S&P Reaches New Record on Seventh Straight Day of Gains

The S&P showed us how it’s done on Thursday by not only reaching a new intraday record (as the Dow did yesterday), but also finishing the session at a fresh closing high. Meanwhile, jobless claims were impressive once again and stocks are set for a third straight week of gains.

The index rose 0.30% to a new record of 4549.78. The S&P now enjoys a seven-day winning streak, which began amid a better-than-feared CPI report on October 13 and has been repeatedly refreshed by positive economic data and a strong start to earnings season.

The NASDAQ snapped a five-day rally yesterday with a slight decline, but was back in the green on Thursday by climbing 0.62% (or about 94 points) to 15,215.70. The index got some help from EV pioneer Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which jumped nearly 3.3% the day after reporting a positive EPS surprise of 34% on record deliveries.

And streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) finally got some love by rising almost 4.5% in the session, two days after a solid quarterly performance that included a surprise of 25% and better-than-expected subscriber growth of 4.4 million.

However, the Dow slipped slightly by 0.02% (or about six points) to 35,603.08. The index reached an intraday high yesterday, but a nearly 10% plunge from IBM (NYSE:IBM) due to soft third-quarter revenues cancelled a repeat performance on Thursday.

This market isn’t making new highs solely on earnings reports, though. We’ve also seen some good economic data of late, which continued today. Jobless claims were only 290,000 last week, which was better than expectations and the previous week’s result. But most importantly for the market’s confidence, the result was a new pandemic-era low and the second straight week beneath 300K.

Stocks seem poised for another positive week. Heading into Friday, the NASDAQ and S&P are both up approximately 2% thanks to the winning streaks. The Dow has been a bit more herky-jerky, but it’s still up nearly 1% with another day to go.

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Surprise Trader: For the past 11 consecutive quarters, Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Dave thinks the streak will continue when this provider of online advertising solutions reports again next Tuesday, October 26 before the bell. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) has a positive Earnings ESP of 8.5% heading into that report. The editor added PERI on Thursday with a 12.5% allocation, while also selling Fulton Financial (NASDAQ:FULT) for 3.2% in a little over a week. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.

Marijuana Innovators: There are plenty of ways to invest in the burgeoning cannabis space outside of just growers and pure plays. For example, Ben added PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI) on Thursday. The company operates a well-diversified portfolio of diagnostics, imaging and testing solutions that serve various industries, including cannabis. The editor picked up this stock due to its regulatory testing solutions for cannabis and hemp, which isn’t the most direct exposure but is vital as marijuana becomes more legal across the country. Plus, PKI provides stability for the portfolio with its wide-ranging investments. A recent pullback gave Ben a great opportunity to add this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Read the full write-up for more.

Home Run Investor: Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most innovative spaces in the market today… and Brian got involved on Thursday by adding Veritone (NASDAQ:VERI). This Zacks Rank #2 (Strong Buy) is an AI company in the audio and video data business. It hasn’t missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in over two years. The most recent surprise was 20% with the four-quarter average being 16.5%. The editor was really impressed by next year’s estimate soaring to a 30-cent profit from a 37-cent loss over the past 90 days. Earnings growth is now expected at 230% for next year, which follows an earnings growth expectation of 69% for the current year. In order to make room for VERI, Brian sold the underperforming Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) position. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves.

Until Friday,
Jim Giaquinto