Market Performance: November 29, 2023.

Stocks closed higher to cap off a fairly muted trading day on Tuesday as cautious investors assessed signs the roaring November rally could be overdone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed up more than 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained roughly 0.3%. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%.

On Cyber Monday, consumers spent $12.4 billion online, up 9.6% compared to last year, per Adobe Analytics' data on e-commerce. As people looked to cash in last-minute deals between 10 and 11 p.m. Eastern, $15.7 million was spent every minute.

With the end of November in sight, investors are weighing whether a pullback is coming after a red-hot surge put stocks on course for their best monthly performance in more than a year.

D.C. Is Now Enforcing Its Cashless Business Ban: What That Could Mean for You

Last month, Washington, D.C., became the latest municipality in which most consumer-facing businesses must accept cash as payment.

The law, which went into effect October 1, 2023, represents a growing backlash by cities across the country against businesses that want to accept noncash payments only, such as credit card and digital payments. Philadelphia and New York City have similar rules in place, and Los Angeles is considering a similar measure.

“I support the bans on cashless businesses,” says Felix Shipkevich, a New York-based payments attorney. “I think it’s ridiculous that we, as a society, would even have to think about legislation that would require businesses to accept legal tender, which is accepted by our government for payment of taxes, of all debts, and for goods and services.”

In addition to being discriminatory, Shipkevich says there are other factors that make it impractical for businesses to refuse cash payments. If a natural disaster occurred, for example, Shipkevich says cash may be the only way for consumers to pay for items if power went out for an extended period of time.

This Stock Hasn't Split Since 1999 — $1,000 Invested Then Would Be Worth A Boatload Today

When investing in the stock market, a history of strong returns should be high on your priority list. Combine this with a positive outlook on the future, and you may have a winner to add to your portfolio.

Amgen Inc., an American multinational biopharmaceutical company, fits this mold. The company has a 10-year annualized total return of 13.69% through the end of 2022. And if that's not enough to pique your interest, consider this: It pays out billions of dollars in dividends to investors every year.

The most recent Amgen stock split occurred on Nov. 22, 1999. The next day, the stock traded at $34.72. So, $1,000 would have purchased you 28.8 shares. While that may not sound like a lot of shares, time is powerful.

Today, with Amgen trading at $263.19, 28.8 shares would be worth $7,579.87. In other words, gains of $6,579.87 for doing nothing more than making a well-informed initial investment and holding onto it.

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