Another strong day for tech kept two of the major indices on their record-breaking pace to start this last week of the second quarter. But the big news comes in the next few days, as a week full of economic data concludes on Friday with the all-important Government Employment Situation report.
The NASDAQ jumped 0.98% (or about 140 points) on Monday to 14,500.51, which marks its fourth record close in the past 5 sessions. The S&P was up 0.23% to 4290.61 for a third straight new high. The Dow was off 0.44% (or about 150 points) to 34,283.27.
Stocks really had the wind at their backs coming into the session after such a strong performance last week. The Dow ended Friday higher by 3.4% for the previous five days, while the S&P was up 2.7% and the NASDAQ advanced 2.4%. The market sidestepped another soaring PCE result on hopes that these increases are transitory. It also benefited from an infrastructure agreement and a successful round of stress tests for the banks.
On Monday, though, the big deal was good old Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). The social media pioneer advanced practically 4.2% after a federal judge threw out the FTC’s antitrust complaint against the company, though it could be filed again. Another antitrust lawsuit from dozens of states was also dismissed.
As a result, FB’s market cap surpassed $1 Trillion for the first time.
Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were all on point as well with gains of more than 1% each.
The upcoming jobs report will keep investors nervous all week, especially since the last one was pretty much perfect. But that result is coming on Friday, and there’s plenty of other data coming out before then. We’ve got the consumer confidence index tomorrow and the ADP employment on Wednesday. Per usual, jobless claims comes out on Thursday, but so does ISM manufacturing and construction spending.
This week of data and the upcoming earnings season are two big factors that will help determine the market’s direction moving forward.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Headline Trader: Despite marginally missing earnings expectations, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) had solid underlying fundamentals in its recent quarterly report. This express delivery staple obviously has a big part to play in the “new normal”. Analysts believe FDX is in a good position to capitalize on the surge in online shopping that will continue after Covid, so they raised estimates and pushed the stock to Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) status. However, investors had a very different take on the quarter as shares plunged after the report. Dan has been waiting patiently and it looks like FDX has finally run out of sellers. The editor believes this post-earnings dip provided the perfect opportunity to start a position, especially since FDX appears to have fixed the problems with its European business TNT Express. Learn a lot more about this new addition in the complete commentary.
TAZR Trader: Shares of The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) were plunging in early May despite a better-than-expected quarterly report and news of a 10-for-1 stock split. Kevin’s response to the pullback was to add more of this digital-advertising platform operator. Now the stock is exceeding most analyst price targets, so the editor trimmed TTD for a more than 60% return on Monday. He’ll hold onto the rest to see how high it can go. Read the full write-up for more.
Blockchain Innovators: Shares of Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) soared 16.3% on Monday to become the best performer of the day among all ZU names. This global technology company just released strong preliminary second-quarter results, which included a raised guidance for the year. PERI is global technology company that delivers online advertising solutions and search monetization to brands and publishers. The stock has gained more than 30% since Dave added it earlier this month. By the way, Coinbase Global (COIN) also made the top 5 biggest winners today with a rise of 9.9%.
Healthcare Innovators: A positive Phase 1 clinical study has shares of Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) skyrocketing today. With the stock soaring past $130 on a huge short-covering spike, Kevin decided to sell this small CRISPR player for an impressive return of over 90% in less than five months. Don’t be surprised if this name reappears in the portfolio down the road. The editor thinks CAR-T and mRNA therapies will be catalysts for this name moving forward, so he’s looking to reevaluate NTLA shares down the road. See the complete commentary for more specifics.
Black Box Trader: More than half of the portfolio was replaced in this week's adjustment. The stocks that were sold on Monday were:
• Stellantis N.V. (STLA, +10.6%)
• Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW, +2.6%)
• The Chemours Co. (CC, +1.8%)
• Tronox Holdings (TROX)
• American Axle (NYSE:AXL) & Manufacturing (AXL)
• Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR)
The new buys that filled these spots are:
• Alcoa (NYSE:AA)
• Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM)
• Camping World (CWH)
• Foot Locker(NYSE:FL)
• Party City (PRTY)
• Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH)
Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service.
Counterstrike: "The big focus this week will be the jobs number on Friday. Investors don't want this data to be too hot as it could create a perception that the Fed would have to get more hawkish. At the same time, if the data is weak, we could see some worries about the upcoming earnings season.
"The perfect Goldilocks scenario would be a number right about in line, that would let the Fed hold steady through the end of the year.
"Because this number is so important, we shouldn't expect much in direction for the rest of the week. We could grind to all-time highs or drift lower, but I would not expect any outsized moves as the market settles in to a summer nap." -- Jeremy Mullin
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
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