The first week in December has, so far produced a lot more of the same. Up, up and away. The markets have relentlessly made new high after new high and does not seem to respond to any bad news. Monday, the market's rally took the Dow 30 (DIA ) ETF to new all time highs yet again. Since the election the DIA is up over 6%, almost in a perfect straight line. For the year, the DIA can boast a gain of over 10%.
While the S&P 500 (SPY ) hasn't made new highs yet this week it is within a few points of doing so. The pullback last week was shallow and quick, which leads investors to believe that the buyers still have plenty of cash to pump into the markets. With almost a 9% gain for 2016, the SPY continues to be on a hot streak with no end in sight.
The Russell 2000 (IWM ) could possibly be the most interesting of all major indices. Since election night the IWM has blasted off over 14% and all of this in almost a perfectly straight line. Last week the IWM attempted a small pullback but was met with a new round of ferocious buyers. By Tuesday of this week it was back to new highs again for the IWM. At this point there is no technical resistance overhead for traders to look for. Just clear skies and smooth sailing from here.
Retail (XRT ) has also been hot this week with a multi-day gain to almost erase all of last week's pullback. As the holiday season is fully in motion there continues to be good news of holiday shoppers spending money at the brick and mortar retailers as well as online. So far this holiday season has not been record setting, but it's still early. The XRT is now up over 14% since the elections.
Lastly we have energy (XLE ) which was able to move to new 2016 highs on Monday as oil spiked. Energy names have also enjoyed a nice rally since the elections. The XLE is up over 12% since early November and so far is looking like it will have another good month. The XLE is up almost 25% on the year and has remained in a consistent uptrend since February.