Stock week ahead: say goodbye to a wild 2020

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No one could have predicted the 2020 market crisis. Stocks hit record highs at the start of the year, before concerns about the coronavirus pandemic – first overseas and then closer to home – spiraled U.S. markets in February and March. The Dow routinely set new records for the worst one-day point falls in history, and the New York Stocks Exchange had to suspend trading the S&P 500 several times because the sell-off triggered circuit breakers.

But in the months that followed, the market recovered – and faster than many expected. A major factor in the rise was unprecedented action by the US Federal Reserve to stabilize markets and stimulate the economy.

Some of the biggest winners of the year are investors who closed their eyes and muffled their ears during the pandemic sell-off and held their shares. By the end of the year, their portfolio balances looked pretty good.

“This year was a year of many memories for investors: Number one, don’t overreact,” Leo Grohowski, BNY Wealth Management’s chief investment officer, told CNN Business.

At the same time, many people will look back to 2020 and be amazed at how well the stock market performed in such adverse economic conditions. The division between Wall Street and Main Street will likely be a topic that will follow us into the New Year.

The US economy is nowhere near as strong as it was before the pandemic, and millions of people remain unemployed. According to the Back-to-Normal Index from Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business, the US economy is running at 82% from early March.

With the stimulus measures recently approved by President Donald Trump and more government support expected next year, there is enough to be optimistic for 2021. President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to get the economy back on track markets next year, even if the excitement about more stimulus measures could ease, said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.

These sectors were the surprise winners of 2020

In a year of widespread and often devastating hardship, no business or industry came untouched by the Covid-19 pandemic by 2020. But for some key sectors, the news wasn’t all bad.

Here’s a rundown of the winners and losers that CNN Business has put together:

Winners

  • Big Tech
  • Housing
  • Solar
  • Bitcoin
  • Large retail
  • Video games
  • Hemp
  • Stream

Losers

  • Travel and hospitality
  • Oil
  • Banks
  • Airlines
  • Shopping centres
  • Automakers
  • production
  • Cinemas
Watch the full story on CNN Business for analysis of what’s next for each industry.

Next one

Monday: OPEC + meeting

Tuesday: US ISM Manufacturing Index; German employment data

Wednesday: Jefferie’s income; Federal Reserve Minutes; EIA Crude Oil Inventories

Thursday: Bed Bath & Beyond, Carnival, Conagra, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Micron revenues; Inflation in the EU; US Initial Claims

Friday: American Jobs Report; Unemployment in the EU

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