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Jobs Growth Turns Negative

The US economy lost 140,000 jobs in December, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, missing Bloomberg survey estimates of a 50,000 gain. This represents the first monthly loss since the jobs market began its recovery in May 2020. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%. Learn more on the US labor market later today in the LPL Research blog.

Daily Insights

Stocks Open Higher After Thursday’s Tech-Led Rally

• S&P 500 Index opened modestly higher today despite the jobs shortfall.

• Nasdaq 100 continues to outperform.

• European stocks are

2020 Was a Good Year for Stock Investors Despite Unprecedented Challenges.

After being down more than 30% at the March 2020 lows, the S&P 500 Index ended the year with a solid 18.4% total return. Last year marked the first time the index ended a year positive after being down at least 30% during that year. Gains were driven primarily by the emerging economic recovery taking hold, bolstered by massive stimulus, and the remarkably fast COVID-19 vaccine development that encouraged market participants to begin to price in the end of the pandemic.

We Take a Look at Some of the Asset Class and Sector Winners and Lose

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LPL Research Condemns Violence in Washington, DC

LPL Research condemns the violent actions at the US Capitol Building on Wednesday and hopes for healing in our nation’s political and societal divides. We fully support a peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20.

Daily Insights

Stocks Open Higher

• US stocks opened higher after Congress officially certified President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

• The S&P 500 Index opened higher, while the Nasdaq 100 led early gains after Wednesday’s underperformance.

• European markets are mixed in mid

Well, we can officially say goodbye to 2020. Although there still will be many challenges in 2021, we do see much better times ahead. Just how amazing was it? “2020 will go down in history as the first year to ever be down 30% at one point and still finish in the green,” explained LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “We’ve had some wild years for investors, but never one that was quite the roller coaster of 2020.”

As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, after a nearly 34% correction, the S&P 500 Index closed up more than 16%. There are many charts that can sum up last year, but this