It wasn’t as stellar a week as last, but we should take what we can get in a historically difficult month that’s besieged with domestic and international concerns. The Dow managed a second straight positive week by climbing 0.4%, while the S&P inched forward with a 0.1% advance. The NASDAQ struggled with a slumping Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) all week and finished with a slip of 0.3%.
All in all though, the market held up admirably in an eventful week. The Fed announcement on Wednesday signaled a rate hike in December and outlined its plan to start “unwinding” its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Meanwhile, North Korea is promising more saber-rattling in the wake of President Trump’s U.N. speech.
"A few weeks ago, geopolitical tensions stemming from North Korea would have sent the market into a tailspin. At the very least, it would have been good for a jump in the volatility index," said Dave in Momentum Trader. "Perhaps it’s evolving into the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” as new threats for a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific did little to deter markets."
Despite such challenges, the S&P is still hanging out over 2500 after climbing 0.06% to 2502.2 on Friday, while the NASDAQ increased 0.07% to 6426.9. However, the Dow, which saw its seven-session all-time high streak snapped on Wednesday, was down 0.04% to 22,349.6 today.
The portfolios had been quiet the past two days, but they sprung back into action to finish out the week. Counterstrike added a casino company and sold another name for a nearly 10% return. Income Investor bought one of the most well-known semiconductor names after it raised its dividend and buyback plan. Finally, Stocks Under $10 picked up a health club company with a solid earnings history. Read more below:
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Counterstrike: When Jeremy first bought Wynn Resorts (WYNN) with a half position back in late July, he was expecting this best-in-breed casino to get up to $145. Now, the editor sees it breaking over $150, especially since the upcoming “Golden Week” Chinese holiday should be a big boon for Macau. Therefore, with momentum continuing to be strong for both the stock and the sector, Jeremy added another 7% on Friday to bring WYNN up to a full position.
In other news, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has only been in the portfolio for about a month-and-a-half, but it has already gained 9.6% in that time. This comes as a pleasant surprise to Jeremy, who decided to cash in that gain on Friday by selling the railroad company. Read the full write-up for more on all of today’s moves.
Income Investor: There’s a lot to like about Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), especially after reporting excellent second quarter results that included better-than-expected earnings and revenues. Plus, this global semiconductor company is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that’s part of a space in the top 1% of the Zacks Industry Rank. But what really caught Neena’s attention was that TXN increased its quarterly dividend by 24% this week and plans to boost its buybacks by $6 billion. As announced yesterday, the editor added TXN to the portfolio on Friday. The full write-up has more.
Stocks Under $10: Town Sports (CLUB) is a health club company that was a big winner for Brian Bolan in the past. The editor is hoping for more of the same by adding the stock to the portfolio on Friday, and he’s got reason to be optimistic. CLUB has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters with an average surprise of 52%. Furthermore, earnings estimates have been moving higher of late, making the stock a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Read a lot more about this new addition in the complete commentary.
Options Trader: "The Dow, the S&P, and the Small-Cap Russell 2000 Index, all closed higher again this week, making it two weeks in a row. (They also, once again, made new all-time high closes in the process.)
"The Nasdaq just missed out on another weekly gain, albeit just barely. But they remain near their all-time highs, and actually made new all-time highs during the week, but just couldn’t hold on by week’s end.
"When I think of the market, words like resilient, impressive, historic, and strength come to mind.
"I’m fully aware of the obstacles this market has in front of it...but for now, the market continues to focus on the economy and record corporate profits, as it should." -- Kevin Matras
Have a Great Weekend,
Jim Giaquinto
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