The NASDAQ had been lagging its counterparts by a wide margin since the tech slump began. But that may be about to change. The index soared nearly 1.5% on Monday, which was about double the performances of the S&P and Dow. Despite all the worries about tech over the past several days, the index is only a few good days away from joining the other two at all time-highs.
Specifically, the NASDAQ was up 1.42% (or a little more than 87 points) to 6239.01. The S&P climbed 0.83% to 2453.5 while the Dow increased 0.68% to 21,529; both indices are at new records. “So, at least for now, it appears as though those fears over a full-blown tech collapse were completely misguided,” said Eric in Surprise Trader. “The next test will be a retesting of old highs to see if this trend can continue in the right direction.”
The portfolios were a bit groggy to start off the week, but we did get a double-digit winner out of Zacks Counterstrike and five swaps in the weekly adjustment to Black Box Trader. Meanwhile, this week’s Zacks Confidential will show you how to use the Zacks Rank for the long-term. Read all about it below:
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Zacks Counterstrike: Jeremy has been looking to add more stocks to the portfolio, and today’s sale of Wynn Resorts (WYNN) gives him room AND money to do just that later this week. The editor added this hotels and casinos company a month ago, and he sold it today after its targets have been filled for a 12.7% profit. Now the portfolio has two spaces to be filled, which should be coming shortly.
Zacks Confidential: There’s a bit of a misconception about the Zacks Rank. When people hear that it is a timeliness indicator with a primary application for a 1-3 month time horizon, they assume that it is not useful for long-term investors. WRONG!!! In fact, Sheraz Mian manages two long-term subscriber portfolios here at Zacks, and the Zacks Rank is his primary tool for finding buy-and-hold investments. So in this week’s Zacks Confidential, Steve has asked Sheraz to explain how he uses the Zacks Rank for the long term. Read his detailed analysis and get a couple of recommendations by clicking: How to Use the Zacks Rank for Long-Term Investing.
Black Box Trader: Half of the portfolio was swapped out in this week’s adjustment. Of the five stocks that were sold, three of them were positive. The portfolio said goodbye to:
• Masco (MAS, +4.7%)
• Cummins (NYSE:CMI, +2.2%)
• Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT, +1.5%)
• Burlington Stores (BURL)
• The Chemours Co. (CC)
The five new stocks that were bought today to replace these names are:
• Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)
• Eastman Chemical (EMN)
• Humana (NYSE:HUM)
• Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR)
• Thor Industries (THO)
Read the Black Box Trader’s Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
Options Trader: "Everybody is pointing to tech bouncing back today as giving the market a boost. And that's definitely true. But the gains were widespread and that's the best part of it all.
"As mentioned before, the market is in a good place right now. Fundamentally, the market looks strong; the economy continues to improve (GDP Now forecasts have Q2 '17 GDP coming in at 2.9% -- that's a 141% increase over Q1 '17); corporate earnings, per last quarter, were on fire; and technically, the market is pointing up with targets in the S&P at 2,600 by year's end.
"Last week's quarter point rate increase has also energized the market. The Fed's action showed confidence in the economy and the market.
"While there was no new economic reports to point to today, last week's econ reports and Fed move spoke volumes, and the market has been responding accordingly." -- Kevin Matras
Until Tomorrow,
Jim Giaquinto
Recommendations from Zacks' Private Portfolios:
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