Picks of the Day 26,1,2017

From Dream to Reality: Dow Tops 20,000 for First Time!

The Dow Jones Tops 20,000 for the First Time.

Finally, it happened! The Dow Jones surpassed the 20,000 point level for the first time in history in yesterday’s trading on the background of strong earnings reports and the growth-oriented initiatives of newly inaugurated President Trump, sparking a rally the likes of that seen right after the elections!

Individual investors had started buying in to the market again, in serious measure, right after the elections. The psychologically key 20,000 point level now helps resume this uptrend, luring once sidelined investors, sitting on piles of cash. The new market milestone is like a magnet, drawing in individual investors who feel that they’ve been left behind. The market is still on its honeymoon with “The Donald”; at the same time, our projection is that by the time the end of the year rolls around, market movement will be determined more by interest rates rather than Trump’s fiscal policy. The concern is that Trump’s policies will lead to a surge in inflation that is already afoot in the core indexes – and it goes almost without saying that Yellen will raise hikes a few times this year. Likewise, voices are already being heard from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England about closing shop on the bond-buying quantitative easing programs that have kept rates low in Europe to present.

Trump has already taken a number of business-friendly steps since having taken office this past Friday, including signing a memorandum of understanding to cut existing regulation for local manufacturers, while also preparing the groundwork for 2 new crude pipelines. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ got in on the celebration with new historic highs of their own.

The Dow Jone’s trek from the 10,000 point level to the 20,000 point level lasted almost 2 decades. It took the index only 42 days, though, to climb from 19,000 points to 20,000 points, making it the second fastest 1,000 point rally on the index in its 120 year history. The fastest ever 1,000 point rally on the Dow was the index’s climb from 10,000 to 11,000 points, spanning the dates, March 29^th to May 3^rd, i.e. just 24 days. The ascent from 18,000 to 19,000 points took the index 483 days.

In summary for the day, the Dow Jones rose 0.8%, the S&P 500 also tacking on 0.8%, while the NASDAQ rose 1%. The Russell 2000 also continued climbing, with gains of 1% on the day. Financial stocks (XLF) took the lead, soaring 1.7%, followed by tech stocks (XLK) which leapt 1.1%. Stocks sensitive to bond yields fell behind, REIT funds dropping 0.7% and communication stocks shedding 0.2%.

One of the stocks standing out in yesterday’s trading was ACAT, which rocketed almost 42% after being bought out by TXT in a deal valued at almost $250 million. The hard disk maker, Seagate (STX) jumped 14% on the heels of its large earnings surprise and stronger than expected revenue attributed to the high, stable prices of its hard drives.

Logitech (LOGI), the maker of peripheral equipment for computers, soared 13.5% in the wake of a large earnings surprise and a revenue high, with strength in its speaker and gaming unit. The company also succeeded in cutting costs and improving efficiency, contributing their part to the rise in profitability.

One of the stocks trading in the red yesterday was EAS which fell 6.2% on the background of a miss on both the top and bottom line; AKS also fell 4.8% after being downgraded by J.P. Morgan. FCX fell 3.8% after falling short of top and bottom line forecasts.

On the S&P 500, 76 stocks rose to new 52-week highs, just one dipping to a new yearly low; on the NASDAQ, 168 stocks recorded new 52-week highs, 9 falling to new yearly lows.

Thursday: Investors today will continue to digest a flood of earnings reports, including the carmaker, Ford (F), before opening, and the tech giants, Intel (INTC) and Google (GOOGL), after closing.

Today, the IPO market goes into first gear with 2 new issues, OBSV and ANAB, whose issue prices were set yesterday before the two kick off their first day of trading today. The 2 companies are from the biotech sector. OBSV is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on women’s reproductive health and pregnancy therapeutics, prospective stakeholders expected to invest $45 million in the issue. ANAB is developing antibodies for inflammation and immune-oncology, stakeholders expected to pour in $30 million for the new issue.

Today’s economic figures will include unemployment claims at 8:30 N.Y. time, and Markit’s PMI figures at 9:45. The Leading Indicators Index will be released at 10:00.

Today’s main earnings reports include: CAT, BX, F, CMCSA, DOW, NOC, RCL, LUV, RTN, BMY. After closing, be primed for the numbers of: GOOGL, INTC, SBUX, PYPL, VMW, VVV, JNPR, KLAC.

Thursday’s Hot Stocks: CAT, DOW, RCL, BMY, URI, EBAY, NOW, XLNX, MAT, MCK, MCHP, FFIV, LVS, CTXS, HAS

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs): ANAB, OBSV

Have a great trading day!

26.1.2017

Today’s Picks – Day Trading

New York Strategy Swing

Today’s Picks – Swing “New-York Strategy

No.1 – CAH