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S&P Ends Skid As Tech Rallies Again

Published 12/07/2017, 09:15 PM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

The tech sector had another positive performance on Thursday, giving the NASDAQ the best showing of the major indices and helping the S&P break its four-session losing skid. The NASDAQ jumped 0.54% today to 6812.8, while the S&P increased 0.29% to 2637. The Dow also advanced 0.29% to 24,211.5.

Apparently, the market wasn’t too concerned about a government shutdown on Friday, which was prescient since both houses of Congress passed a temporary spending bill after the close to keep things running until December 22. And for the most part, the mood is optimistic that the House and Senate will be able to get some kind of tax reform to President Trump’s desk…perhaps by the end of the year. So the most immediate event on the schedule now is tomorrow’s Government Employment Situation report.

Insider Trader made the biggest splash in the portfolios on Thursday as Tracey sold one stock for a profit and then bought a pharmaceutical company that recently had two insider buys. Learn all about these moves in the highlights section below, along with some excerpts from other commentaries.

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Insider Trader:
The Trading Window Period for the next earnings season is still open, so the portfolio continues to see a lot of insider activity. Tracey added a pharmaceutical giant on Thursday, but first she cashed in on Raytheon (RTN). Shares of the defense contractor grinded to another new high recently, and the editor thought this was a good time to secure a 7.3% return.

The new buy is Allergan (NYSE:AGN), whose claim-to-fame is Botox. Shares recently got shellacked on positive news for a potential competitor to its #1 product. The stock is now down 22% year to date. However, the CEO and a director both bought shares of their own company this week in a classic “insider buying” move. Basically, these people think that their company is oversold right now. Tracey added AGN on Thursday with a 10% allocation. Read the complete commentary for more on today’s moves.

Counterstrike: "Stocks grinded higher today, confirming the important Fibonacci levels in the S&P that I referred to yesterday. The S&P closed 0.29% higher, while the Nasdaq gained 0.54%. While the S&P still looks very bullish, the 61.8% short set up in the Nasdaq held today. Targets are still in place at 6200 in the Nasdaq futures.

"The divergence between the two indices is somewhat maddening. On one hand we have the S&P which looks like it can go back to all-time highs like it typically does. On the other hand, we have the tech heavy Nasdaq that looks like it will test its 50-day moving average.

"It’s hard to determine which index to trust, my gut says the larger of the two is where we should focus. In any regards, these Fibs should be monitored."
-- Jeremy Mullin

Large-Cap Trader: "On Thursday, the Nasdaq outpaced its Large Cap index peers, sporting a gain of 0.7% intraday. The Dow Transports were rallying today too, sending the Dow Jones Transportation Average higher by +1.1%.

"The S&P500 was up +0.4% when I check in at midday.

"I have not sold a Tech stock, and I am not going to. I think this was a very natural and healthy correction. The bottom line with the market these days, and it comes thru very clear when I work with the Zacks Industry Rank system. Semis are not getting replaced by sentiment -- by growth-ier names, industries or plays -- anytime soon.

"As long as the publicly traded, very liquid stock markets get the tailwind of global risks sinking down, and traders chase the stronger growth plays first and foremost, a green bid will remain on those stocks."
-- John Blank

All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto

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