The market lost steam on Friday after an early run to fresh intraday highs, but the major indices still managed another week of gains as this end-of-the-year rally continues.
The Dow advanced 0.08% (or nearly 24 points) to 28,645.26. The S&P broke even, though technically was higher by 0.11 of a point (or 0%) to 3240.02.
While these gains paled in comparison to earlier in the session, they were still enough to log a new round of all-time closing highs.
The NASDAQ couldn’t recover and finished lower by 0.17% (or a little more than 15 points) to 9006.62. The index managed to stay above 9,000 for the second consecutive day, but its 11-session winning streak is history. Nothing lasts forever!
Of course, the NASDAQ had the best weekly performance with a rise of 0.9%. The Dow was up nearly 0.7% over the past five days.
But the S&P was the big story as the index completed a fifth straight week in the green with an advance of 0.6%.
These final, low volume days of 2019 can be pretty uneventful as many are still on vacation, so the market’s attention remains on the Phase 1 agreement (in principle) from a few weeks back and yesterday's retail data that shows a strong holiday shopping season.
Recently we've enjoyed positive updates from both the U.S. and China, along with a record holiday season for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Investors see no better way to start the New Year than with progress on the trade front and continued strength from the consumer. And lets not forget the healthy dose of window dressing from mutual funds and portfolio managers.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Blockchain Innovators: Earnings estimates for Avaya (AVYA) have remained elevated, but the stock price has sold off this year. Such a divergence gives Dave a great opportunity to pick up this digital communications company at a great entry point. AVYA is engaging in “a ton of blockchain projects”, according to the editor. One of those projects is the ‘Happiness Index on Blockchain’, which “securely collects and analyzes customer data from multiple sources in real time, enables organizations to gain greater insight into their customers behavior and respond quickly to user trends”, according to the company. Read the complete commentary for more on this new addition.
Counterstrike: "Part of the markets dramatic melt up this month has been this window dressing, but there are no doubt other forces working here. Mainly, there are no immediate risks to the market. The headlines that have threatened the markets for the last two years have disappeared, so investors are now in a “safe place” where they can take a one-sided bet on market direction.
"Today we saw the S&P close flat, while the Nasdaq closed down 0.08%. We shouldn’t be surprised at markets chopping around the flat lines. The volumes are very low and on a Friday after Christmas it is typically slow. Next week we get back into thing 100%. Yes, there will be a New Year’s hiccup on Wednesday, but volumes should pick up and volatility should pick up.
"Fun time is over and its time to get to work. A good start to the year is so important, so the next month it is crucial to stay focused and disciplined. Its not fun to dig yourself out of a hole in the beginning of the year, so make sure January is all about taking profits and honoring stops." -- Jeremy Mullin
Have a Great Weekend!
Jim Giaquinto
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