Our Take on the Headlines: November Stocks, COVID-19, and Vaccines

Notable November

The performance and enthusiasm of November will be hard to top. In the month of November, the Dow gained 11.8% - this is the best November since 1928. The S&P 500 rose 10% and Nasdaq 11%. Transports, Industrials, Financials all enjoyed their best month since April of 2009. Also, the Dow hit the coveted all time high of 30,000. Some believe that November may have taken some of the steam from December’s momentum however, both the consensus and Fed both agree that growth should be about 4% next year. As we wrap up the year, there are obviously a few reasons for pessimism over the next two months but there are more reasons for optimism over the next 12 to 18 months.

Business Covid-19 Assistance

California will provide temporary tax relief and $500 million in aid to small businesses struggling because of coronavirus outbreak restrictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. The additional $500 million in relief funds will be available to small businesses and nonprofits in the form of grants up to $25, to underserved micro and small businesses throughout the state by early 2021. Non-profits would also be eligible for these grants. CalOSBA is establishing the program and will make it available to small businesses as soon as possible

The tax measures include a three-month automatic extension of the income tax payment deadline for those paying less than $1 million in sales tax and expansion of a program allowing businesses with up to $5 million in sales to reach agreements on interest-free tax payments. Newsom also said, Interest-free payment options also will be expanded for larger businesses.

Vaccines

Vaccine related optimism is driving the markets, as the race to provide inoculation against the coronavirus is shaking of market volatility. It is expected that some states will start seeing widespread vaccination by months end. If Covid cases begin to flatten heading into the new year this could prove to be an additional elixir for markets as well.