The Long and Short of it, week ending 24 Dec 2021
Posted:After falling over 1% Monday, all three major stock indexes rallied the remainder of the holidayshortened week to finish sharply higher and with the S&P 500 Index closing at a record high.
Waning Omicron fears (spurred by reports of booster effectiveness, approval of Pfizer’s Covid pill
and the mildness of Omicron cases) were the primary reason for last week’s gains with markets
relief-rallying after 3 days of significant declines. Tech stocks reversed the previous week’s
underperformance with the Nasdaq Composite Index markedly outperforming both the Dow Jones
Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index. The 10-year U.S. Treasury rate mirrored stock market
performances, falling Monday and then rising through Friday to finish just below 1.5% while the U.S.
dollar weakened as investors resumed risk-on investing. For the week, the S&P 500 Index increased
2.3% to 4,725.78, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.2% to 15,653.37, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average increased 1.7% to 35,950.63, the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate increased 8bps to 1.49% and
the U.S. dollar (as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar index - DXY) weakened 0.6%.
The Long and Short of it, week ending 24 Dec 2021
