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Even after all the concerns lately about tech coming under pressure and losing its status as a market leader; the NASDAQ still managed to break its weekly losing streak on Friday with one of its best sessions of this difficult month.
The index jumped 2.26% (or about 241 points) today to 10,913.56. The result was its second best performance of September (Sept 9 was up 2.7%) and marked the end of its three-week losing skid.
The NASDAQ was higher by 1.1% this week! Though it’s down by well over 7% for the month thus far.
As you would expect, the FAANGs did very well with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) surging 3.75%. The rest of this group advanced more than 2% each, except for Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG, +1.17%).
The other major indices weren’t just wasting time on Friday. They joined in on the fun as well, but it wasn’t enough to salvage the week.
The S&P rose 1.6% to 3298.46 and the Dow jumped 1.34% (or about 358 points) to 27,173.96. However, the losses were 0.6% and 1.8%, respectively, for the five days.
Therefore, the S&P and Dow now have four straight weeks of losses as we reach the homestretch of our first losing month since this pandemic stuff really got started back in March.
What can you say about this week... or this month? The market is anxious about several uncertainties, including rising coronavirus cases overseas, the lack of more help from Washington and the upcoming election.
As a result, volatility is back in a big way with tech taking it on the chin. There’s probably not going to be a lot of clarification on these issues in the near term, though it should be noted that House Democrats have suggested a $2.4 trillion stimulus plan. And who knows when the next bit of positive vaccine news will hit the market?
For now though, this solid end to the week should have investors breathing a bit easier heading into the weekend. And they should be ecstatic that September will mercifully come to an end next Wednesday.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Healthcare Innovators: This portfolio had the only stock in the ZU universe on Friday with a double-digit gain. Axcella Health (NASDAQ:AXLA) jumped 14.3% to easily become the top performer of the session. This emerging pharma company with a focus on liver diseases was added in late June. This service had another name in the Top 5 as Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) rose 6.6%.
Options Trader: "Stocks soared on Friday, although the Dow and the S&P both closed lower for the week (for the fourth week in a row), even though for a moment it looked like the S&P was going to turn positive. But the Nasdaq did, and they closed up for the week by more than 1%.
"The markets had been diligently tracing out a bottom earlier in the week, and it culminated in an explosive rally.
"The next upside targets for the S&P and the Nasdaq are as follows: with the S&P closing at 3,298.56, their 50-day moving average is overhead at 3,350.93. And just above that, there's a gap left on the chart at 3,384.45. Those are 1.59% and 2.61% away. Those are the near-term upside targets.
"For the Nasdaq: after closing at 10,913.56, their 50-day moving average is overhead at 11,024.92, while they also have a gap just above that at 11,046.43, which represents upside targets of 1.02% and 1.22% respectively.
"A solid close above the 50-day and the respective gaps would firm up the technical picture.
"In the meantime, everybody will be watching to see if the markets can build upon recent gains. Given the positive economic data, coupled with expectations for unprecedented growth for the remainder of the year, the foundation is in place for that to happen." -- Kevin Matras
Have a Great Weekend!
Jim Giaquinto
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