S&P, Dow Close at New Highs After Impressive Jobs Report

SPECIAL ALERT: Remember, the latest episode of the Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session will be available for viewing no later than this Wednesday, April 7. Kevin Matras, Kevin Cook, David Borun and Daniel Laboe will cover the investment landscape from several angles in this informative event.

Don’t miss your chance to hear:

▪ Kevin Cook and David Agree to Disagree on America's National Debt: Are we headed for a government-led financial crisis?
▪ Kevin Matras answers your questions in Zacks Mailbag
▪ Kevin Cook and Daniel 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.


The market finally got an opportunity to celebrate Good Friday’s awesome jobs report. Returning from the three-day, Easter weekend, all of the major indices jumped by more than 1% on Monday with two of them closing at all-time highs.

The Government Employment Situation report stated that an impressive 916,000 jobs were added to the economy in March, which was about 250K better than expectations and more than doubled the previous month’s result. The unemployment rate moved down to 6%.

As you would expect, jobs are returning to the travel and leisure spaces as the economy moves toward re-opening amid the ongoing vaccine rollout and the recent stimulus passage and infrastructure plan.

The S&P jumped 1.44% on Monday to a new closing high of 4077.91. The index closed above 4,000 for the first time ever on Thursday… and now it’s knocking on the door of 4100! The Dow also made history today by jumping 1.13% (or about 374 points) to a new record close of 33,527.19.

The NASDAQ actually had the best performance in the session, rising 1.67% (or about 225 points) to 13,705.59. It’s now within 3% of its own closing high. The FAANGs were all higher on the day, especially Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG, +4.1%) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB, +3.4%). Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) were each up more than 2%, as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 4.4% and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 2.8%.

In addition to the jobs report, we also got an historic ISM services report. It was up to 63.7 in March, compared to expectations that were below 60. The result was an all-time high for the index and provided further evidence that this economy is revving up for the re-opening.

This may be the most exciting session for the whole week. Earnings season doesn’t begin until late next week, and the biggest economic data has already been released. Of course, the Fed minutes on Wednesday could have an impact...

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Technology Innovators: This portfolio is no stranger to Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS), a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that was in the service last year and brought a more than 20% return when sold in December. Brian is hoping that history repeats itself here in 2021. On Monday, he re-added PRGS, which offers the leading platform for developing and deploying mission-critical business applications. It has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last three quarters with surprises that have been increasing over that time, which is something the editor really likes to see. He also appreciates the company’s valuation. Read the full write-up for a lot more on this new addition. In other news, this portfolio had a top performer on Monday as Amkor Technology (NASDAQ:AMKR) advanced 7.4%.

Surprise Trader: Earnings season is right around the corner... and Dave can’t wait! The banks kick things off at the end of next week and this portfolio got started today by adding Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH). This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) has reported double-digit beats in each of the past two quarters. Now it has a positive Earnings ESP for the quarter coming before the bell on Thursday, April 15. The editor added CBSH on Monday with a 12.5% allocation, while also selling the underperforming Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC) position. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.

Headline Trader: The addition of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) back in March was a “no-brainer” for Dan and this new portfolio. The home improvement giant was in a good spot to capitalize on the $1400 checks and the upcoming economic re-opening. And it’s worked out just as the editor planned with the stock already hitting his initial price target. Therefore, he sold half of HD on Monday for a more than 17% return in less than a month. Learn more in the complete commentary.

Black Box Trader: This week's adjustment replaced half of the portfolio. All five of the stocks sold today were positive, including two double-digit winners. Those names that left the service on Monday included:

• U.S. Steel (X, +15.6%)
• Owens & Minor (OMI, +10.2%)
• Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN, +3.1%)
• Resideo Technologies (NYSE:REZI, +1.7%)
• Covanta Holding (NYSE:CVA, +0.9%)

The new buys that filled these spots were:

• Jefferies Financial (NYSE:JEF)
• KB Home (NYSE:KBH)
• Olin Corp. (NYSE:OLN)
• Santander Consumer USA (NYSE:SC)
• Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

By the way, this portfolio had the best performer among all ZU services on Monday as United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) rose 10.5%. Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service.

Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto