Market Commentary — November 28, 2022

Markets rallied in a shortened Thanksgiving trading week, with the S&P 500 Index finishing above the 4000 level for the first time in two months. Positive earnings reports in retail and tech and signs that the Fed is going to slow the pace of rate increases, helped market sentiment.

U.S. Black Friday online sales topped $9 billion, a gain of 2.3% over last year, setting a new record. Electronics and toys were both popular categories. Some of this year’s hottest items included gaming consoles, drones, Apple MacBooks, Dyson products, and toys like Fortnite, Roblox, Bluey, Funko Pop!, and Disney Encanto.

Black Friday shoppers also broke a record for mobile orders, as 48% of online sales were made on smartphones, an increase from 44% last year. And as consumers grapple with high prices and inflation, Buy Now Pay Later has been a valuable purchase option, up 81% over last year.

Adobe expects consumers to spend $4.52 billion on Saturday and $4.99 billion on Sunday, ahead of the year’s biggest online shopping day, Cyber Monday. This year, Cyber Monday is expected to drive $11.2 billion in spending, up 5.1% year-over-year, according to Adobe. So all in all, consumers still have a strong appetite for holiday shopping despite economic headwinds and much of the spend is online – all good news for online retail!

In addition to Online Retail, there was a lot to be thankful for in ETF land. Last week welcomed 14 new ETF launches. About 64% of all ETF launches in the past 12 months are actively managed ETFs, which now account for about 12% of the industry’s revenues. Keep in mind, many of these active strategies are mutual fund and/or SMA conversions.

Happy Cyber Monday everyone! Have a great week.

Jane Edmondson
CEO and Co-Founder

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EQM Indexes LLC is a woman-owned firm dedicated to creating and supporting innovative indexes that track growth industries and emerging investment themes. Co-founded by Jane Edmondson, a former Institutional Portfolio Manager with more than 25 years in the investment industry.

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