S&P Reclaims 2600 For First Time In 2019

Earnings reports from bank giants JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) weren’t exactly blockbusters, but this market is feeling pretty good at the moment and wanted to get back into the green after a couple days of losses.

The S&P crossed over 2600 for the first time this year with a nice advance of 1.07% to 2610.3. The Dow was more volatile than its counterparts but managed a gain of 0.65% (or about 155 points) to 24065.59.

The indices sputtered a bit early on news that JPMorgan missed earnings for the first time in well over 10 years and that Wells Fargo was short on revenues. But the market got back on track quickly. Stocks also stammered slightly after U.K. PM Theresa May’s Brexit deal went down in flames in Parliament, but this reaction was also temporary.

The best-performing index, though, was the NASDAQ as technology rebounded from a listless performance on Monday. It jumped 1.71% to 7023.83 thanks in large part to a more than 6.5% advance for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

The streaming giant raised its prices by the steepest amount ever on Tuesday…though it really only comes to about $2 extra a month. The market knows that’s probably not enough to convince fans of Stranger Things or The Crown to dump their memberships. The news comes just two days before Netflix becomes the first FAANG name to report quarterly results. All of those stocks had strong sessions with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) each up more than 3%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) were up more than 2%.

S&P 2600 is a notable point for traders. Stocks have now recovered about half of what they lost in the correction, which makes the next move all the more important. Earnings season will have a lot to say in deciding the future direction. The big banks continue reporting tomorrow, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Stocks Under $10: For the second consecutive session, Brian Bolan added a company from the beaten-down semiconductor space that should see better days now that the market has turned a corner. On Tuesday, he picked up Veeco Instruments (VECO). The editor has been very aggressive lately by buying stocks with a lot of shorts…and its been paying off for the portfolio. The short interest in VECO is a bit more reasonable at 8.8%, but that still leaves a good amount of profit potential when they go to cover. Plus, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) has an excellent history of beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate that stretches back several years, and it has amassed an average surprise of nearly 90% in the past four quarters. Learn a lot more about this new addition in the complete commentary.

Zacks Short List: The portfolio swapped out four names in this week's adjustment. The short-covered stocks that left the service today include:

• Weibo Corp. (WB)
• Teradata Corp. (NYSE:TDC)
• Atlassian Corp. (TEAM)
• PTC Inc. (PTC)

The new buys that replaced these positions are:

• Baidu, Inc. (BIDU)
• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC)
• Apache Corp. (NYSE:APA)
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

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

Surprise Trader: "Good news for Netflix shareholders but, arguably, bad news for consumers today. NFLX announced it’s raising its US prices by 13 to 18%. Its most popular plan will go up from $11 to $13 per month. That options includes HD streaming on two different devices simultaneously. That money will help NFLX not only service its debt load but also invest in new content.

"The stock was up big in the pre-market, already punching up at $350 before the opening bell rang. The stock has been on fire lately, surging from $233 in late December to over $355 today. What’s better for shareholders is that NFLX broke away from its 200-day moving average. That long-term moving average is now left in the dust down at $333." -- Dave Bartosiak, who plans to add three names this week starting tomorrow.

All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto