Stocks Closed Higher on Holiday-Shortened Week

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Main Content:

1.    Major indexes weekly performance 

2.   U.S stocks weekly wrap 

3.   S&P 500 sector index weekly/month performance 

4.   China/Hong Kong stocks weekly wrap 

5.   Singapore stocks weekly wrap 

6.    Major indexes weekly chart and technical support & resistance levels

U.S.

For the week of Dec 27, major stock indexes produced moderate gains in the final full week of the year. The relatively quiet week started with a continuation of the previous Friday’s move in a rally largely driven by large-cap growth stocks, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite leading the way and the Russell 1000 Growth Index outpacing its value counterpart through Tuesday. However, this trend reversed following Wednesday’s market closure for Christmas as most indexes declined in the second half of the week, giving back some of their earlier gains. Refer to below major indexes performance table for the week.

Key highlights for the week and next:

1.    U.S consumer confidence as reported on Monday fell in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. 

2.    Labor Department reported on Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits declined slightly to 219k for the week ended December 21, the lowest reading since mid-November. 

3.    Coming week important data to watch: China manufacturing PMI on Tuesday 31 December and US manufacturing PMI on Friday Jan 3. 

 

SPX sectors in play

Six out of the 11 SPX sectors recorded weekly gain. HealthCare(XLV) and Technology(XLK) stocks outperformed and Consumer Staples(XLP) lagged. Refer to below SPX sectors ETF weekly performance table.

Indexes technical levels

All the three major indexes closed higher this week. Nasdaq Composite(COMP) rebounded after previous week’s decline. SPX closed 1^st weekly gain after two-week decline. Dow also rebounded 1^st week after three-week down. All three indexes weekly charts are still in uptrend while Dow below its 50dma, SPX closed between its 50 and 20dma and Nasdaq is the strongest among the three, closed just above its 20dma. Click below three indexes for their weekly charts.

DJI weekly chart

SPX weekly chart

Nasdaq weekly chart

China/HK

China stocks rose amid hopes that the government will announce further stimulus measures to support growth. The Shanghai Composite Index(SSE) added 0.95%, while the blue chip CSI 300 gained 1.36%. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.87% during the holiday-shortened week. (Refer to the above weekly performance table).

Key highlights for the week and outlook for China/HK:

1.    Chinese officials plan to sell a record RMB 3 trillion in special Treasury bonds next year as Beijing ramps up efforts to bolster the economy, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. The reported bond issue is a sharp increase from the RMB 1 trillion sovereign debt issuance in 2024, and proceeds will be used for boosting consumption via subsidy programs, equipment upgrades, and investment in innovation-driven sectors as China braces for a potential second trade war with the U.S. 

2.    The People’s Bank of China injected RMB 300 billion into the banking system via its medium-term lending facility and left the lending rate unchanged at 2%, as expected. With RMB 1.45 trillion in loans due to expire in December, the operation resulted in a net withdrawal of RMB 1.15 trillion from the banking system, the largest liquidity drain via the one-year lending facility since 2014, Bloomberg reported. 

3.    Manufacturing profits extend declines. Profits at industrial firms fell 7.3% in November from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. November’s decrease marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline, albeit a narrower one than October’s year-on-year 10% drop. While the slower pace of decline followed Beijing’s extensive stimulus measures, the results showed that the policies have yet to arrest the decline in corporate earnings, which are under pressure from deflation in China over the past year.

 Click below SSE and .HSI indexes for their weekly charts. 

SSE weekly chart

.HSI weekly chart

Singapore

The Straits Times Index (STI) added 1.39% this week, closing at 3771.63, recovered about half of its previous week’s loss. The index’s uptrend still well intact- currently hovering its 20dma. Seatrium was the top gainer of the week with 7.3% up. Only one stock – SingTel closed lower this week. Below is the weekly performance of the index stocks for reference.

Click below for STI weekly chart.

STI weekly chart

Source: Some contents and data excerpted from various public market reports.