Stocks staged a nice late-day recovery on Monday to come well off their lows of the session, but two of the major indices still dropped over 1% as the September blues continued.
But the epicenter of today's selloff was not technology, as has been the case for most of this month's downturn. Instead, the comeback stocks really took it on the chin, which usually means that the market is getting anxious about the coronavirus.
And sure enough, we've been getting reports that parts of Europe are considering closing down again amid a rising number of cases. Furthermore, a few states here at home saw an uptick lately.
As a result, the Dow was the big loser on Monday by dropping 1.84% (or nearly 510 points) to 27,147.70. However, the index had plunged nearly 950 points earlier in the day.
The S&P dipped 1.16% to 3281.06 for its fourth straight day of losses. It was off by more than 2.5% at its worst.
The NASDAQ is having the roughest September so far, but it was the best performer today and almost made it into the green. It was down only 0.13% (or less than 15 points) to 10,778.80, but it also has a four-day losing skid.
The FAANGs were mixed on Monday, though Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) managed an advance of 3%. The biggest winner was Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX, +3.7%).
A rise in coronavirus cases is another reminder that Washington has yet to pass a new relief package. And now it looks like they'll have to deal with a Supreme Court nomination on top of the upcoming election, which makes a deal in the near-term all the more unlikely for a Congress that can't seem to do two things (let alone three) at the same time.
Stocks are on a three-week losing streak and just started a fourth week on a bad foot. Let's see if they can turn things around from here...
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Counterstrike: This sharp selloff to begin the week is giving Jeremy the opportunity to add a heavy hitter that was just too expensive previously. The company is Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the popular search engine that’s right around its 200-day MA. The editor added this stock on Monday with a 7% allocation. The portfolio also covered its short of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) for a 14.3% return in just under 2 weeks, as the cruise operator dropped to its 50-day. Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) was also sold today. Read the complete commentary for more on today’s moves, including the different approach that Jeremy will be using in buying GOOGL. By the way, this portfolio had one of the best performers of the day as Ultra Clean Holdings (NASDAQ:UCTT) rose 5.89%.
Black Box Trader: The portfolio swapped out three positions in this week's adjustment. The stocks that left the portfolio included:
• Big Lots (NYSE:BIG, +3.2%)
• Tapestry (NYSE:TPR)
• DaVita (NYSE:DVA)
The new buys that filled these just-opened spots were:
• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)
• FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
• Walmart (NYSE:WMT)
Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
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