WizzWatch Market Newsletter

As for the week that was in the stock market, all three major market indices ended the week trading on the upside closing at record price highs. There was also a reversal in the prices of gold and silver as oil continued to advance for the fifth week in a row. 

Stocks closed near session highs posting their second week of gains in both the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Standard and Poors 500 as the Nasdaq closed to end the week higher for the third consecutive week. December seems to be setting up to look like November as small caps continue to outperform large cap stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the week trading at 29,854.51 and moved to a price high of 30,218.26 before retreating and ending the week slightly lower. This has been an historic week for the index as it closed above 30,000 for the first time.   

The top percentage gainers in the Dow 30 this week were  (WBA) Walgreens Boots Alliance +11.31%, (INTC) Intel Corp. +9.56%, (BA) Boeing Co. +7.49%, (AAPL) Apple, Inc. 4.85% and (DIS) Walt Disney Co. +4.76%.

As the market came to a close in trading the Dow ended the week trading at 30,218.26 up +307.89 or 1.03% on heavier than average volume of 2.16 billion. The average weekly trading volume for the index is 1.9 billion.

At the Nasdaq there was a continuation of the upside momentum for the third consecutive week as the index closed to end trading at record price highs. The Nasdaq has been advancing for 4 of the past 5 weeks and looks poised to continue its advance through the month of December. 

The top movers in the Nasdaq 100 in the week that passed were (MU) Micron Technology +14.18%, (WDC) Western Digital +12.27%, (NTAP) NetApp., Inc.+12.64%, (WYNN) Wynn Resorts, Ltd. +12.13%, and (ILMN) Illumina, Inc. +10.61%. 

The Nasdaq Composite index closed to end the week trading at 12.464.23up 258.39 or 2.12% on heavier than average trading volume of 29.51 billion. The average weekly trading volume for the tech weighed index is 18.06 billion.

As for the Standard and Poors 500, it also saw a record price highs as it also closed to end the week trading higher on the upside. The S&P 500 began the trading week at 3,634.18 and declined to a price low of 3,594.39 before turning around and moving higher, 

Some of the top percentage gainers in the index that helped the Standard and Poors to close in record high territory were companies such as (DVN) Devon Energy +12.13%, (OXY) Occidental Petroleum Corp. +12.26%, (ZION) Zion Bancorp +11.54%, (LNC) Lincoln National Corp. +11.23%, (NCLH) Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings +11.06% and (HAL) Halliburton Co. +10.94%. 

As for commodities the price of gold ended the week trading at $1,840.00 per ounce up $51.90 or 2.90%. The price of silver also advance higher to end the week trading at $24.25 per ounce up $1.61 or 7.13% as the U.S. Dollar continued to decline for the eight consecutive month in a row. The dollar is down 5.58% for the year. 

As it pertains to the price of oil, the index has continued to advance for the fifth consecutive week but is still down 24.24% for the year. The uptick in price also help companies such as Halliburton, Devon Energy, Occidental Petroleum, National Oilwell Varco, as well as Apache Corp. mover higher to the upside to end the week.

As the market came to a close in trading on Friday the oil index closed to end the week trading at $46.26 up 0.73 or 1.60% on lighter than average trading volume of 170.9 million. The average weekly trading volume for the oil index is 229.05 million.

Please have a look at the stock chart below.

 By Marlin Rolle