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Kevin Matras   
Profit from the Pros
By Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President
Zacks Investment Research
  

Stocks Down On Friday, But Post Biggest Weekly Gain In Decades

Stocks closed lower on Friday, but only after racking up one of the biggest 3-day advances in history.

So big was the gain in the Dow, that it actually exited bear market territory (up 20% from its lowest close), and is now officially in a new bull market.

For the record, it was the biggest weekly gain for the Dow since 1938; the biggest weekly gain for the S&P since 2008; and the biggest weekly gain for the Nasdaq since 2009.

On Friday afternoon, the House finally passed the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package. And the President signed it into law shortly thereafter.

While the social distancing policies continue (which have shut down large portions of our economy), there are now legitimate discussions taking place on how and when to reopen our economy, while also minimizing the spread of the virus.

In other news, after posting one of the worst Weekly Jobless Claims ever last week (no surprise, everybody knows why it happened, and that it's temporary), we'll get another look at the jobs market with Friday's Employment Situation report. That too is likely to be ugly. But just as temporary.

In the meantime, traders will be trying to build on last week's market momentum. And see if the S&P and Nasdaq can exit bear market territory as well, just like the Dow.

Either way, last week was an important week for the market.

I'm sure we'll still see plenty of volatility.

But it looks like the bottoming process has begun.

Stocks were grossly oversold. They were primed for a rebound. And they've bounced well off their lows.

And as the country starts getting back to work, we could see stocks soar as pent-up economic demand is unleashed, and the inevitable bull market comes roaring back.

See you tomorrow,

Kevin Matras

Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research

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