Stocks To Watch – 12/2/2024

Brief Overview

Welcome back to this week’s Stocks to Watch! The markets are ramping up into the last month of 2024! Will Saint Nick come through early with the Santa Claus Rally? Will bears reclaim control and cancel Christmas? What we do know is, no matter what happens, we’ll be here to alert our members to the action! 

The week started slow, with markets holding steady as everyone geared up for the data drops later in the week. No major headlines, just a bit of anticipation in the air for what was to come.

Consumer confidence got a nice bump, climbing to 111.7 in November, which means people are feeling better about spending. On the flip side, October’s new home sales slid to 610,000 units, down from September’s 738,000. It’s a bit of a red flag for the housing market as we head into winter.

Wednesday was data dump! Q3 GDP held steady at 2.8% growth, showing the economy’s still chugging along. Inflation ticked up slightly, with the Fed’s go-to PCE index hitting 2.3% in October. Meanwhile, durable goods orders edged up 0.2%, giving a little boost to manufacturing vibes. Overall, a solid day for economic resilience, even with that inflation shadow looming.

Markets hit the pause button Thursday for Thanksgiving. Time to trade stocks for turkey.

Holiday shopping kicked off with Black Friday, and the trends were clear: online sales are king. E-commerce spending jumped 14.6%, while in-store sales barely budged, up just 0.7%. Costco had a rough day with website crashes, but overall, it was a strong start to the season for digital-first retailers.

Last week showed an economy holding its own. People are spending, GDP’s steady, and even with some housing hiccups and inflation worries, things look solid heading into the holidays. And Black Friday? It’s a reminder that online shopping is the future. Let’s see if the spending momentum keeps up!