It seems, as we head into December, the markets have plenty to worry about. Inflation, of course, has been a major issue, but now there is a new coronavirus variant found in South Africa that health officials are concerned may be somewhat resistant to the vaccine. As this was announced during the Thanksgiving holiday, it has had a bit of an outsized influence on the markets, perhaps setting up a value play in the coming week.
Markets hate uncertainty, and until people get past the idea of major lockdowns, it is going to be difficult for markets to simply grind away to the upside. On the other side of the coin, there is the so-called “Santa Claus rally” which tends to happen in the month of December, when money managers try to reach their benchmarks by every dip possible.
This week we have Chinese PMIs, as well as the US ADP and NFP job reports. Also, watch the OPEC meeting this week to see if they have changed their minds about increasing supply, as this will likely affect the price of oil. Most events will play second fiddle to the coronavirus news this week.