December Market Update - Kick the Can

The S&P 500 gained 1.79% in November, ending at 2,760.17. YTD the S&P 500 is up 3.24%. This positive monthly result owes much thanks to Fed Chairman Powell for insinuating the Fed might limit the number of rate increases in 2019 as well as the United States and China agreeing to work on improving trade relations. The deal announced in Buenos Aires allows for a 90-day break on new tariffs to work on negotiating a new trade deal. This includes delaying U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods until March 1, 2019. U.S. tariffs were set to increase from 10% to 25% on January 1, 2019. These perceived market positives helped lift the S&P 500 up 4.85% in the last week of November. Joining US equities, foreign stocks as represented by Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF, symbol VEU, gained 1.47% in November. Moreover, emerging markets as represented by iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, symbol EEM, increased 4.90% in November. Commodities and oil in particular were the biggest losers in November. Oil, as represented by United States Oil Fund, LP (symbol USO), dropped -22.19%. Let's dig deeper into price, sentiment and valuation as we start December.