Good Morning,
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Luckily, my Christmas shopping was already completed but I heard stores were packed on Saturday!
Markets look to open higher this morning as we kickoff what will likely be a low volume week for stocks. It’s been an interesting 2025 with positive momentum as we started January which led to a quick AI sell-off with cost concerns coming by way of China. This was quickly overcome by stronger earnings as markets prepared for “Liberation Day” in April. After tariffs were announced, volatility spiked in the near-term but soon retreated as some backtracking and negotiations began. Continued strength within corporate earnings, interest rate cuts, and strong AI spend, helped power the market through the back half of the year as we now near all-time highs to close out 2025. A year like we’ve seen supports the notion of, “time in the market rather than timing the market” when it comes to building wealth. This week is short on data releases but we do get delayed Q3 GDP and PCE (the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge). I am optimistic heading into 2026 with a continued bias towards higher cash flow, growthier value companies. It seems likely that we get another 1-2 rate cuts along the way which should be a tailwind for stocks.
Attached, please find this week’s Market Strategy Radar Screen Report from John Stoltzfus, Chief Investment Strategist of Oppenheimer Asset Management.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!