Third Vaccine | Yellen Picked | Housing Bidding Wars

Summary

• U.S. equity markets rallied Monday following the release of positive vaccine results from AstraZeneca and on reports that former Fed Chair Janet Yellen would be Biden's pick as Treasury Secretary.
• Following a decline of 0.8% last week, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% today while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 330-points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 finished flat.
• Bouncing back from declines of 1.0% last week, the broad-based Equity REIT ETF (VNQ) finished higher by 0.2% today with 11 of the 18 property sectors in positive territory.
• Following a familiar pattern as the prior two weeks, investors woke up to encouraging vaccine news this morning as AstraZeneca (AZN) reported that its vaccine candidate achieved effectiveness of up to 90%.
• Single-family rental REIT Front Yard Residential (RESI) surged more than 20% today after Pretium and funds managed by Ares Management (ARES) agreed to raise their bid to acquire the small-cap SFR REIT to $16.25 per share in cash from $13.50 in response to another party submitting a binding proposal for REIT.

Real Estate Daily Recap

U.S. equity markets rallied Monday following the release of positive COVID vaccine results from AstraZeneca (AZN) and on reports that former Fed Chair Janet Yellen would be Biden's pick as Treasury Secretary. Following a decline of 0.8% last week, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.6% today while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) rallied 330-points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) finished flat. Bouncing back from declines of 1.0% last week, the broad-based Equity REIT ETF (VNQ) finished higher by 0.2% today with 11 of the 18 property sectors in positive territory. The Mortgage REIT ETF (REM) finished higher by 2.4% and ended last week with gains of 4%.

Following a familiar pattern as the prior two weeks, investors woke up to encouraging vaccine news this morning as AstraZeneca (AZN) reported that its vaccine candidate achieved effectiveness of up to 90%, essentially in-line with the 95% effectiveness reported last week for Pfizer's (PFE) candidate and 94.5% reported for Moderna's (MRNA) candidate. Vaccine distribution is expected to begin in the United States "within weeks." 8 of the 11 GICS equity sectors finished in positive territory today as the "post-vaccine sector rotation" theme continued with the Energy (XLE) and Financials (XLF) sectors leading the way. Homebuilders and the broader Hoya Capital Housing Index were also among the leaders today as the U.S. housing industry continues to a leading force behind the recent economic recovery.

As discussed in our Real Estate Weekly Outlook, we have another jam-packed slate of economic and housing data in the Thanksgiving-shortened week. On Tuesday, we'll see the Case Shiller and FHFA House Price Index for September which are both likely to show a continued reacceleration in home price appreciation. Wednesday will be a particularly busy day as the Census Bureau will release New Home Sales data for October, while we'll also see the first revision of third-quarter Gross Domestic Product, as well as the weekly Jobless Claims and Mortgage Applications data. Markets will be closed for Thanksgiving day on Thursday and will close early on Black Friday.

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Disclosure: A complete list of holdings and Real Estate and Housing Index definitions and holdings are available at HoyaCapital.com. Hoya Capital Real Estate advises an Exchange Traded Fund listed on the NYSE. Hoya Capital is long all components in the Hoya Capital Housing 100 Index.

Additional Disclosure: It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Index performance cited in this commentary does not reflect the performance of any fund or other account managed or serviced by Hoya Capital Real Estate. Data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date, but we do not guarantee its accuracy.