iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) & iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB)

What a week for US markets! In the last few days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Transportation Average, S&P 100, S&P 500, Russell 2000, NASDAQ Composite and the NYSE Composite Indexes have all achieved new all-time highs. With index moves showing gains in large-cap, small-cap, concentrated and broad indices, investor confidence and interest in stocks remains high.

What is most amazing about the current advance is that it arrives in the face of a lot of current uncertainty confirming the old saying “bull markets climb a wall of worry”. The first approved COVID vaccine rollout has encouraged investors to look past the current wave of lockdowns toward an eventual potential recovery. Meanwhile, there are still a number of issues to be dealt with in the near term including US stimulus/budget negotiations looking to head off a government shutdown and extend support programs, UK-EU trade negotiations with a deadline apparently set for Monday December 14th, and another court challenge to the US election, this time from several states, ahead of next week’s Electoral College vote.

The coming week is the last regular business week before the two-week holiday slowdown begins. Several central banks are holding their last meetings of the year including the US Fed, Bank of England, Bank of Japan and others. Economic news is headlined by flash PMI, retail sales and industrial production reports. There are also a few scattered earnings reports, headlined by FedEx, Nike and Blackberry.

In this week’s issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at what recent breakouts in the telecom and biotech sectors are telling us about market breadth and investor confidence.

iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) 

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