Hump Day Produces Positive Swing Fueled By Oil, Stimulus & Reopening

Our proverbial hump day of the week produced a market that shrugged off the news that we now have more than 2.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world & more than 182k worldwide deaths while the US has 847,849 confirmed cases with 47,349 deaths and the fact that we still do not have a reliable treatment or vaccine and it swung upward. The positive move came on the backside of a two-day selloff (approx. -5%) which seemed to be fueled by a rebound in oil prices, the promise of further stimulus measures on the horizon, and moves to reopen certain parts of of the US and a few other countries around the world i.e. Australia, which believes it is also flattening the curve. At the end of the day, the S&P 500 closed up by +2.29% as the information technology sector jumped +3.9% to lead all sectors. The Dow added +1.99%, the Nasdaq gained +3.81% & the Russell 2000 added a respectable +1.39%, while the 2-yr US treasury yield rose by 1 basis point to .21% & the 10-yr yield jumped by 5 basis points to end at .62% as risk assets were in favor. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by +.1% to end at 100.40. 

The popular FAANG stocks were mostly up as follows: Facebook (FB) closed at $182.28/share, up by +6.72%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,363.49/share, up by +1.52%, Netflix (NFLX) dropped by -2.86% closing $421.42/share,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $276.10/share increasung by +2.88%, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,263.21/share up by +3.85%. 

Oil prices rebounded approximately +19% after the recent and unprecedented drop and post Wednesday’s news that President Trump tweeted that he had ordered the US Navy to “Shoot Down And Destroy” Iranian gunboats if they harass US ships. Major energy producers rose too as Chevron (CVX) closed at $84.44/share up +3.43%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $42.13/share up +2.86% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $13.02/share up +5.51%. 

Gold prices ended at higher at $1,721/oz while silver prices moved back over $15 today closing at $15.11/oz. North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) jumped +5.73% to end the day at $2.40/share.

A couple of economic reports surfaced today. The FHFA Housing Price Index for April confirmed a move higher by +.7% & the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index confirmed a drop by -.3%.

MOVERS TODAY

Shares of Snap (SNAP) flew higher up +36.74% and closed at $17.01/share after reporting strong user growth and analyst upgrades. 

Shares of INVO Bioscience (INVO) closed higher up +12.5% today on significantly better than their average volume. This week is National Infertility Awareness week and Vios Fertility Institute of Chicago showcased INVO Bioscience’s INVOCELL, an infertility treatment that uses the woman’s body to naturally incubate the eggs, sperm & early embryo development in their interview on WTMJTV Milwakee’s show The Morning Blend that you may watch here. INVO recently announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019, which was highlighted by a 199% increase in their topline revenues in 2019. Learn more. 

Shares of SmileDirectClub, Inc. (SDC) rose +15.93% today closing at $5.53/share. Recently, SDC, the industry pioneer and first direct-to-consumer telehealth platform for teeth straightening announced that it had delivered its 35,000th face shield to support healthcare professionals and essential workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to seek opportunities to help. Following its late March announcement that it would dedicate some of its 3D printing facilities equipped with 60+ HP printers to manufacture thousands of medical-grade face shields and other PPE, SmileDirectClub has continued its commitment to help the health care industry, including dentists and orthodontists.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

• The weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report
• The New Home Sales report for March
• House due to vote on additional stimulus

Economic Reports

• On Monday, we did receive any significant economic reports.
• On Tuesday, we received the existing home sales report which confirmed a drop by -8.5% month/month in March while total sales increased by +.8% year-over-year.
• On Wednesday, a couple of economic reports surfaced today. The FHFA Housing Price Index for April confirmed a move higher by +.7% & the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index confirmed a drop by -.3%.

Investing & Inspiration

“I believe the returns on investment in the poor are just as exciting as successes achieved in the business arena, and they are even more meaningful!” -Bill Gates

“Every portfolio benefits from bonds; they provide a cushion when the stock market hits a rough patch. But avoiding stocks completely could mean your investment won’t grow any faster than the rate of inflation.” – Suze Orman

“The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility, and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy.” – John F. Kennedy

“If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.
-George Bernard Shaw

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.
I get up at 4:30 in the morning, seven days a week, no matter where I am in the world. I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately. What I’ve really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.” Bob Iger, Ceo of Disney

“There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.”-Ed Seykota

“Let this scenario play out on its own, in its own fashion. As you watch it unfold, you will soon be grateful that you choose the peaceful path. Remember — those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game.” -Jim Cramer

“I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” -Mark Cuban

“Michael Marcus taught me one other thing that is absolutely critical: You have to be willing to make mistakes regularly; there is nothing wrong with it. Michael taught me about making your best judgment, being wrong, making your next best judgment, being wrong, making your third best judgment, and then doubling your money.” -Bruce Kovner

“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

“The only true test of whether a stock is “cheap” or “high” is not its current price in relation to some former price, no matter how accustomed we may have become to that former price, but whether the company’s fundamentals are significantly more or less favorable than the current financial-community appraisal of that stock.” -Philip Fisher

“I learned to avoid trying to catch up or double up to recoup losses. I also learned that a certain amount of loss will affect your judgment, so you have to put some time between that loss and the next trade.” -Richard Dennis

“The four most dangerous words in investing are: ‘this time it’s different.” -Sir John Templeton

“Money doesn’t make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Tomorrow

Tomorrow’s significant economic data report schedule will include the following:

• The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index
• The FHFA Housing Market Index for April