Stocks End Lower, 2 More Trading Days Left In The Year  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed lower yesterday with all of the major indexes down by -1% or more. News of China's easing Covid restrictions and the expected economic benefits that will bring, did little to help the U.S. markets. In fact, it may have hurt, as infection rates rise and fears that more Chinese travel could export the virus to other countries. In other news, the Pending Home Sales Index was down -4.0% m/m vs. views for -0.5%. The index itself came in at 73.9 vs. last month's 77.1 and estimates for the same. The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index came in at 1 vs. last month's -9 and the consensus for -6. The Survey of Business Uncertainty showed employers expecting 4.45% sales growth over the next 12 months. Fine growth rate, but it was lower than last month's expectations of 4.69%. They put employment growth at 4.28%, which was actually a bit higher than last month's forecast of 4.23%. And the State Street Investor Confidence Index fell by -14.4 points to 75.9. The North American component fell by -16.4 points to 72.2. Asia fell by -4.1 points to 86.9. But the European component rose by 10.8 points to 102.6. Today we'll get Weekly Jobless Claims, the EIA Natural Gas Report, and the EIA Petroleum Status Report. So far, the so-called Santa Claus rally looks to be a bust, along with the seasonal tendency for December to be one of the strongest months. With only 2 more trading days to go, it's not looking good for either. Stocks are still up for the quarter (with the exception of the Nasdaq). So that's an improvement from the first 3 quarters of the year. But stocks are still headed for their worst year since 2008. Interestingly, given all of the volatility, the best strategy for some stocks this year, just might have been buy and hold. Even when the market hit its lows, if you had the right stocks with the strongest fundamentals, you likely would have fared better. Not only did they hold up the best on the way down, but they bounced back quicker on the way up. And you barely would've had to lift a finger. But buy and hold investing doesn't mean just buying anything and hoping for the best. Too many long-term investors see their hopes dashed when their once promising investment turns sour and they scramble to cut losses. But closer inspection usually shows those mistakes could've been avoided with a little extra knowledge at the outset. Finding long-term core holdings that you can buy and hold, and weather the storm during the worst of times, and effortlessly cash in during the best of times, is an investor's dream. If you want to live that dream right, be sure to read our latest commentary... Avoiding the 3 Pitfalls of 'Buy & Hold' Investing Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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