stocks given a blue wave,” explained LPL Research Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick.  “Actually, stocks have done well with this scenario.”

In fact, the S&P 500 Index gained 6 out of the past 7 times this occurred, with the only loss being 1994, where the S&P 500

The differences in strength between the stock market and real economy were laid bare this week as the stock market surged to new highs while the jobs market continued to deteriorate and remains well short of its February peak.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly employment report on January 8, revealing that the domestic economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, falling well short of Bloomberg-surveyed economists’ forecasts for a 50,000 gain. It should be noted, though, that strong revisions to prior months—adding 135,000 jobs—somewhat offset December’s shortfall. Both the unemployment rate

Top Story

Jobs Growth Turns Negative

The US economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, missing Bloomberg survey estimates of a 50,000 gain. This represents the first monthly loss since the jobs market began its recovery in May 2020. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%. Learn more on the US labor market later today in the LPL Research blog.

Daily Insights

Stocks Open Higher After Thursday’s Tech-Led Rally

• S&P 500 Index opened modestly higher today despite the jobs shortfall.

• Nasdaq 100 continues to outperform.

• European stocks are

2020 Was a Good Year for Stock Investors Despite Unprecedented Challenges.

After being down more than 30% at the March 2020 lows, the S&P 500 Index ended the year with a solid 18.4% total return. Last year marked the first time the index ended a year positive after being down at least 30% during that year. Gains were driven primarily by the emerging economic recovery taking hold, bolstered by massive stimulus, and the remarkably fast COVID-19 vaccine development that encouraged market participants to begin to price in the end of the pandemic.

We Take a Look at Some of the Asset Class and Sector Winners and Lose