Primer día del año nuevo ... y sigue ..... parecido ,,,,
Are You Prepared for 2015?
Typically holiday trading sessions have an upward bias. Yet this time around investors felt like taking some chips off the table in the waning days of 2014. In total stocks lost -1.5% over the last two sessions.
Pulling back to the bigger picture the S&P 500 still provided investors with a total return of +13.7% this past year. Folks only achieved those gains if they were not thrown off the bull during the major correction in October or during the many consolidations and pullbacks throughout this volatile year.
Looking forward, there is no logical reason to suspect the bull market has run out of gas. That is mainly because economic data in the US is strong while Treasury rates are shockingly low making stocks attractive by comparison.
In my " 2015 Stock Market Outlook ", I predicted that 2300 is in the cards for the coming year. And 2400 is possible if all the stars align. The first hurdle in our way is the slate of early January economic reports including ISM Mfg, ISM Services, ADP & Government Employment. Once cleared, then Q4 earnings season begins.
Most leading indicators say there is nothing to worry about in these announcements. If true, then it should pave the way for us to head north of 2100 with the rest of the gains being unveiled as the year progresses.
Or to put it another way... Stay strong and stay long!
Best,