Twilio jumps 13% today on increase in company estimates of sale growth
Twilio (TWLO), which makes cloud-based software, climbed 13% today after analysts raised price-target after Thursday’s investors day event. (For example Morgan Stanley raised its price garget for Twilio to $270 from $240. I would note the stock closed at $290...
From the headline numbers on down, it’s bad news from today’s jobs report for September
The U.S. economy added only 661,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported today. That’s down from an upwardly revised 1.49 million jobs added in August. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looked for the economy to addd 859,000 jobs in September....
Why the President’s positive test for coronavirus led to a rally today in airline stocks
Every investor and trader has spent much of today speculating (either in words or dollars) on what President Donald Trump’s positive coronavirus test might mean for stocks. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed the day, October 2, down 0.96% and the Dow...
Two bits of bad news on coronavirus vaccines today
First, Stephane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna (MRNA), one of the leaders in the coronavirus vaccine race, said that its covid-19 vaccine is not expected to be available for widespread use until the spring. The company, Bancel told the Financial Times, would not be ready...
Are tech stocks the new hedge against slow economic growth?
The economic news today was at best “not terrible.” Initial claims for unemployment for the week showed a job market recovery that has stalled. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi adjourned their talks for another day without...
Market climbs on hopes for a coronavirus stimulus deal and then stalls as talks show no progress
Just in case you were trying to figure out how important a successful conclusion to the coronavirus talks is to the market–the answer today from stocks was “Very.” As of 1 p.m. New York time today, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.66%...
Disney turns furloughs into layoffs for 28,000 workers
I’m afraid that this is just a sign of bad things to come at lots of other companies for lots of workers. Disney (DIS), which had announced back in April that it would furlough more than 100,000 workers after the coronavirus pandemic forced the company to close...
This morning’s optimism about coronavirus stimulus talks fades in the afternoon but market still closes the day with a gain
This morning stocks moved up strongly on reports that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were about to resume talks over a new coronavirus stimulus package. As of noon, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.31% and the Dow Jones...
Downward momentum in stocks looks stalled–trend depends on news flow and the dollar
Today, Monday, September 28, as of 1:15 p.m. New York time the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.60% to trade at 3352.78. Along with Friday’s 1.60% gain in the index, I think that shows the market’s downward momentum stalled for the moment. Only...
Lithium stocks bounce back as market downgrades Tesla threat
On Wednesday, September 23, shares of Albemarle (ALB) and SQM (SQM), the two dominant lithium producers in the world, fell 11.56% and 11.82%, respectively, on an announcement at Tesla’s (TSLA) Battery Day that the electric car maker would start its own lithium...
Stocks rally today–but I’d feel better if volume was higher and the same old big techs weren’t leading the day
Today looks like a strong rally but I’ve got my doubts. At the close the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.60%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 1.34%. The technology laden NASDAQ Composite was higher by 2.26%. The NASDAQ 100, dominated by the...
Jobs market recovery continues to slow in today’s report on initial claims for unemployment
This morning the Labor Department reported that another 870,000 workers filed new applications for state-run unemployment insurance for the week ended September 19. (That’s on a adjusted basis.) That compares to 866,000 initial claims in the prior week. Another...
Stocks lose much of early enthusiasm but still finish in the green
Stocks moved up modestly this morning (modest considering the damage down in the last few days) with the Standard & Poor’s 500 up 0.99% at 1 p.m. New York time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ahead 0.94%, and the NASDAQ Composite gaining 1.16%. The move...
It Iooks like Illumina selling has exhausted itself
With the Standard & Poor’s 500 falling 2.37% at the close and the NASDAQ 100 down 3.16% for the day, shares of Illumina (ILMN) climbed 1.67%. Yesterday and today the selling of Illumina looks to have exhausted itself. The stock traded at $400.74 as recently...
That’s not a good sign: Selling accelerated during the session today
At 1 p.m. New York time the Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 0.25%. At the close it was lower by 2.37% The pick up in selling was led by big tech stocks. Amazon (AMZN), for example was down 1.57% at 1 p.m. and 2.32% at the close. Microsoft was down 1.22% but...
Pfizer to deliver first vaccine efficacy results as soon as September 27–but what, if anything, will they mean?
Pfizer (PFE) and its partner BioNTech (BNTX) plan to take a first look at the efficacy results from their 44,000 personal vaccine trial as soon as September 27. But that first look will be after just 32 coronavirus infections have accumulated in the two...
Stocks take a while but deliver expected bounce today
This morning it looked like we might not get the bounce I expected today after the Monday morning sell off and Monday afternoon recovery. The NASDAQ, dominated by the big tech names most likely to bounce today, started Tuesday off in a mild downturn. As of 11:07 a.m....
Market cuts losses in half in afternoon session; NASDAQ 100 bounces into green
At noon today, September 21, the NASDAQ 100, dominated by the big stocks that have led this rally, was down by 1.17%. Shares of Apple (AAPL), were lower by 0.41%. Amazon (AMZN) was off 1.66%. Alphabet (GOOG) was down 2.72%. Facebook (FB) had tumbled 2.10%. Microsoft...
Partisan battle over Supreme Court seat puts end to slim chance of new coronavirus rescue package–and threatens government shutdown bill
Last week, before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, there was a slight–ooh so slight–chance that with a nod from the White House in favor of adding more money to the proposal from Senate Republicans Congress might pass a new...
How old fashioned! CBO worries that U.S. government debt will hit 2 times GDP by 2050
The U.S. government’s debt will be almost twice the size of the U.S. economy by 2050, according to new projections from the Congressional Budget Office. That would be up from 98% this year and 79% in 2019. (The prior, pre-coronavirus forecast for 2050 debt in January...
No rotation today, just selling
Technology stocks, especially big technology stocks, led the markets lower today with the NASDAQ 100 down 1.30%. But no sector stepped forward to say “Give me the cash.” The consumer discretionary and consumer staples Select Sector SPDRS, XLY and XLP...
Key stocks close at 50-day moving average–again
Hmmm. Last time a declining technology sector bounced hard, it staged that recovery after hitting the 50-day moving average. Well, guess what? It’s back. For example, Apple (AAPL), a critical bellwether stock in the sector closed today, September 17, at $110.34....
Newest initial claims for unemployment numbers seem to show slowing rate of improvement in economy
There’d nothing very clear about the trend in today’s report on new claims for unemployment in the week ended on September 12. (The period is important because it coincides with the survey period for the monthly jobs report for September.) The number of...
Adding Illumina to Jubak Picks on today’s pullback
Shares of Illumina (ILMN) dropped 8.44% today, September 16, on reports by both Reuters and Bloomberg that the genetic sequencing marketing leader is in talks to acquire Grail, a still private startup focused on blood tests for the early detection of cancer. I think...
Is coronavirus stimulus deal back on the table? White House says it is
On a day when Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned that the U.S. economy recovery, while faster than expected, could stall if Congress didn’t pass new fiscal stimulus measures to make up for the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, on Twitter President...
Stock market rethinks its initial enthusiasm for Fed outlook
At 2:30 p.m. New York time, about the time the Federal Reserve issued its press statement on today’s meeting of the Fed’s interest rate setting body the Open Market Committee and about the time when Fed chair Jerome Powell issued his comments on the...
Long-delayed performance report for Jubak Picks Portfolio–total return 10.2% in 2018 and 10.2% in 2019
When is a 10.2% total return good? When, as in 2018, it beats the 4.56% loss on the S&P 500. And when is a 10.2% total return bad? When, as in 2019, it trails the 31.29% total return for the S&P 500. The returns from these two years bring the cumulative...
Selling Agenus and Amyris out of my portfolios
Just want to make sure that everyone caught this sell decision that I made first on my subscription JubakAM.com website. I’m selling Agenus (AGEN) and Amyris (AMRS) out of both my Jubak Picks and Volatility portfolios. I added both stocks to these portfolios on...
Deals! and Vaccines! and the market is off to the races again
As of noon New York time today the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 1.58% and the Dow Jones Industrials had gained 1.37%. The NASDAQ Composite was higher by 2.01% and the Russell 2000 small cap index had picked up 2.11%. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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