Here is what you may have missed during your turkey-induced nap…

1) Green Bay Packers fans loved watching some great football on Thanksgiving and seeing their team even their record to 6-6. Meanwhile, Congress avoided a government shutdown by not passing a budget and instead punting the tough decisions into next year in January and February.

2) Strong bond rally delivers best monthly return since 1985.

3) S&P 500 monthly gain was the seventh best in 30 years.

4) The traditional 60/40 portfolio posts second best monthly return in 30 years.

5) 3rd quarter GDP was revised higher—to 5.2% on an annualized basis.

6) Late breaking employment data: Job openings totaled 8.73 million for the month (a decline of 617,000, or 6.6%), the Labor Department reported Tuesday in its monthly JOLTS report. That was the lowest total since March 2021 and brought the ratio of openings to available workers down to 1.3 to 1.

Private sector job creation slowed further in November, and wages showed their smallest growth in more than two years, payroll-processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. Companies added just 103,000 workers for the month, slightly below the downwardly revised 106,000 in October and missing the 128,000 Dow Jones estimate.

At the end of October, we were left feeling tricked, but in November we were treated with something to be thankful for.

Stocks recorded a highly bullish November as the S&P 500 advanced 9.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average charged 9.2% higher, and the NASDAQ surged 10.8%. The Russell 1000 finished November up 9.3%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 added 9.1%. Global indices joined the party as well – Emerging Markets posted an 8.0% gain in November and EAFE jumped 9.3%. Fixed Income also moved higher as interest rates fell. The Bloomberg US Aggregate rose 4.53% in the month.

Energy was the month’s sole negative sector, declining 0.7%. The Technology, Real Estate, Consumer Discretionary, and Financial sectors all posted double-digit gains in November.

The Economic Data Rundown:

US Treasury Yields

Treasury yields tumbled in November as investors piled back into equities. Yields on the 5-year and 10-year treasuries fell by 51 basis points, the most out of any duration on the curve. The 1-month T-Bill ended November unchanged at 5.56%. Yields on certain global fixed-income instruments also dove lower in November.

Consumers and Inflation

The US inflation rate decreased to 3.24% in October, down from 3.70% in September. Core Inflation decelerated for the seventh consecutive month, from 4.15% in September to 4.03% in October. The US Consumer Price Index was essentially unchanged Month-over-Month (MoM), and US Personal Spending grew at a below-average rate of 0.22% MoM.

Production and Sales

The US ISM Manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 46.7 in November and in contraction territory for the 13th consecutive month. October US Retail and Food Services Sales contracted by 0.1% MoM, while the Year-over-Year (YoY) US Producer Price Index fell eight-tenths of a percentage point in October to 1.34%.

Housing

US New Single-Family Home Sales MoM continued its up-and-down ways in October, contracting by 5.6% after having jumped 8.6% in September. US Existing Home Sales sank 4%, down for the fifth consecutive month and 19th out of the last 21. The Median Sales Price of Existing Homes fell for the fourth straight month, to $391,800 in October. Mortgage rates cooled down in November: the 15-year Mortgage Rate closed out the month at 6.56% after topping 7% for the first time since December 2000, and the 30-year ended November at 7.22%, down 0.79 percentage points since the end of last month.

Commodities

The price of Gold crossed above $2,000 in November to $2,035.50 per ounce as of November 30th. Crude oil went the opposite direction—the price of WTI oil fell 8.8% in November to $74.46 per barrel as of November 27th, while Brent slipped 8.4% to $79.49 per barrel in that same time frame. This helped deliver motorists a second consecutive month of lower prices at the pump, as the average price of regular gas fell 16 cents in November to $3.36 per gallon, its lowest level since the start of 2023.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about what impact, if any, this may have on your financial plan.

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Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.

Companies mentioned are for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of the securities. Investing involves risks, and investment decisions should be based on your own goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk.

The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted, and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is comprised of 30 stocks that are major factors in their industries and widely held by individuals and institutional investors.

The NASDAQ Composite Index measures all NASDAQ domestic and non-U.S. based common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. The market value, the last sale price multiplied by total shares outstanding, is calculated throughout the trading day, and is related to the total value of the Index.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an index of the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market, including both government and corporate bonds.

Monthly Market Recap – November 2023

Here is what you may have missed during your turkey-induced nap…

The Economic Data Rundown: