Another attempt to bounce back from the recent selloffs failed on Wednesday, though one of the major indices did advance slightly while the others kept their losses well under 3%.
Unsurprisingly, the NASDAQ was the first and, so far, only source of green during this difficult week, as technology bucked the trend with a respectable showing in the session.
The index soared by about 2% earlier in the day but only advanced 0.17% (or a little more than 15 points) by the close. Nevertheless, it’s a positive result! And believe it or not, the NASDAQ is still in the green for 2020 despite the recent purge!
Apple had a nice 1.6% advance on Wednesday after getting beaten up in the first two days of this week. Also, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) surged 5.3% while Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 1.25%.
The Dow at one time climbed by more than 450 points on Wednesday, but finished lower by 0.46% (or around 124 points) to 26,957.59.
Investors can’t help but be a little relieved by today’s slide, since it pales in comparison to the approximately 2000 points and more than 6% that was lost on Monday and Tuesday.
The S&P also squandered a morning rally, but slipped by only 0.38% to 3116.39.
The coronavirus continues to spread outside of China, with South Korea being the second most impacted country while cases continue to rise in European spots like Italy and Germany.
There was also a new case here in the U.S. with many others being observed. Just yesterday, the CDC offered a rather dire view of the situation, suggesting that a breakout in this country was pretty much inevitable and that it could potentially be “bad”. (And as of this writing, we’re waiting on a news conference from President Trump on the coronavirus.)
We know that this sickness will have an impact on the global economy, but still don’t know the extent of the damage or what the recovery will look like.
Therefore, the market is full of the one thing it hates the most… uncertainty.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Counterstrike: No one knows how long the coronavirus will impact the market. Therefore, Jeremy made a few moves today to keep his portfolio agile in the uncertain days ahead. The editor sold Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), Qorvo (QRVO) and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) for losses. He’s getting out now just in case there are more sharp declines for the market. But Jeremy also decided to buy a 9% position in eHealth (EHTH), a leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. It feels like a good stock to own right now. Shares of EHTH came under pressure recently despite reporting a “great” quarter. Read the complete commentary for a lot more about today’s addition and all of the service’s recent moves.
TAZR Trader: The market may very well be on its way to a 12% to 15% correction, which would trigger a “screaming” buy for Kevin. But in the meantime, he decided to add more to the portfolio’s position in GW Pharma (GW) after the company delivered strong growth in its recent report. The editor also bought a starting position of 7% in The Trade Desk (TDD), which was another stock on his shopping list. Read the complete commentary for a lot more on today’s moves, including several institutional perspectives on GW’s recent report.
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
Recommendations from Zacks' Private Portfolios:
Believe it or not, this article is not available on the Zacks.com website. The commentary is a partial overview of the daily activity from Zacks' private recommendation services. If you would like to follow our Buy and Sell signals in real time, we've made a special arrangement for readers of this website. Starting today you can see all the recommendations from all of Zacks' portfolios absolutely free for 7 days. Our services cover everything from value stocks and momentum trades to insider buying and positive earnings surprises (which we've predicted with an astonishing 80%+ accuracy). Click here to "test drive" Zacks Ultimate for FREE >>
Zacks Investment Research