Wall Street closes higher with Nasdaq boosted by tech rally

It was another high flying day as investors got some relief from Omicron anxiety with some additional reassuring remarks from Dr. Fauci.  This time all three indexes got a big boost as good pandemic news from drugmaker GSK sent everyone flying back to tech but relief continued to flow into the Dow cyclicals as well and the VIX went down almost 50% to its lowest reading since October 6^th after last week’s 10 month high.  Leisure and airline stocks rose but semiconductors got the biggest boost.  And a really big boost for GSK and Vir Biotech when they announced a new drug therapy effective against Omicron. At just under 11.4 billion, volume was once again very close to the 4-week average. 

Wall Street regains some ground with help from easing virus fears

It was another big day of gains with investors continuing to flock back to the cyclical and sensitive stocks on optimism from Dr. Fauci  that Omicron “does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it.”  The Dow jumped 646 points and has now regained most of the ground lost during last week’s Omicron panic.  The S&P is now just 2.3% below where it was before the panic struck.  Value (the blue chip cyclicals) is again outperforming growth (tech.)  The hope is that if the cyclicals continue to do well it will boost confidence in the rest of the market. But the best indicator that the panic is behind us is that volume, for once, is close to the 4-week average at 11.9 billion. 

7 Best Cyclical Stocks to Buy Now

Since the cyclical stocks are the ones that took off this week (after such a dunking all the indexes recently had) I thought I'd share this latest issue of U.S. News Invested detailing the 7 cyclicals that they most highly recommend.  They're all solid and, by clicking on the link at the bottom, you'll see the entire write-up with detail on each stock.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

Making It On Wall Street + Niall Ferguson

As we approach the holiday, this week's edition of WealthTrack seems particularly appropriate. The first half of the program focuses on the rare breed (11%) of Wall Street managers who are women and how they got there. The second half provides some historical perspective as the first of a 2-part interview with Niall Ferguson who has authored 16 books on money and investing, focusing on what history has to teach us about geopolitical and economic risks covering many centuries and culminating in the current pandemic crisis.  Enjoy the weekend.  

Nasdaq dives over 2% as tech stocks slide at end of volatile week

It was another Omicron panic-driven day with the Dow down some 500 points (and the S&P down proportionately) until the final hour when everything rebounded and all but tech closed with only modest losses.  But everyone fled tech today with the major players all falling and the rest of the sector falling with them on fears of a more aggressive Fed and everyone taking on the more tradition cyclical stocks near the session’s end.  Payrolls increased less than expected but wages increased and unemployment reached an almost two year low point.  All in all, the positive data suggested a very strong economy which is the reason cyclicals became more attractive and the Fed is considering a wind-down which in turn pulled investors away from tech.  We were back to abnormally high volume again at 14.0 billion. 

Wall Street ends higher in robust rebound from Omicron-driven rout

My oh my what a rollercoaster we’re on. Panic over Omicron caused the big crash last Friday, then relief over same caused the rally on Monday.  More major panic Tuesday and Wednesday but today everyone thinks things are going to okay after all and thus another huge rally as investors pick up bargains.  Most of the rush was back into the cyclical sectors shooting the Dow up 617 points with the airlines index, industrials, energy and financials reaping the biggest gains.  Friday’s employment report, as always, is hotly awaited, and expected to be good news. The Dow had its best day since March 5^th. Another sign that the panic is subsiding is that volume at 12.8 billion, though still above average, is nonetheless way below the huge numbers we’ve seen in the last few sessions. 

Wall St turns red as Omicron reaches the United States

The day actually got started with a boom with the Dow up some 500 points (as well as the other indexes) due to a generous amount of positive economic data.  Then the Omicron fears set in again and, with the CDC announcing the first U.S. case surfacing in California, it was another huge rush to the exits and to safe haven investments like utilities which was the day’s only gainer.  Then Powell today reiterated his comments from yesterday that the spike in inflation will now likely endure through all of 2022.  The VIX climbed to its highest since February and the Dow closed below its 200 day moving average for the first time since July.  All in all, it was another major bath with corresponding huge volume at 14.2 billion.  The panic continues.