Picks of the Day March 21, 2017

NASDAQ at a High but Momentum Weakening

Wall Street dropped on Monday as investors became concerned that Trump’s plans to cut taxes and jumpstart the economy will take longer than previously expected to actualize themselves. The American stock market had rallied to record a series of new highs ever since Trump was declared the winner, though the rally had fizzled out in the last few weeks as investors became anxious about the lack of clarity about the White House’s proposals to slash taxes and regulation.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones ended lower after FBI Director, James Comey, shared in a congressional hearing that there’s no evidence supporting Pres. Trump’s claims that incumbent president, Barack Obama, had wiretapped Trump Tower election campaign headquarters. In so doing, Comey cast doubt on the reliability of Trump’s barrage of tweets.

In summary for the day, the Dow Jones shed 0.04%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.2%. The NASDAQ ended lightly up by 0.01%. The Russell 2000 ended off 0.5%. Crude fell 1.2%, despite headlines that OPEC is likely to extend its production cut.

The retail sector (XRT) fell 1.5%, entirely erasing all of the gains accrued since Trump was elected into office, investors worried at present about the implications of higher taxes on imported goods and commodities, a bill in the works which is likely to lead to higher consumer prices.

One of the stocks that stood out in yesterday’s trading was Apple (AAPL), which rose 1.05% to a new historic high of $141.46 after the investment bank, Cowen&Co, raised its price target on the stock. Caterpillar (CAT) soared 2.68% on the day, giving the Dow its biggest push after reporting a smaller than expected sales decline over the last 3 months.

Nektar (NKTR) soared 43.3% after announcing positive results for its experimental chronic back pain drug.

On the S&P 500, 26 stocks rose to new 52-week highs, 3 dipping to new yearly lows; on the NASDAQ, 103 stocks recorded new 52-week highs, 38 falling to new yearly lows.

About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, compared to the 7.1 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

Tuesday: Traders, who are seeking a market catalyst, are likely to find one now in the stream of Federal Reserve speakers who are expected to address the market today. The speeches will include that of the N.Y. Fed Bank President, William Dudley, who will be speaking at 6:35 N.Y. time in London. Then, the president of the Boston branch, Eric Rosengren, will be speaking in Indonesia. The president of the Kansas City branch, Esther George, will be speaking about the economy in the afternoon, topped off by the speech of Cleveland’s Fed Bank President, Loretta Mester, who will be speaking after closing at 18:00 on the topic of the media.

Besides the Fed, investors will continue to follow Republicans’ progress in their campaign to replace Obamacare. The vote on the health law is expected in two days’ time, on Thursday. Thursday’s vote will be but a small step because in the event the bill passes in the House of Representatives, it will need to do the same in the Senate. Passing the new health law is seen as absolutely necessary before the Republican-dominated Congress can move to cut taxes, a platform that had provided market support ever since November of last year.

The Economic Diary today is an empty slate and traders will focus on the reports of a number of key companies. Before opening, be primed for the numbers of GIS, LEN, and CSIQ. After closing, be on the lookout for SWN, NKE, and FDX.

Tuesday’s Hot Stocks: GIS, LEN, CSIQ, NKTR, and ESPR

IPOs: None

Have a great trading day!

21.3.2017

Today’s Picks – Day Trading!

 New York Strategy Swing

Today’s Picks – Swing “New-York Strategy

No.1 –    TRCO

No.2 – FNSR