Consumer Confidence Rises In December: Year End Trading 2011:
The trading year is is coming to an end and there is still time for the market to be in the green. The stock market is just about even for the year and is trading in the upper portion of a lower range for 2011 that started in August. The Santa Clause rally that started last week needs follow through confirmation, and there may not be as much late year selling for tax purposes as in years past due to the difficult investing environment, although trading may have been easier for those that could handle the volatility. The Conference Board released new data showing U.S. consumers see the economy turning around and their Consumer Confidence Index rose to the highest level since April 2011 to 64.5 in December, up from 55.2 in November.
A couple of sectors will help to determine where the market is headed. The banking sector followed by technology could be the two leading sectors if a rally is set to continue on for the start of 2012. The XLF made a sharp move upward so maintaining current levels may help the rally hold while tech may still have further to rally. A sharp decrease in tech could indicate market participants are waiting until the new year starts.
