Tech remained under pressure on Wednesday, though the market’s losses were much tamer than yesterday’s sharp pullback.
The NASDAQ again led the way lower with a 0.85% drop to 6949.2. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), whose mishandling of user information during the presidential election kicked off this tech downturn, managed to finish on the positive side. However, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) slipped more than 4% on the day after rumors that President Trump wanted to go after the retailing giant.
"Consider us firmly stuck within a rut here on the NASDAQ. Yesterday I wrote how concerned I was that the NASDAQ engulfed Monday’s action. Today felt better than yesterday as the NASDAQ at least tried to get off the canvas. A very choppy session filled with surges to breakeven ultimately led to a down day for tech," said Dave Bartosiak, editor of Blockchain Innovators, Surprise Trader and Momentum Trader.
The other two major indices had rather modest losses, especially when compared to yesterday’s rout. The S&P slipped 0.29% to 2605, while the Dow was down only 0.04% to 23,848.4. Tomorrow is the last day of March, given that the market is closed for Good Friday. It looks like the major indices will register their second monthly loss in a row.
"The big question for me today was will the 200-day hold up. It turned out the bulls weren’t ready to give up quite yet. The 200-was never officially touched, but it came very close off the open. For now, the bulls are holding the line," said Jeremy in Counterstrike.
Throughout this difficult market, the editors have been making moves to take gains and/or buy stocks at bargain prices. Today was no exception. Surprise Trader pulled a double-digit profit from a furniture company after only 6 days in the portfolio. Insider Trader picked up another energy name and TAZR Trader used the pullback to add more of an existing semiconductor holding. Home Run Investor and ETF Investor both bought defensive positions. Read the highlights section below for more on all these moves:
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Surprise Trader: Despite another rocky and ultimately negative session in the market today, shares of Restoration Hardware (RH) soared by more than 22% after reporting a beat and raise quarter. Dave took a chance and stuck with this luxury furniture company even though its Earnings ESP turned negative heading into the report. It was a good thing he did, because today it was cashed in for an approximately 20% return in less than a week!
Insider Trader: Wall Street just hates energy stocks right now, which doesn’t bother Tracey at all. She sees it as a bullish sign that the bottom is real. Plus there’s been a lot of insider activity in energy companies of late. Although the portfolio already has a couple of names from the space, the editor decided to add another one. Schlumberger (SLB) is a mega cap that has lost 9% year to date, but is expected to see earnings growth of 43% this year and 49% next. Earlier this week, the CEO and the EVP of New Ventures both bought shares. Tracey followed suit on Wednesday with a 9.5% position in SLB. Read a lot more about this new addition in the complete commentary.
TAZR Trader: The portfolio pulled double-digit returns out of Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) several times over the past year. So with this semiconductor name getting caught up in the tech doldrums of the moment, Kevin saw the perfect opportunity to add 5% more to his current position. The stock could always drop lower, but its favorable risk/reward at these valuation levels are too good to pass up. Plus, the semi cycle is still strong despite the tech pullback. Read more in the full write up.
Home Run Investor: In a crazy market like this one, sometimes it's more important to buy what you need, instead of what you want. And one thing that Brian Bolan needs right now is some diversification and a few defensive measures. Food stocks appear to be safer than most, so he picked up Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) on Wednesday. Food prices are moving higher and this stock is seeing rising earnings estimates. It also has a pretty good valuation. Read the complete commentary for a lot more on this new addition.
ETF Investor: Gold started to rise following the most recent Fed meeting, and is expected to outperform moving forward due to higher inflation and risk of a market correction. Neena wanted some exposure to this safe-haven asset, so she bought iShares Gold ETF (NYSE:GLD) (IAU) on Wednesday. The editor said this fund provides convenient and cost-effective access to physical gold, and today’s dip provided a good entry point. Read the full write-up for more on this addition.
Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto
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