Weekly Market Commentary December 27th to December 30th 2022

The holiday-shortened trading week was light on economic data releases. Pending Home Sales were lower by 4% in November, well below the consensus expectation. The reading has declined in each of the last six months and the index is 38% lower from a year ago. Higher financing costs have continued to put a winter chill on the housing market.

The weekly report of Jobless Claims edged higher to 225K, modestly above the 216k prior reading and slightly above consensus.

The S&P 500 closed the final trading week of 2022 modestly lower by 0.1% to 3,839, bringing a grinding year of negative returns to a close at -19%. The NASDAQ Composite ended a challenging year for technology stocks lower by 33%. The more cyclically oriented Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced the lowest drawdown, ending the calendar year off by 9%. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield finished the final trading session at 3.88%, off the peak of 4.25% experienced in October and well ahead of the start of the year at 1.5%.

Key economic reports in the abbreviated trading week ahead include Nonfarm Payrolls, the JOLTS jobs report, ISM Manufacturing, Factory Orders and the release of FOMC minutes from the final meeting of 2022.

We wish you a happy and prosperous New Year from all of us at Plimoth Investment Advisors.