Market Recap – November

The Markets

Europe’s ongoing debt problems hurt domestic equities last month, causing them to reverse much of October’s strong gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq took the biggest hit, while a strong rally on the month’s final day helped bring the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 up to just below even. The Dow–the sole gainer for the month–bounced in and out of positive territory for the year, managing once again to regain the 12,000 threshold it has been criss-crossing for weeks. Not surprisingly, the situation in Europe continued to weigh on the Global Dow.

Demand nudged the yield on the 10-year Treasury downward to just over 2%. Meanwhile, anxiety about the euro’s future caused the currency to fall from $1.41 to $1.33 against the dollar. Despite that dollar strength, oil prices rose, once again closing in on $100 a barrel. And after a brief bounce back up to $1,800, gold retreated before recovering to roughly $1,740 an ounce.