KEY TAKEAWAYS
• This month has several significant events that have the potential to be market movers.
• The ECB, Fed, and OPEC meetings are some of the events we’ll be watching.
• December is a historically strong month for the S&P 500, as since 1950, no month sports a better average gain or is positive more often.
Welcome to December. The year 2016 saw global turmoil in equity, credit, and energy markets in the initial months; a highly emotional U.S. presidential campaign and election; and a subsequent equity markets rally with various indexes at new all-time highs. It isn’t over yet though, as several global market-moving events are on tap in December. With so many significant events ahead, it is important to be on top of what’s coming up. To help you, we’ve created this guide to the December market calendar, which provides an overview of key events.
NOVEMBER 30
OPEC MEETING IN VIENNA AUSTRIA
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which has largely been irrelevant for years, is attempting to come together (with the help of non-member Russia) to limit oil production. If OPEC can agree on a deal, it would be the organization’s first production cut since 2008. The negotiations are high stakes and treacherous, worthy of a John le Carré novel, but the current belief is that some deal is forthcoming. It also appears that Saudi Arabia, which had been the de facto leader of OPEC, will accept most of the cuts.
DECEMBER 2
NOVEMBER EMPLOYMENT REPORT