Dear Investor,
I would like to start by wishing you a successful and prosperous 2025.
In retrospect, December 2024 failed to meet static expectations. ESST closed the month with a loss of -0.29%. For the year as a whole, there was a gain of +23.55%.
The SP500 index also closed December negatively, with a loss of -2.50%.
On December 18, the FED announced its interest rate decision. As expected, the interest rate was lowered by 0.25 points. The stock market's reaction to this 'news' was surprising, with a loss of more than 3% in less than two hours.
The prices of many shares were/are also somewhat ahead of expectations, which means that often only a small trigger is needed to take profits. The words of the FED chairman were the trigger. If there are few buyers to support the prices, sellers have the upper hand, which puts pressure on prices. The markets are still in an upward trend. In an upward trend, a correction in the indices of -5% to -10% is quite normal, unavoidable, and very healthy.
Once a correction has begun, patience (and confidence) are often tested. This patience is tested in two ways: in terms of time (i.e., the duration of the correction) and/or in terms of price (the depth of the correction). Both remain difficult when you are in the middle of it, but corrections also come to an end.
TSLA shares were the undisputed winner in the portfolio last month. BKR had the most negative impact on the result.
Sincerely,
Henry van Ginkel