Wall St closes lower as taper acceleration worries pile onto virus angst

Nothing but bad news today beginning with Fed Chair Powell laying out grim prospects for the latest COVID variant and for inflation. It was a major position shift that the variant means that inflation is no longer transitory and that tapering will likely be sooner than later.  This created a completely risk-off mood across the whole market with the Dow now down some 1400 points since Friday and the Nasdaq and S&P not faring much better.  The hawkish shift caught the market unawares and all that can be done now is waiting for more info on Omicron.  The major cyclical sectors all dropped between 2 and 3% with IT being the winner dipping less than 1%. The worst news – volume was huge at 16.1 billion suggesting, after yesterday’s relief rally, that a major panic is back in the works.  We can’t blame quadruple witching this time. 

Wall Street rebounds after virus-linked sell-off

Today’s expert summed it all up nicely, “Friday was a major de-risking event. The Omicron panic is easing and we’re into a period of wait-and-see.”  So there was a considerable bounce back today, especially in tech, though the Dow did recover roughly a quarter of Friday’s huge losses but the bottom line is that the panic that so consumed the market on Friday seems to already be abating.  There were reassuring words from both Biden and the vaccine makers. And the semiconductor index outperformed everyone else with a 4% gain. But as another expert put it, “It’s not like the start of the pandemic all over again. Just take a deep breath, try to reassess, be a little more patient.” Let’s hope that attitude continues.  Volume was a little above average at 11.1 billion. 

Visualizing the Pandemic, Jan 2020 – Nov 2021

I just love these animations. They show so clearly and graphically trends over time and this weekend it's been particularly timely.  So here I submit an animation showing the rise and fall over and over again of the pandemic from Day One until now.  These trends also of course coincide with equally dramatic events in the stock market.  And given the very dramatic events on Friday with the market crashing due to the new emerging variant in South Africa, tomorrow will be particularly telling. Will investors have digested the news by then and start picking up bargains, or will the panic continue and the indexes slide even more?  There's more suspense here than in a Hitchcock film.  Stay tuned.  

7 Oversold Tech Stocks to Buy

Considering the shellacking the markets took yesterday, I found either highly ironic or highly timely that U.S. News Invested published these recommendations yesterday, an article that was certainly written before the big plunge. Anyway, if we're looking for bargains to pick up in this big slump, these all look like good candidates.  Enjoy the snowy weekend.  

Stocks tumble on new coronavirus variant fear

Wow what a trouncing we got on this Black Friday, truly black as the Dow dropped over 900 points on still another big COVID scare from South Africa which bashed all global markets today. The clock has once again been turned back to March of 2020, when the first lockdown began. This time panic comes from a new variant that MAY be vaccine-resistant, though there remains considerable study to be done before this is validated. But as they always do ahead of the curve, the markets have reacted to a potentially fearful future. The VIX hit its highest point in two months. The one big bright spot: these numbers may be exaggerated due to the light holiday volume (9.1 billion.)  The one big dark spot:  without some good news over the weekend, we may see even worse come Monday. 

How to Talk to Your FoxNews Loving Relatives at Thanksgiving!

In the holiday spirit of thankfulness for all our many blessings, today's submission by Barry Ritholtz seemed particularly appropriate if we wish to include among those blessings our friends and family members, some of whom we may have political differences with. In view of the sad fact that the political divide in this country has kept family members apart and ended friendships, any sort of help along the lines of opening up dialogues and renewing injured ties should be welcome.  Please don't be put off by the title if you happen to be a Fox fan.  The advice given here can be taken on both sides.  Happy Thanksgiving!  

Wall Street ends higher; Nvidia surge offsets Nordstrom, Gap slide

The market was way down all morning, the Dow over 220 points, before recovering to near break-even and the Nasdaq gaining with Nvidia bouncing back after the big sell off Monday and Tuesday. The chipmaker is now up 150% for the year.  Other good news is jobless claims falling and Q3 GDP revised upwards. U of M’s survey showed consumer confidence is up in November. But COVID spikes in Europe making it once again the global epicenter has put some brakes on the market.  Going into the holiday, volume was considerably below average at 8.9 billion. 

Nasdaq ends lower for second day as Big Tech loses ground

It was another day of rising Treasury yields prompting investors to flee interest-sensitive Big Tech and go back to value which bolted the Dow up another 194 points.  Or from another perspective, investors were taking profits from an overvalued growth market and being whipsawed by a shortened holiday week. The bank index jumped 2%, the energy index 3%, making it the day’s best performing sector.  As expected, business activity slowed moderately due to labor shortages and material delays. Best Buy got hit the worst, down 12% with weakened sales from supply chain issues. Volume was very close to the 4-week average at 11.3 billion. 

Nasdaq, S&P 500 end down after hitting record highs

With Treasury yields climbing, tech stocks took a big dive, but with the Fed retaining Powell and providing the market with a little much needed predictability, the value index climbed with the Dow eeking out a modest 17 point gain while the Nasdaq plummeted 202 points.  The market is nervous so Powell’s renomination was welcome with investors hoping for no big Fed changes.  With the rise in Treasury yields, the banks also rallied 2 percent. But the S&P is still ahead 25% for the year, the Nasdaq 23%.  Volume was a tad above average at 11.6 billion. 

10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold

For those of you who revere Warren Buffett as "The Oracle of Omaha," (or if you simply recognize him as an investing genius), I submit this week's issue of U.S. News Invested which summarizes his most recent activities on both sides of the ledger. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  

AAII: Technical Analysis For Non-Technical Investors

For those of you who missed AAII's webinar earlier this month on "Technical Analysis for Non-Technical Investors," a link to a recording of the session is provided below.  It looks very informative.  And if you go to the AAII's YouTube channel, you will find recordings of a good many other of their webinars as well.  Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.  

Nasdaq ends atop 16,000 mark for the first time on tech strength

With Europe moving towards another pandemic lockdown and Treasury yields falling, banking, energy and airline stocks took a big hit bringing the Dow down 268 points while the falling yields also boosted the tech sector with the Nasdaq rising 63.  But given all the positive data this month, as today’s expert put it, “It’s a normal time to take risk-off – just people take risk-off by going into safe havens.”  The good news – “All this week we’ve heard from retailers talking about the consumer coming back into the store.”  All this has validated earnings season and further clarifies that the recovery is on solid ground.  Volume came in just under 10.7 billion. 

S&P, Nasdaq end at record peaks on strong earnings

The retail sales reports continue to come in strong with Macy’s and Kohl’s surging and the consumer discretionary sector up 1.5% and the S&P retail index 2.8%, breaking its record peak for the third time this week.  Tech got a big boost by the superlative report from chipmaker Nvidia (up 8.2%) and pushing the semiconductor index up 1.8% to a second record close for the week. But inflation concerns kept the markets muted and even brought the Dow down 60 points. 

Wall Street ends lower as retailers stoke inflation fears

Yesterday the markets rallied because of all the good retail data that showed inflation was not impacting spending.  Today more good retail data reminded investors that inflation remains an issue and thus triggered a sell off.  So the exact same conditions that triggered yesterday’s optimism also sparked today’s pessimism.  And though inflation is at a 31 year high, the consensus remains that the supply chain issues would ease as COVID eases.  But conflicting comments from two Fed presidents created confusion and concern about the Fed’s intentions over raising interest rates.  With two more days of retail data to come this week, volume remains a tad below average at 10.6 billion. 

Retail boost helps lift S&P 500

All the indexes were up today on some very positive retail sales data released today giving the market a big relief that the retail outlook is rosy and that despite rising prices, consumer spending remains strong.  As today’s expert put it, “The supply chains are stressed but still we’re able to get goods on the shelves.”  Home Depot was the big winner beating Q3 sales estimates by nearly $2 billion and easily beating earnings estimates. Manufacturing output surged to a 2-1/2 year high in October helping investors put aside negative comments from the St. Louis Fed prez James Bullard. Tech got a big boost when BMW made a deal with Qualcomm to use its chips in their next-gen cars. As more retail data is filtering in later this week, volume remains a little below average at 10.5 billion. 

Wall Street ends little changed as rising yields weigh on tech

It was pretty much a nothing day with low volume and very little movement in the market as rising Treasury yields prompted investors to sit on the fence awaiting more inflation data. They’ll get a better sense of this with all the retailer reports due this week and retail sales data for October due Tuesday. The good news is that manufacturing in NY has surged to 30.9, way above October’s 19.8 and even way above the 21.2 forecast.  All three indexes had very shallow drops on volume of just under 9.6 billion. 

Dangerous Dividend Warning Signs -- AAII Webinar

It's time for another AAII webinar, this one coming this Wednesday at noon, this time on how to avoid high risk stocks that promise high dividends but don't necessarily deliver.  What are the warning signs that a high-yielding dividend stock may be entering too risky territory?  Tune in and find out.  As always, preregistration is required, a link provided  below.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

9 Best Green Stocks to Buy Now

For the environmentally conscious among you, I submit the latest issue of U.S. News Invested with their picks of the hottest green stocks to buy right now.  As always, more detail on each stock can be had by clicking on the link provided below.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Are we braced for our first snow tomorrow?  

Wall Street ends higher with boost from big tech

Days like today are the reason investing is so much fun since the market is sometimes quite unpredictable. Today there was a plethora of bad news that should have sent the indexes tanking but instead investors ignored it all and went on a buying spree regaining much of the week’s losses.  The main bad news was a very unexpected big drop in consumer sentiment sending it to a 10-year low and putting doubts on the holiday retail season. Since the biggest retailers will be reporting next week, all eyes will be glued to them. 

S&P closes little changed as chips boost Nasdaq in subdued holiday trading

It was a day of such subdued trading for the Veterans Day holiday that, as today’s expert put it, “Days like today are really hard to judge because you essentially have half the market closed. Specific company events are driving today’s markets.”  And that’s exactly what happened. A single company, Disney, brought the entire Dow down when they sank 7% on their news of shortfalls in streaming subscribers and theme park revenues.  But the drive back towards tech stimulated the Nasdaq a bit though the S&P ended up flat. The chip index gained almost 2 percent. The good news is that volume, at 9.6 billion, was low and thus, “there will be a lot more trading tomorrow so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.” 

Wall Street ends lower as economic data raises long-term inflation threat

For the second day the market took a bath. Yesterday it was profit-taking. Today it was fear when the CPI report came out and did not quell investor anxieties about inflation, rather showing it to have spiked to a 31 year high. It says the report “hinted” that the global supply chain crisis “could” be the cause. I think there’s no doubt at all that the supply chain is the cause and that is why the Fed has been consistent in its position that this is transitory. 

Wall Street losses end streak of record highs as inflation worry weighs on market

As today’s expert says, “We’ve had an incredible run, so letting some air out of the balloon is perfectly normal. It’s a reminder that stocks can’t go up every day.”  So today was a day of profit-taking after eight straight sessions of record highs for the S&P and Nasdaq.  Now all eyes will be on the CPI report Wednesday to gauge how the inflation issue is going. Tesla took still another hit today as there are questions whether Musk violated their SEC agreement. Volume was a tad above average at just a hair over 11 billion. 

Wall Street closes up on infrastructure gains but Tesla weighs

It was another record breaking day for all three indexes as the S&P and Nasdaq hit eight consecutive records and the Dow too hit a new record soaring 104 points on the passage of the infrastructure bill which will largely benefit the cyclical blue chip companies.  As today’s expert said, “Investors are looking at that [the bill] as a very good thing for equity markets.” 

7 of the Best ETFs to Buy for Long-Term Investors

For your Sunday consideration I submit Friday's edition of U.S. News Invested which recommends 7 of the best ETFs for investors.  As always, more detailed information on each ETF can be had by clicking on the link provided.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

REMINDER WEBINAR: Technical Analysis for Non-Technical Investors

My weekend duty this Saturday night is a reminder of the AAII November program "Technical Analysis For Non-Technical Investors," which will be held this Monday night, preregistration required. Since I'm one person who still finds technical investing somewhat of a mystery, I'm hoping that this webinar will bring some enlightenment to the cause.  Enjoy the weekend, it's a nice one. 

Wall St books records, weekly gains on strong jobs report, Pfizer COVID-19 pill cheer

All three indexes once again closed at record heights upon today’s jobs report showing employment increased more than expected last month with the Dow shooting up 203 points. Another big trigger was Pfizer’s new COVID drug which “looks like a true game changer for many industries” per today’s expert. Momentum continues and all the positive data is incentivizing investors to put more money into the market.  The cyclical sectors of energy and industrials were the leaders with only healthcare taking a hit with Pfizer’s competitors sinking from Pfizer’s good news. 440 Q3 reports are now in and the earnings forecast is up again, today to 41.5 percent.  Volume remains above average at 11.5 billion. 

S&P 500, Nasdaq extend record streaks, with boost from chip, growth shares

Getting a spurt from falling Treasury yields, the growth stocks that Nasdaq and the S&P represent rose to new records again for the sixth straight session while the more traditional cyclical stocks of the Dow took a bath, down over 150 points as late as 2:30 p.m. when the index suddenly surged back to near break-even.  420 Q3 reports are now in and the earnings forecast has been raised once again, this time to 41.2%, nearly a full point just since yesterday. More good news was that new unemployment claims were at the lowest in 20 months suggesting continuing momentum for the economy.  Volume was a full billion above average at 11.3 billion. 

Wall St record run rolls on after Fed unveils anticipated bond-buying 'taper'

It was another record breaking day with all 3 indexes reaching new highs. But for most of the day, the whole market was in the red, the Dow over 150 points down, until 2 pm when the Fed made its announcemt vis-à-vis the tapering, and happily told investors exactly what they expected and wanted to hear. The Fed will begin tapering but will hold off on rate hikes and remains bullish on both the job market and their position that current inflation is transitory. 360 companies have now submitted Q3 reports and earnings are now expected to be up 40.4% vs yesterday’s 40.2%.  So as has often been the case, the earnings forecast gets a boost almost every day. Volume was above average at 11 billion.   

Wall Street mints record highs, helped by strong earnings; Fed up next

The Dow did indeed pass the historic 36,000 mark today (and then some) with all the indexes up, boosted by a continuing very strong Q3. 320 companies have now reported and the earnings forecast has again been raised, today to 40.2 percent. But starting on Wednesday, and for the next days and weeks, investors will be carefully parsing Fed tapering policy. The good news is everyone’s expecting it so there should be no shocks and, as today’s expert points out, “markets are happiest when they get predictability.”  Volume was just a tad below the 4-week average at 10.2 billion. 

Wall Street hits records as Tesla surges; focus on Fed meeting

Today was another up day with the Dow passing the 36,000 mark in intraday trading for the first time in history, though it dropped a little below that by close. And the S&P today is up almost 23% for the year. The only bad but hardly surprising news is that manufacturing slowed confirming what we already knew that the supply chain crisis was constraining the economy. With over half of Q3 reporting in, earnings growth is at 39%, quite a hike from the 29% forecast a month ago. Investors are now eying the Fed’s plans for tapering the $120 billion monthly bond buying. Volume is just a tad above the 4-week average at 10.5 billion.