Another vaccine update, another rally for energy stocks and midstream stocks. Midstream was green all week until taking a breather Friday. Stocks and the infrastructure index were slightly negative, and utilities were hit hard.
Oil prices were supportive of energy and midstream stocks, but there was clearly some rotation into midstream at the expense of utilities and other lower volatility stocks. The rotation and repositioning across the market in response to the vaccine news has been swift and forceful.
The MLP Index (including distributions) closed the week at its highest point since June and has posted total return of 22% in two weeks and 31% since September 24th. AMNA finished the week at its highest point since mid-August, up 17% in two weeks.
For the AMNA, it was a top 15 week since 2014 (when the index history begins) and the first time the index has had 5%+ returns in consecutive weeks.
For the MLP Index, it was a top 20 all-time (since 1996) week of performance. The back-to-back strong weeks is not as rare for the AMZ. Earlier this year, AMZ was up 5%+ for five consecutive weeks. This was the 11th 5%+ return week of the year for AMZ compared with 30 such weeks' combined spread across the other 24 years of index history.
One More Opportunity
The weather in my area was wild this week. We had the first real cold snap of the year, with lows well below freezing early in the week. But by Friday, it was 65 degrees and sunny. The return to warmth late in the week offered one last chance for me to clean things up from the fall season.
We spent a lot of time this year creating what my wife calls a "backyard oasis" in the far corner of the backyard. The oasis
