Dow Jones has best month since 1987

After reaching a major milestone last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has finished its best month in more than 30 years.

On Monday, the Dow Jones fell 271 points, but it rose 11.8 percent in November in its best performance in a month since January 1987, CNBC reports. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also both had their best month since April, CNN reports.

Stocks climbed throughout November amid positive news about several COVID-19 vaccine candidates and after the election of President-elect Joe Biden. On Nov. 24, after Biden's transition was officially able to begin, the Dow Jones officially reached 30,000 for the first time in history, although by Monday, it closed at 29,638.

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Amid rising COVID-19 cases and warnings from experts about a post-Thanksgiving surge, The Wall Street Journal notes the "market's retreat Monday shows the rally isn't immune to setbacks." And on Monday afternoon, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said, "As we have emphasized throughout the pandemic, the outlook for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend, in large part, on the success of efforts to keep the virus in check. The rise in new COVID-19 cases, both here and abroad, is concerning and could prove challenging for the next few months."