7 Oversold Tech Stocks to Buy

The third and final day of our long holiday weekend and more stock picks to consider ... 

AI Is Not Intelligent!

Day #2 of the big holiday weekend features an episode of WealthTrack which finally takes a point of view on AI that I agree with, that AI is not intelligent, that the naysayers who have been predicting a market crash are just so wrong, and that the bull market could very well continue. (I would go further than that; I would say that there are definite signs out there that is almost certainly will continue.) What better way to celebrate this holiday than to bring this phenomenon that we both stand in awe of and fear down a notch or two.  

9 Best Growth Stocks for the Next 10 Years

For the beginning of this long holiday weekend, some more recommendations for the top hot stocks from U.S. News Invested ... 

Stocks subdued, yen in focus, with inflation data on tap

All the indexes stayed pretty close to break-even today and, as has been the case all week, caution is in play awaiting Friday’s PCE data which is the Fed’s most watched inflation guide for rate cuts. Since the market is closed for Good Friday, we won’t see the reaction until Monday. That means, for practical purposes, today is the last day of Q1 which is expected to post gains for all the indexes. Global stocks didn’t fare as well with the MSCI index flat for Q1 vs a forecast of a 7% gain. The good news was the economy grew faster in Q4 than expected, GDP revised upwards to 3.4% vs the earlier 3.2%. Oil rose due to global production cuts and attacks on Russia’s energy.  Per the CBOE and as expected, volume remains well below average at 11.3 billion. 

Stocks close with gains, led by Dow as investors look for rate insight

The S&P and Nasdaq were enjoying modest gains all day until the final half hour when they both zoomed dramatically. The Dow had been in healthy 3-digit territory all day but then also zoomed to even greater heights in the final half hour. Again no real explanation for the sudden 11^th hour change of heart except for more anticipation over the coming PCE data on Friday, perhaps now taking bets that it’ll be good news just as the bets were for bad news yesterday.  

Dow, S&P fall for third straight session with inflation data eyed

All three indexes were handsomely in the black all day long, the Dow up over a hundred most of the session, then in the final half hour all came crashing down sending all three to close modestly in the red. The only explanation given for the dive is nerves over Friday’s coming PCE data and how that might impact the timing of rate cuts, though a June cut is still widely forecasted at 70.4%. Why the sudden 11^th hour anxiety 3 days ahead of the report, especially since the market already took a dive yesterday for the same reason, remains a mystery.  

Wall Street ends lower ahead of US data; dollar pressured by yen, yuan

It was a day in the red for all three indexes, especially the Dow which lost 162, and being blithely dismissed by the market as (a) profit-taking after the best week of the year last week, (b) taking a breather ahead of CPE inflation data coming Friday, and (c) light volume consolidation with many on spring break and a holiday right around the corner. Year-on-year headline and core PCE is expected at 2.5 and 2.8% respectively. PCE from January to February is expected slightly hotter, but Core PCE slightly cooler. For a holiday week volume came in light as expected at 9.8 billion. 

10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Buy Under $20

Continuing our theme this weekend of cheaply accessible investments, today with our emphasis on income, here are the latest recommendations from U.S. News Invested for the top 10 cheap dividend stocks.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

7 Best Mutual Funds With No Minimum Investment

For those of you interested in easily accessible investments that also perform quite well, here are 7 of them -- 

S&P 500 ends near flat but index posts biggest weekly gain of year

With the market still trying to find its footing after the recent large gains, today tech was all over the place, up and down like crazy though ultimately closing near even. The cyclical Dow did not fare so well, but that’s what usually happens on good interest rate news as we got on Wednesday which always makes tech more attractive and traditional stocks less so.  The Dow took an all-day dive ending down 305. 

Wall Street extends overnight record setting after SNB cut, steady Fed

All three indexes were up, way up, right out the gate. The Dow stayed steadily up all day closing at a +269 but the tech heavy Nasdaq and S&P saw steady declines all day, but still closed modestly up. Though no explanation has been given about why the steady declines, the consistent up readings which extend yesterday’s records are attributed to not only the first rate cut coming from the Swiss central bank but other central banks following Powell’s lead yesterday in holding their rates steady.  

Wall St ends higher as Fed keeps three rate cuts on the horizon

All three indexes were essentially completely flat until 2 pm. Then, at precisely 2 pm, all three took off like jackrabbits so it was at 2 pm that Powell gave his press conference which “while he didn’t necessarily go full dove, it was dovish vs recent market worries.”  The fears of a hawkish policy stance were laid to rest today and not only did the Fed announce the expected “no change in rates this month,” but bolstered the scenario of three cuts this year and Powell’s statements even downplayed the importance of recent hot inflation readings saying the numbers “haven’t really changed the overall story.” So everyone was happy and it was a good day, the Dow up over 400, the Nasdaq over 200.  Volume was a little below average at 11.67 billion. 

Wall Street advances with Nvidia and Fed meeting in focus

The big sell off that began in the final half hour on Monday was still evidence at open this morning with both the S&P and Nasdaq well into the red. But all three indexes began rising immediately after open with the two tech indexes recovering into the black by noon and then well into the black by close, the Dow even gaining a big 320 points. What happened?  Nvidia!  Its hotly awaited new AI chip was announced, with the claim that it could be 30x faster than current chips. This caused the entire market to take off, tech and otherwise.  

Wall Street ends higher, investors juggle Fed nerves with AI enthusiasm

It was a mostly an up day with the indexes high in the morning, the Dow up some 200 before noon, but then like before, taking a dive in the final half hour to close up more modestly at a plus 75.  The Nasdaq and S&P also losing some of their earlier gains to close up 130 and 32 respectively.  The big morning boost came from Apple entering into an AI venture with Google, and the afternoon downturn to the usual jitters on rates ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting.

The 7 Best Vanguard Funds for Retirement

And to close out the St. Paddy's Day weekend, here's something for some good old fashioned Irish luck ... 

Picking Top Stocks

This week's edition of WealthTrack is on a topic we can all use -- Picking Top Stocks, especially in an environment where a pitifully small percentage of actively managed funds manage to do better than simple index funds. Consuelo Mack interviews the author of the book "The Little Book of Picking Top Stocks ... How to Spot Hidden Gems."  Enjoy.  And enjoy the weekend.  

Stocks set for weekly fall, dollar climbs as Fed rate cut expected

It was a shot straight down from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, then a modest rebound in the afternoon but still nothing too energetic so all the indexes closed substantially down, all because the PPI numbers, like the CPI earlier, showed inflation still sticking. Ironically, even though the import price data also showed a modest increase, that along with increased factory production was taken as a sign of improving inflation and thus the modest afternoon rebound. Consumer sentiment on inflation remained little changed and oil prices have dipped, but the overall sentiment remains that the market is overbought and “some of the real winners have just gone a little bit too far, so you’re seeing them trade off.” No volume data was available for this session. 

Wall St ends down after PPI data and as chipmakers fall

It was a shot straight down all day long when the PPI numbers did not come through as desired with the Dow reaching a low of a minus 340 by 3:30 and then bouncing back to recover over half of those losses in the final half hour. The same happened in the other indexes, hitting a low at around 3:30, then bouncing back dramatically in the final half hour.  

Wall Street ends mostly lower as chipmakers ease; inflation data ahead

Tech spent the day awash in red ink while investors fled to the safety of the Dow, boosting it some 200 points. Then at 1:30, all three went into decline, tech closing even lower than it started, the Dow closing 170 points down from its morning high. And yesterday, with the consensus being that nobody cared when rate cuts come as long as they do come, today it was back to seeing the CPI reading as bad inflation news and sitting on pins and needles for Thursday’s PPI and retail sales. The odds of a June rate cut have gone from 70% yesterday to 65% today until the reports come in tomorrow. Volume was again below average at 11.12 billion. 

S&P 500 posts record high finish as Oracle jumps, traders keep rate-cut bets

The day got started with great guns, all three indexes way up until 11 a.m., the Dow up some 300 points, then everything came spilling down until 1 pm, afterwards recovering to the previous morning high before coming down a little after 3 pm.  The Dow up 235 for the day, the Nasdaq 246.  The CPI came in exactly as expected with a 0.4% monthly increase. But here’s the thing – apparently, for today at least, nobody cares anymore.  

S&P 500, Nasdaq end down as investors wait for CPI, PPI data

There was some sort of general panic going on right out the gate with all three indexes taking a deep dive until about 11 a.m. when all three began steady rebounds that ended the day with only modest losses. The Dow had been down almost 250 points but rebounded to a plus 46 by close. Nervous trading like this seems to be a hallmark of days before major data is released when there is uncertainty about the data.  Tuesday we’ll be getting CPI, PPI Thursday. There is a tug-of-war going on with some investors expecting a resurgence in inflation with cuts later than sooner, other expecting deflation with cuts sooner. The expectation for CPI is a 0.4% monthly increase, 3.1% annual. Volume was below average at 10.9 billion. 

Retirement Roundup: A Quick Tour of Retirement Investing Themes

For those of you interested in a free retirement webinar coming up this Wednesday courtesy of AAII, see below ... 

8 Best Income ETFs to Buy in 2024

For those looking to turn their retirement portfolios into self-structures annuities and live off the monthly payments, here's a way to do that.  

Wall Street slips from records with Nasdaq leading declines

With the employment report coming out pretty exactly the way the market wanted, all the indexes opened well into the black, the Dow up some 170 points. Then about 11 a.m. everything started going south as investors decided, contrary to prevailing wisdom, that the solid jobs report which was supposed to keep this rally going, instead had the effect of triggering profit-taking. 

Shares rally to records ahead of US jobs report, yields and dollar down

It was another straight shot up with the Dow gaining 130 and the S&P making another all-time record when the ECB, following in the Fed’s footsteps, announced a pause in their own rate hikes, signaling that inflation across the pond was getting under control faster than expected. Powell’s continued testimony further clarified that, if inflation continued on its current downward trend, there would almost certainly be rate cuts this year. Friday’s eagerly awaited jobs reported which is hoped to show wages leveling off with a “still resilient labor market” to provide further justification for rate cuts. But the ECB being on the same trajectory as the Fed bolstered optimism.  Volume came in at 11.45 billion, a little below the 4-week average. 

Wall Street indexes advance as Fed's Powell fuels hopes for rate cuts this year

All three indexes reached considerable highs right around noon, the Dow up some 275 points, then all came plummeting down all afternoon losing most gains but still closing modestly in the black. This was all very odd considering all the day’s good news, not the least of which were very positive comments from Powell that rate cuts were expected this year, recession was not a concern, inflation had “eased substantially,” in other words, everything the markets wants to hear.  

Tech-heavy Nasdaq leads Wall Street lower as megacaps, chips slide

It was a shot straight down on all the indexes as two bad reports, one from Apple and one from AMD, spooked the whole tech sector bringing the tech index down 2% or, as other experts put it, simply taking profits after these huge rallies and ahead of Powell’s testimony Wednesday and Thursday and the payrolls report on Friday. All three indexes retreated steadily to close down more than 1%, the Dow losing 404 points.  Volume continues considerably above average at 13.2 billion. 

S&P 500 edges lower as investors hold their breath ahead of economic data

All three indexes were in the red all day seesawing like crazy, the Dow down as low a 170 points in the morning, then seeing even a little black around 3 pm before falling through the floor again with all three closing modestly lower as investors pause ahead of the week’s key data. The choppiness is attributed to the tug-of-war fears of stocks being overbought coupled with the “fear of missing out” or as today’s expert put it, “Stocks are expensive but that doesn’t mean they can’t get more expensive before some kind of a pullback.” The pause relates to both retail sector reports due Tuesday, payrolls due Friday, and Powell’s Congressional testimony Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the so-called pause, volume remains above average at 12.7 billion. 

Warren Buffett on Why You Shouldn’t Trust Forecasts

Yesterday we took on the basics, today we will go after something a little more sophisticated which is the bare bones reality that the Wall Street gurus are almost always wrong. But we should be grateful for this since we couldn't possibly make money otherwise for if the forecasts were always right, stock prices couldn't move at all. Let's face it - valuations are based on expectations, not performance. When the actuals exceed these expectations, the price goes up, and down when they are below. This topic is now taken on by none other than the great Warren Buffett.  Or as the great screenwriter William Goldman once wisely said, "Nobody knows anything."  

How to Pick Stocks: 5 Things All Beginner Investors Should Know

As I do from time to time, I offer the following as a refresher course in getting back to basics. There are definitely pearls of wisdom here that bear another good look.  Enjoy this beautiful weekend.  

Stocks climb, yields fall as data supports rate cut bets

It was a shot straight up on all the indexes as a series of lukewarm economic reports combined with encouraging remarks from Fed officials once again bolstered hopes for rate cuts this year. Contractions in manufacturing and the U of M report showing weakening consumer confidence added to the rate cut optimism. The S&P hit another record high for a second day. At 12.6 billion, volume was again considerably above average.