Nasdaq Market Heads North Today On Backs Of Apple, Amazon, Big Tech

We now have seen more than 3,682,968 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world with 1,207,548 cases that have recovered and more than 257k worldwide deaths. In the US, we have 1.246M confirmed cases with 166k that have recovered with 73,211 deaths. Reopening talks and active measures are pushing forward and many citizens are seeing a way that their respective economies in the US and around the world will once again come online. Vaccines & treatment options seem to be on the way has the FDA continues to push the testing & approval process along. Hopefully, we are truly turning some type of “friendlier” corner as our understanding continues to grow about the virus and hopefully, our derailed economies will be able to recover much quicker than expected.

However, the Nasdaq was the lone market to end up in the positive territory as it ended north by +.51%. The popular FAANG stocks, especially the tech-oriented ones, shouldered the positive move. Facebook (FB) closed at $208.47/share, up by +.68%, Amazon (AMZN) closed at $2,351.26/share, up by +1.44%,  Apple (AAPL) closed at $300.63/share up by +1.03%, & Netflix (NFLX) added a solid 2.26% closing $434.26/share, but Alphabet (GOOG) closed at $1,347.30/share down by -.28%. The S&P 500 closed down by -.70% as the utilities sector was off -3.5%, the energy sector was off -2.6%, & the financial sector was off -2.3%. The Dow lost -.91% as Disney (DIS) ($100.88/share, -.18%) reportedly is skipping its dividend as parks stay shuttered and its profit dropped by 93% in Q2. The Russell 2000 dropped -.82%.  

Today, we also saw oil prices lose its previous 6-day steam as it dropped by -2.4% closing at $23.95/bbl. Chevron (CVX) closed at $90.05/share down by -3.06%, Exxon (XOM) closed at $43.99/share down by -1.87% & Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) closed at $12.53/share down by -12.53% after topping revenue estimates yesterday but reporting a loss. 

The 2-yr US treasury yield stayed flat at .17% & the 10-yr yield rose by 5 basis points to end at .71%. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by +.5% to end at 100.18. Gold prices ended higher again today at $1,708/oz while silver prices closed at $14.96/oz (-.03). North American silver and gold producer Hecla Mining Company (HL) ended the day at $2.57/share off -2.65%.

A couple of macroeconomic reports surfaced as well today. The ADP Employment Change report confirmed a net loss of 20.236M nonfarm payrolls in April. The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index bumped up +.1%.

MOVERS

• Shares of Beyond Meats (BYND), a popular meat alternative producer and high flying IPO in 2019, hit a session high of $126.50/share while closing at $126.21/share up +26.01% today. The 52-wk high is $239.71. Beyond Meat reported Q1 earnings that beat wall street analyst expectations today as concerns about a meat-shortage grow as the COVID-19 pandemic places pressure on the meat supply chain. Learn more.

TOMORROW

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

• The weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report
• The Preliminary Q1 readings for Productivity and Unit Labor Costs
• The March Consumer Credit Report

Economic Reports

• On Monday, we received the Factory Orders report which confirmed, and at no real surprise with the shutdown in full power, we saw a decrease of 10.3% month/month in March.
• On Tuesday, we received the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for April which came in at the contraction level of 41.8% down from 52.5% in March. The Trade Balance report for March confirmed a deficit to $44.4B rising from an upwardly revised $39.8B in February. Exports were down $20.0 billion from February while imports were down $15.4 billion.
• On Wednesday, we received the ADP Employment Change report which confirmed a net loss of 20.236M nonfarm payrolls in April while the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index bumped up +.1%.

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 Initial and Continuing Claims report
• The Preliminary Q1 readings for Productivity and Unit Labor Costs
• The March Consumer Credit Report