Nov. 30 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points on Monday but still recorded its best single month in more than 30 years.
The blue chip index dropped 271.73 points, or 0.91%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.46% and 0.058% as stocks that helped lead the Dow’s strong November performance faltered.
Overall the Dow climbed 11.7% in November, putting it on pace for its best monthly performance since January 1987, while the S&P 500 rose 10.5% and the Nasdaq grew 11.4%.
Stocks largely rose in November amid the 2020 presidential election and following the announcement of multiple vaccine candidates reporting high efficacy, seeing the Dow surpass 30,000 points for the first time.
The positive vaccine news helped to boost stocks that would benefit from the widespread lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions as Boeing and American Express helped to lead the Dow higher rising 47.6% and 31.6% respectively, while Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Disney, IBM and Honeywell each climbed more than 20% during the month.
Airline and cruise line stocks, which also helped to lead November growth, struggled on Monday, however.
Carnival fell 7.41% and Norwegian dropped 3.42%, while American Airlines slid 5.57% and Delta declined 1.97%.
Tony Dwyer, chief marketing strategist at Cannacord Genuity warned Monday that November’s gains could lead to market struggles in December, noting the National Association of Active Independent Manager Exposure Index hit a reading of 106.1, its highest since Aug. 26, 2020.
Dwyer said he believes a figure above 100 marks “excessive optimism” that may lead to a retreat in the market.
“The length and strength of the current rally suggests to us that the market could be vulnerable to some pullback at these levels,” John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer Asset Management, wrote Monday. “That said, the bull market that has emerged from the lows on March 23 of this year has shown similarities to its predecessor.”
