“Health Care & Tech Sectors Lead Monday’s Market Higher” – Vista’s Daily – March 30, 2020

At the close of trading of the markets today the S&P 500 closed up +3.35%, the Dow also added +3.19%, the Nasdaq gained +3.62% & the Russell 2000 rose +2.33%. The health care sector led the way closing up +4.7% with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rising +8% as it announced that it has selected a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate which expects to begin testing in humans not later than September. On the downside, Dow 30 component Boeing (BA), which had been surging, dropped -6% as the airline industry took hit in concert with the number of worldwide coronavirus cases exceeding ~750k and President Trump’s extension guidelines to remain social distancing was moved to April 30th. The information technology sector also had a great day rising +4.2% with Microsoft leading the way jumping 7% as its cloud-computing offering is seeing huge spikes of usage during the COVID-19 shut down as we have also seen with Zoom Video Communications (ZOOM)’s video teleconferencing offering. The FAANG stocks closed up across the board as Facebook (FB) closed at $165.95/share, adding +5.84%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $1,963.95/share, up by +3.36%, Apple (AAPL) closed at $254.81/share adding +2.85%, Netflix (NFLX) added +3.88% closing $370.96/share, & Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,146.82/share, +3.25%.

U.S. Treasury yields moved lower again today. The 2-yr yield dropped by 2 basis points to .21% & the 10-yr yield moved lower by 8 basis points to .67%. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened +.7% to 99.01.

Gold prices closed slightly lower at $1,639/oz, silver prices dropped to $14.18/oz, & oil prices dropped another -6,6% to $20.22/bbl as global growth concerns continue to grow and/or be realized.

The Pending Home Sales report surfaced today and it confirmed a rise by +2.4% in February.

A bright spot in our portfolio today came again from the healthcare sector as Atossa Therapeutics (ATOS) rose another 10.28% (over +28% over the last three trading days) after Atossa’s CEO Steven Quay, MD, Ph.D., announced a new combination treatment with the potential to improve pulmonary function and reduce or eliminate mechanical ventilation in patients with the coronavirus infection. The treatment uses two drugs previously approved by the FDA for other conditions: nebulized (inhaled as a fine mist) heparin combined with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), termed “H-NAC.” Dr. Quay is making this new clinical trial protocol (called the COVID-19 HOPE Trial) available for use by the worldwide medical community. Starting today, doctors around the world are invited to directly download the protocol free of charge at www.DrQuay.com. Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D. stated, “Given the rapid growth in the number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide, and especially in the U.S., I made the decision to make the HOPE Trial documents immediately available. From my experience having invented seven FDA-approved pharmaceuticals over my career, it is my reasoned opinion that this has a high likelihood of success and should be quick to test given that these drugs are widely available. Nebulized H-NAC could become a valuable new tool for frontline COVID-19 treatment, as it should reduce or eliminate the need for a mechanical ventilator.” READ COMPLETE STORY.

Economic Reports

On Monday, the Pending Home Sales report surfaced and it confirmed a rise by +2.4% in February.

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 Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for March
• The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for January