Strong tendencies for stocks during the US Thanksgiving Week. Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com. *** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends. Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today: Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) Seasonal Chart Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT) Seasonal Chart Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR) Seasonal Chart Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) Seasonal Chart Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Seasonal Chart Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:AVGO) Seasonal Chart Domino’s Pizza Group LTD (NYSE:DPZ) Seasonal Chart Sherritt International Corporation (TSE:S) Seasonal Chart Chorus Aviation Inc (TSE:CHR) Seasonal Chart Syngenta AG (NYSE:SYT) Seasonal Chart Total Energy Services (TSE:TOT) Seasonal Chart Lennar Corporation (NYSE:LEN) Seasonal Chart Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) Seasonal Chart The Markets Stocks in the US closed generally higher on Friday as investors once again attempted to get a grasp on the state of trade negotiations between the US and China. The S&P 500 Index added three-tenths of one percent, continuing to make progress above its 20-day moving average. For the week, the large-cap benchmark was down by 1.6%, continuing to hold below its 50-week moving average; resistance has been apparent at the 20-week moving average for the the past few weeks. Momentum indicators continue to point lower, but the strength of the negative momentum has certainly faded in recent weeks, suggestive that a trading low may be materializing. The technical framework sets up well for the positive tendencies that surround the US Thanksgiving holiday. On Thursday, US markets will be closed as Americans celebrate the big turkey day and the unofficial start to the Christmas season. For the week overall, the S&P 500 Index has gained an average of 0.73% with 69% of periods showing a positive result since 1950. The day before and the day after the holiday see an even better frequency of success with 76% of the Wednesdays and 74% of the Fridays surrounding Thanksgiving Thursday showing gains. Returns in each session average a gain of 0.34%. The average trend higher in stocks typically continues through the end of the month, leading into the final chance to enact tax loss selling into the first half of December. On the economic front, a report on industrial production showed little to be excited of. The headline print indicated that industrial production increased by 0.1% in October, missing the consensus estimate calling for a 0.2% rise. Stripping out the seasonal adjustments, industrial production actually declined by 0.7%, which is slightly weaker than the 0.6% decline that is average for the month of October. The year-to-date change is now higher by 3.6%, which is still firmly above the average change through this point in the year of 2.1%. Industrial production remains on track to chart the best calendar year performance since 2010. Manufacturing continues to show exceptional strength in this report, up 5.5% year-to-date through the month of October. The average change through this point in the year is 4.1%. The category is being driven by chemical, aerospace, electrical equipment, and primary metals, each of which are showing gains this year that are well above average Outside of manufacturing, mining is also showing gains that are well above seasonal norms as commodity producers seek to provide the inputs to the manufacturing process. Gains in business equipment production are well above average as businesses seek to expand. And defense and space is showing the best performance since 2007 as spending in this area increases under the Trump administration. The only major categories that are lagging seasonal average trends are consumer goods and utilities production, which are much less indicative of the performance of the overall economy. Seasonally, total industrial production typically declines through the end of the year as economic activity shifts away from production and more towards spending as the end of year buying season approaches. For a complete breakdown of the results, the charts are available in the database at https://charts.equityclock.com/u-s-industrial-production. North of the border, Statscan released data on Manufacturing Sales for the month of September. The headline print indicated that sales increased by 0.2% in the month, an improvement from the 0.4% decline reported previous. Stripping out the seasonal adjustments, manufacturing sales were actually down by 4.2%, which is a divergence from the 1.3% gain that is average for the month. The year-to-date change is up by 11.3%, which is below the 12.4% pace that is average by this point in the year. Deceleration in food, clothing, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, wood product, machinery, computer, electrical equipment, and motor vehicle manufacturing was responsible for the sluggish result, representing a broad swath of the Canadian manufacturing economy. The strength of manufacturing activity in Canada, as well as the strength of the broader economy, has been in doubt for some time as activity gravitates south of the border amidst the more favourable tax environment. But perhaps the more concerning part of the report is inventory levels, which are higher by 10.8% through the first three quarters. The average increase by this point in the year is 3.3%. Inventories diminish the need for future activity, especially when demand isn’t there to match supply. Seasonally, sales of manufactured goods tend to peak in the month of October, but evidence of a peak in activity may already be apparent. The link to the charts in the database is as follows: https://charts.equityclock.com/canada-manufacturing-sales Sentiment on Friday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended close to neutral at 0.93. Sectors and Industries entering their period of seasonal strength: MATERIALS Relative to the S&P 500 Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today: S&P 500 Index TSE Composite