Market Commentary, 01/06/17

Happy New Years!

Dow 20,000 remains elusive in 2016 despite being just 13 points short on December 20. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was not able to hold on and closed 2016 at 19,762, notching its first weekly loss since the beginning of November. The Trump Rally spurred an 11.6% increase from November 4 to the December 20 close of 19,974 on the Dow. Since then the market has moved largely sideways.

The first week of 2017 started with two winning sessions but weakened yesterday as the Dow closed at 19,899 and the S&P 500 closed at 2,269. A large portion of yesterday’s decline could be due to the disappointing news from the retail sector. Specifically, brick-and-mortar retailers Macy’s and Kohl’s reported dismal sales for the holiday shopping season, citing increased competition from online retailers and less apparel sales this Christmas season. In fact, shares of Macy’s and Kohl’s closed down sharply Thursday, -13.9% and -19.0% respectively.

Today the market shrugged off the retail blues and rallied to close the first week of January up 1.0% at 19,963, while the S&P 500 closed the week up 1.7% at 2,276. In fact, the Dow was within one-half point of reaching 20,000, but was not able to break through the resistance of the historic milestone.

Regards,

Jeremiah Patterson, CFP®
Copelin Financial Advisors
514 Brooks Street
Sugar Land, TX 77478
Phone: 281 240-2902
Fax: 281 240-2856
jeremiah@copelinfinancial.com

Securities offered through ProEquities, Inc., a Registered Broker-Dealer and Member FINRA & SIPC Advisory Services offered through Harvest Investment Services, LLC., a Registered Investment Advisor Copelin Financial Advisors, Inc and Harvest Investment Services, LLC are independent of ProEquities, Inc.