It’s too bad the S&P/NASDAQ’s seven-day winning streak had to run right into the long Memorial Day weekend. The extra day off led to a groggy start this week, which saw the major indices lose ground but still stay atop psychological milestones that were recaptured just last week. The S&P was off by 0.12% to 2412.9; its fourth straight session above 2400. The Dow declined 0.24% to 21029.5 and the NASDAQ slipped 0.11% to 6203.2.
Stocks may have started the week in a haze with very low volume (in fact, one of the editors below said it’s “(as) dead as I have ever seen it in my career”), but they should have a chance to perk up as this short week progresses. We’re scheduled to receive the turn-of-the-month economic reports in the days ahead, including ADP Employment and ISM Manufacturing on Thursday, and of course the Government Employment Situation report on Friday.
Data has been pretty good of late, as seen just this morning with solid readings for Personal Income & Outlays and Consumer Confidence. Stocks may be able to wake up if this trend continues, as long as Washington doesn’t ruin things.
With the markets closed on Monday, the portfolios had to do some catch up. Black Box Trader’s weekly realignment usually starts off the week, but it was postponed until today. There were six swaps this time. Zacks Confidential is also coming a day later. Meanwhile, Short List is right on time with three swaps, including a double-digit winner.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Zacks Short List: The portfolio swapped out three positions in this week’s adjustment, and one of them was a double-digit winner for the service. The short-covered names are:
• Bitauto Holding Limited (BITA, +13.9%)
• Atheanahealth Inc. (ATHN) and
• Ctrip.com Intl (CTRP)
The new buys that replaced these names are:
• Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
• Apache Corp (NYSE:APA) and
• Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)
Learn more about this emotion-free portfolio that takes advantage of falling and volatile markets by reading the Short List Trader Guide.
Zacks Confidential: One of the best trends to follow are those that have been avoided for a long time and have a broad macro tailwind. In this week’s Zacks Confidential, Brian Bolan explains why the truckers fit this definition to a T. Ironically, the space went soft despite dropping oil prices, but Steve is giving Brian the opportunity to explain why that’s about to change. Read his article and get a trio of recommendations by clicking: Truckers Hauling in Big Gains.
Black Box Trader: Half of the six stocks that were sold from the portfolio this week were positive. Those sells included:
• UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH, +6.5%)
• Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT, +6.2%)
• Toll Brothers (TOL, +2.8%)
• The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG)
• Platform Specialty (PAH) and
• Huntsman Corp (HUN)
The six new stocks that were bought today to replace these names are:
• Best Buy (BBY)
• Burlington Stores (BURL)
• Cigna Corp (NYSE:CI)
• KB Home (KBH)
• PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) and
• Restoration Hardware (RH)
Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
Zacks Counterstrike: "The low volume and tight ranges we saw from last week, continued over the long weekend to bring about a very boring day. While investors might appreciate a nice break from the volatility, traders are painfully trying to wait out the boredom. As we head into the summer, it seems like this historically low volatility will remain.
"It really doesn’t get more boring than this. The market is dead as I have ever seen it in my career. If you subscribe to the other newsletters and are frustrated at the lack of picks, please be patient. The last thing you want to do is overtrade in this environment and my personal trading lately is proof of that.
"My watch list has some tempting stocks, but not many setups. So the game now is patience, we must wait before we act. Hopefully later in the week the market will get moving. -- Jeremy Mullin
Have a Good Evening,
Jim Giaquinto
Recommendations from Zacks' Private Portfolios:
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