Remember, the latest episode of the Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session will be available for viewing no later than Wednesday, May 9. Sheraz Mian, Tracey Ryniec, Neena Mishra, CFA, FRM, and Kevin Cook will cover the investment landscape from most every angle in this informative event.
Don't miss your chance to hear:
• Tracey and Neena Agree to Disagree on Cryptocurrencies
• Tracey and Neena answer your questions in Zacks Mailbag
• Sheraz and Kevin choose one portfolio to give feedback for improvement
• And much more
So be sure to mark your calendar then log on to Zacks.com and bookmark this page.
Stocks started the week by adding onto Friday’s sharp rally. For much of the session, the major indices were following crude higher as it marched past $70. However, the momentum was stunted after President Trump stated that a decision on the Iran deal would be announced tomorrow afternoon.
The Dow gained more than 200 points at its highest on Monday but would have to settle for a little less than half of that by the closing bell. It finished with an advance of 0.39% to 24,357.3. Nevertheless, the index has now gained for three straight sessions since breaking its four-day losing streak last Thursday.
The NASDAQ enjoyed the best performance after another strong session for tech, especially the FANG stocks. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) continued reaching new highs in the wake of a strong quarter and news that Warren Buffett purchased 75 million shares in the first quarter. The index jumped 0.77% to 7265.2. Meanwhile, the S&P was up 0.35% to 2672.6. These indices have now put together back-to-back days on positive ground.
The deadline for a decision on the Iran nuclear deal isn’t until May 12. The President surprised the market by tweeting that an announcement was coming on Tuesday, which took some of the “oomph” out of the morning rally. Trump has railed against the agreement ever since it was signed in 2015, so the market expects that the U.S. will pull out of the deal. Therefore, we know what the BIG news will be tomorrow…but we don’t know how the market will react.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Black Box Trader: The portfolio swapped out three positions this week. The stocks that were sold today included:
• Dollar General (DG)
• Anthem (ANTM)
• Fluor Corp. (NYSE:FLR)
The new buys that replaced these names are:
• Molina Healthcare (MOH)
• NRG Energy (NYSE:NRG)
• Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC)
Read the Black Box Trader's Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
Zacks Confidential: This has been one of the best earnings seasons in a long time…and sometimes it feels like the market just doesn’t care. Stocks are still struggling to breakout of a 3-month consolidation, leaving many investors frustrated. So what gives? Dave Borun says it’s all about geopolitical risk. In this week’s Zacks Confidential, Kevin asked David to try and make some sense of this. Learn about 5 geopolitical headwinds that are holding this market back and get 3 stock picks that should prosper regardless: Geopolitical Risk and Your Portfolio.
Counterstrike: "The Iran headline is not really news. In fact, I would argue that we already know Trump will pull out of the deal. Oil prices have shown us that over the last couple weeks. The big question will be how the market reacts after the news. I believe that we could see a small dip, but Iran has little bearing on the equity market. Oil markets are a different story, so we will have to see what happens tomorrow with crude after the news is out.
"Besides the Iran deal, the market looked very healthy today. FANG stocks were all up big and BABA saw post earnings highs. In addition, a lot of stocks I watch that have been beaten down over the last couple weeks were up 1-3%.
"Great day overall. I expect the grind higher to continue, no matter what Trump decides about Iran. We can always get that wildcard headline, but its starting to feel pretty good out there. The VIX under 15 is confirming that idea and I think it could dip even lower, with the S&P over 2700." -- Jeremy Mullin
Technology Innovators: "I received a few emails over the weekend regarding my recent idea of getting more aggressive. The general feeling I got was that there are a good number of you that do not agree with this stance.
"There are a lot of you that don’t believe that Trump will survive and that will cause some chaos in Washington and that will hurt the market. Some of you believe that rising interest rates will slow us down.
"The technicals on the market are not altogether favorable, so that needs to be put out there again.
"At the end of the day, the CNBC bully pulpit isn’t agreeing with me... and part of me knows that means I have a really good chance of being right." -- Brian Bolan, who also heads Home Run Investor and Stocks Under $10.
Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto
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