S&P 500, Nasdaq post worst weeks since pandemic start as Netflix woes deepen slide

It would be easy enough to say that today’s rout, the sixth consecutive 3-digit drop in the Dow and Nasdaq, was predictable given that it was allegedly triggered by a bad report from Netflix which sent the Nasdaq and the rest of the indexes plunging. After all, we knew about Netflix. The report came in after the bell yesterday. And the Netflix misfortune also infected other streaming services like Disney and Roku in a big way. The only problem with this explanation is that the market was up, way up, until about 11 a.m.  Any reaction due to Netflix would have come at the opening bell.  So what else is there?  Well, as today’s expert put it, “Emotion is what takes over. Until the market finds support, no one’s going to care about anything fundamental.”  

Wall Street drops as bargain-hunting loses steam

The day was going great until about 2 p.m. All the indexes were way up, the Dow up nearly 500 points at midday. Then once again everything came crashing down for a fifth straight day of triple-digit losses and this time the only explanation that seems to be out there is that investors concluded around 2 p.m. that “buying the dip” had been exhausted so started vigorously selling again. But is this what really happened?  One thing is agreed upon as stated by today’s expert, “We’re in for kind of a rocky period here for the month of January. Valuations are high, rates are going up, the outlook is murky – there’s more to worry about now.”  Another nail in the coffin was new unemployment claims rising last week, attributed to COVID-19 disrupting business.  Volume was considerably above average at nearly 12 billion. 

Wall Street sell-off deepens, Nasdaq confirms correction

The day got started on a very good foot.  In fact, the Dow was up nearly 200 points in the morning session, and the other two were up as well.  Then at 1 pm everthing came crashing down and without any good explanation as to what inciting incident happened at 1 pm except for just continuing anxiety over inflation and the rapid rise in Treasury yields.  Yesterday the panic was blamed on a poor report from Goldman Sachs but no such luck this time with both Morgan Stanley and BofA turning in stellar reports, but still panic ensued.  At the end of the day, the Nasdaq was officially in correction territory having lost 10.7% from the November high.  The last correction was last February so today marked the beginning of the fourth correction since the pandemic began.  Volume was above average at 11.4 billion.  

Wall St sinks as yields spike, financials fall after Goldman miss

When Goldman Sachs turned in a less than glowing Q4 report on Tuesday, it triggered an avalanche of panic selling related to the perfect storm of coming Fed rate hikes deflating tech, inflation spikes  ballooning Treasury yields to a 2 year high, and a fall in the big megastocks including Microsoft, Apple and Facebook.  Now more than ever investors will be focused on next week’s Fed meeting for more clarity on inflation.  Meanwhile today’s volume shot up to nearly 12 billion. 

Even NASA Seems Surprised by Its New Space Telescope

For this holiday I thought I'd offer an article that has nothing to do with investing but a lot to do with general knowledge and fun  -- the latest and greatest from NASA's James Webb space super-telescope via The Atlantic.  This revolutionary piece of technology was originally said to be so advanced that, for the first time, scientists would be able to actually observe the Big Bang, that is the creation of the universe. Now they're saying that the big spyglass is in fact exceeding expectations. A fun read, and not too long at 1200 words.  Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday.  

7 High-Risk Stocks For Aggressive Investors

Yesterday I presented a list of high quality stocks that couldn't lose for the beginning investor.  Today is a higher level course from this week's U.S. News Invested for the more sophisticated advanced investor, high quality but volatile stocks for the more aggressive more profitable portfolio.  Enjoy what's left of the holiday weekend. 

9 of the Best Stocks for a Starter Portfolio

To start off the MLK weekend I once again submit the latest picks from U.S. News Invested of 9 of the the safest and most profitable bets for newbie investors to buy for a starter portfolio.  And the names named herein are certainly solid enough to be a good fit for any portfolio.  Enjoy the weekend.