NASDAQ Briefly Tops 10K and Finishes with New High

The NASDAQ momentarily reached five figures on Tuesday as money moved back into tech and gave the reopening rally a much-needed break.

That’s right… the index eclipsed 10,000 for the first time ever today. It wasn’t able to stay over that mark, but it did finish at a fresh closing high.

The NASDAQ rose 0.29% (or about 29 points) to 9953.75. The first record high since the coronavirus was achieved just yesterday.

The FAANGs were out front once again with Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) all advancing by more than 3% each.

Stocks that were clobbered during the shutdown had been leading the market higher for over a week due to excitement over the reopenings.

Investors were moving into areas like airlines, financials, casinos, cruise companies and retailers… and this renewed interest came at the expense of tech.

Well, that ended on Tuesday… and unfortunately so did the Dow’s six-day winning streak. It slipped 1.09% (or approximately 300 points) to 27,272.30.

But don’t feel too bad, the index jumped just under 7% last week.

The S&P (NYSE:SPY) inched into positive territory for 2020 yesterday, but it’s back in the red after slipping 0.78% to 3207.18.

Investors have been waiting for some pullback in this hot market, but today’s pause probably isn’t enough to quell their concerns when you consider the epic surge since the coronavirus low in late March.

Tomorrow we’ll get comments from Chair Jerome Powell after the Fed meeting. He’s not expected to be making much news, but should reassure the market that the central bank will continue doing all it can to support this economy.

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Stocks Under $10: The portfolio cashed in a triple-digit winner yesterday in Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT), and Brian was back today with a replacement pick. The editor added Duluth Holding (DLTH) a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) casual wear, workwear and accessories retailer with a Zacks VGM of “A”. This company had a strong beat in its most recent report and earnings estimates have been heading higher for this quarter and this year. It also has a nice valuation. In addition to all this, DLTH has a 32% short interest position, which means it’s ripe for squeezing in an improving environment with a reopening economy. Read the full write-up for more.

Surprise Trader: The S&P took a break on Tuesday after turning positive for 2020, which Dave considers to be “a perfect day for a little housekeeping”. He sold part or all of three positions today, including half of CAE (NYSE:CAE) for a nice 46.9% return in less than a month. The editor also sold all of Casey’s General Store (CASY) and Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) for slight losses. But that’s not all. The editor added homebuilder Lennar (NYSE:LEN) today, which has beaten for four straight quarters with a surprise of 53% last time. It seems poised to continue that streak with an Earnings ESP of 6.98% for the quarter coming before the bell on Tuesday, June 16. Read the full write-up for more on all of today’s moves. By the way, this portfolio had one of the best performers of the day as Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) rose 5.6%.

TAZR Trader: Shares of Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) have only pulled back slightly since soaring before its quarterly report. However, Kevin added this enterprise data search and analytics platform on Tuesday because its expected to continue growing revenues by more than 25% into next year. The company reported revenue growth of more than 53% in its most recent quarter, but is still small enough to be a M&A target. The editor added this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a 7% allocation and would buy more if it slips to the $74-$75 area. Read more about ESTC in the complete commentary, along with all the raised target prices from institutional analysts.

Zacks Short List: The portfolio changed out four positions in this week’s adjustment. The stocks that were short-covered on Tuesday included:

• Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST)
• Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)
• ACInterActiveCorp (IAC)
• V.F. Corp. (VFC)

The new buys that replaced these names are:

• Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV)
• Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)
• Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) (RDS.A)
• Ryman Hospitality (NYSE:RHP)

Learn more about this emotion-free portfolio that takes advantage of falling and volatile markets by reading the Short List Trader Guide.

All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto