Market Recap: 3 Things You Might Have Missed This Week

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The global market has started to get up after a mostly quiet week following the tension between the US and Iran, but here are three major things that flew beneath the radar this week.

First, earlier in the week, the Bank of America has turned heads after it acclaimed its rival bank, Citigroup, as its top pick for the decade.

The Bank of America has its bet for a more productive growth for the US consumer business of Citi, more so that it might reach the require growth to match some of its rivals in the following year. An optimistic future ahead for the Citigroup might also increase its share valuation, a positive move following its performance of trading at discount rates in the previous years.

The Citigroup previous reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit. Its key measure of earnings for the third quarter in 2019 was 12.2%, which is beyond the 12% they previously hoped for. The increase in the firm’s profit was boosted by the growth in North American consumer deposits, which increased by 5% compared to the previous year, which is also around 2% faster in growth compared to that of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

Meanwhile, the fourth-quarter results of Citi are expected to be released next week.

Second, the week has been largely optimistic for Tesla stocks. The day after its CEO Elon Musk light up a storm on Tuesday during a presentation in China, Tesla’s market cap has reached over that of the iconic US automakers’ market cap combined.

On Wednesday, the company’s shares increased by around 5%, with its market cap reaching nearly $89 billion as the market closed for the day. Its current market capitalization is more than the $37 billion of the Ford Motor and the $50 billion of General Motors combined.

However, the impressive lead died down a little as the week ended, and Tesla closed Friday with an $86.18 billion, only second from the market cap of $195.23 billion of Toyota Motor as of Friday as well.

Third, the Labor Department issued its employment report for December on Friday, but it was surrounded by consternation, especially regarding the wage information. Based on the report, the average hourly earnings for December increased by 0.1%, which is way under the 0.3% expected rise by economists. The latest report shows a 2.9% decline in the average hourly earnings for the year from the forecasted 3.1%.

Meanwhile, the December numbers have also shown a rise in the average hourly earnings in December for the manufacturing and construction sector, while the financial activities declined.