S&P Finally Breaks Through and Sets a New Record

The S&P finally reached a new high on Tuesday, completing a more than 50% surge off the coronavirus low (March 23) in just under five months.

That means we have TWO major indices breaking records right now, as the NASDAQ made history yesterday and then added onto it today.

After more than a week of charging uphill and trying to get past the February 19th mark of 3386.15, the S&P made it happen today. The index rose 0.23% to a new record of 3389.78.

It also set a new intraday high by reaching 3395.06.

However, the NASDAQ had the best performance with an advance of 0.73% (or about 81 points) to 11,210.84. That marks two straight days of new records.

The FAANGs were all up, but Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) left everyone in the dust with a surge of 4.09%. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG, +2.68%) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX, +1.97%) also had noteworthy advances.

Meanwhile, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) added another 2.8% on top of yesterday’s more than 11% gain.

The Dow was left out once again, slipping 0.24% (or around 67 points) to 27,778.07. That’s two straight days of losses after jumping 1.8% last week.

The index was hurt by the unpredictability of earnings season. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) both reported strong quarterly results, but were down 0.66% and 1.12%, respectively, in the session.

“Investors will ask why the selling and I have a theory on why this happens,” said Jeremy Mullin in today’s Counterstrike.

“These stocks have moved up so much already and big money wants to get out on the high volume that earnings creates. So, when we see that aggressive sell after a good EPS report, just keep that in mind.”

There will be other big retailers reporting tomorrow, especially Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) and Target (NYSE:TGT). If these companies have solid reports as well, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts.

And we’re not done with tech names either. Graphics chip maker NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) will also be going to the plate tomorrow.

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Stocks Under $10: It was a busy session for the portfolio as Brian sold three names and added one. The editor sold Telenav (NASDAQ:TNAV) for an 8.7% return in a little over four months, while also getting out of Zix (NASDAQ:ZIXI) Corporation (ZIXI, +2.6%) and Asure Software (NASDAQ:ASUR). The new buy is Invacare (NYSE:IVC) Corp. (IVCV), which makes medical equipment like beds, wheelchairs and respirators. The company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the past four quarters. While IVCV still runs a loss, the editor is encouraged by the narrowing loss estimates for this year and next. Those improving expectations have also made the stock a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Read the full write-up for a lot more on all of today’s moves.

Surprise Trader: Retail numbers have been pretty good this quarter, so that’s where Dave went for today’s addition as we come to the close of earnings season. BJs Wholesale Club (BJ) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) warehouse club that reports before the bell this Thursday, August 20. It has a positive Earnings ESP of 12.88%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents for this quarter suggests year-over-year growth of more than 46%. The editor added BJ on Tuesday with a 10% allocation, while also selling Inter Parfums (NASDAQ:IPAR) for a return of 2.4%. Read the full write-up for more.

Zacks Short List: The portfolio changed four positions in this week's adjustment. The following names were short-covered:

• StoneCo (STNE)
• T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS)
• PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH)
• Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ:YNDX)

The new buys that filled these opened positions were:

• Performance Food Group (NYSE:PFGC)
• Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD)
• Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN)
• The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD)

Learn more about this emotion-free portfolio that takes advantage of falling and volatile markets by reading the Short List Trader Guide.

Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto