COMMENTARY:
- Like everyone settling down for their holiday dinners this week, the markets calmed down relative to last week. Even with a late-week selloff, the S&P500 index was up 0.7%.
- Health Care took the top spot this week up 0.7% and was the only sector to outperform the broader index. Eli Lilly & Co. and Unitedhealth Group together make up over 20% of the benchmark were both up 2% helping lift the sector stay in the green YTD.
- Consumer Staples fell the most down 0.8%. Names in the index that contributed to the return were Costco WholeSale (-1.5%), Walmart (-0.6%) and Philip Morris (-2.2%), collectively representing almost a quarter of the exposure.
- Six sectors had positive returns for the period, while five were in the red. Year to date, Communication Services is up the most, 35.0%, while only one sector, Materials, is negative for the year, it was down 0.7%.
- With only a few trading days left in 2024, investors continue to monitor the news around interest rates, inflation, and specific policy details of the incoming administration.
ETF TIDBITS:
The three closed-end funds that were merged are the Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (TPZ), Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. (TTP), and Tortoise Energy Independence Fund, Inc. (NDP). These three funds have been merged into the Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund (TPZ).
Tweedy, Browne began its foray into the ETF landscape with the launch of the Tweedy, Browne Insider + Value ETF (COPY), which seeks to offer capital growth with a long-term time horizon.
