The NASDAQ showed the S&P how it’s done on Monday by soaring 1% and closing at a record high. Meanwhile, its counterpart continues to dilly-dally just under its own milestone.
In the end though, they both started the week with solid gains amid another slow summer session with low trading volume.
The NASDAQ jumped about 110 points to a new high of 11,129.73. The index is coming off a basically flat weekly performance, though it technically rose by .08%.
Tesla (TSLA) was a major mover on Monday as the electric car pioneer soared 11.2%.
The S&P picked up right where it left off before the weekend. It momentary crossed over its closing high of 3386.15 from February 19, but once again failed to stay above the mark when the bell rang.
It finished higher by 0.27% to 3381.99, or just a little more than 4 points away. The index was up about 0.6% last week.
The Dow easily outperformed its counterparts in the previous week by jumping 1.8%. So no one should be surprised that it took a little break today by sliding 0.31% (or around 86 points) to 27,844.91.
Earnings season is winding down, which means its time to hear from the retailers. Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) will be the big reports tomorrow, while Target (NYSE:TGT) and Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) follow on Wednesday.
These are just a few of the retailers going to the plate in the next few days. We’ll be getting another good read on the consumer from these reports.
Last Friday’s retail sales report was mixed with an advance of 1.2% missing expectations. However, the increase came to 1.9% sans auto, which easily eclipsed forecasts.
We’ll also be getting reports from a couple of the final tech giants this season, as NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is scheduled for Wednesday and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) is set for Thursday.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Counterstrike: The market is shrugging off all its challenges these days and continuing to move forward, which has given Jeremy a chance to play the short side for the first time in months. On Monday, the editor short sold online recruitment services provider Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) and online pet retailer Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) with 4% allocations each. Both stocks are Zacks Rank #4s (Sells) that appear to be overbought after jumping off their coronavirus lows, and they could have trouble sustaining the momentum. Meanwhile, the portfolio also bought more of Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) Turtle Beach (NASDAQ:HEAR), which pulled back despite beating earnings estimates by 44%. Jeremy added 8% to HEAR, bringing the total allocation to 10%. Learn a lot more about today’s moves in the complete commentary, including a look at the charts.
Surprise Trader: Rising equity indices and low bond yields present a great environment for investment management companies, so that’s where Dave went for his first buy of the week. The editor picked up Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV), which should be reporting around the final week of August. The company hasn’t missed since February 2019 and looks set for another beat given its Earnings ESP of 5.69%. It topped by more than 12% last time. The portfolio added EV on Monday with a 12% allocation. In other news, Revolve Group (NYSE:RVLV) has given back some of the gains since moving higher after its quarterly report, so Dave decided to sell the position for a more than 14% return in less than a week. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.
Healthcare Innovators: Analysts are finally noticing the growth story of Quidel (NASDAQ:QDEL), a medical diagnostic innovator with multiple Covid tests that have been fast-tracked by the FDA. Late last month, the company reported strong second-quarter results, which included a positive earnings surprise of 66%. Earnings estimates and the share price continued to move higher after the announcement. And analysts are finally taking it seriously. Kevin has been watching QDEL for a while now and moved in on Monday with plans to add more on any dips. Read the full write-up for specifics on this new addition, including a look at what those analysts are saying about the company. By the way, this portfolio had the best performer of the day among all ZU names as Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) jumped 11.9%.
Commodity Innovators: It doesn’t look like natural gas is going to pullback anytime soon, so Jeremy decided to gain exposure today with a trio of moves because there’s still “a lot more meat on the bone going forward.” The editor picked up United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG), which could move 50% from current levels due to an improving supply/demand structure and the coming winter. The portfolio also looks to take advantage of rising natural gas prices by adding Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) and The Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB). Meanwhile, Jeremy also sold Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLE) and Teucrium Sugar ETF (CANE) for gains of 10.1% and 11.4%, respectively. Read the full write-up for a lot more on today’s moves.
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
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