Back to top

View the PFP Archive

Plus 5 New Strong Buys for Today
Kevin Matras   
Profit from the Pros
By Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President 		Zacks Investment Research
  

Stocks Up For The Week On Better Than Expected Jobs Report

Stocks finished mostly higher on Friday with all of the major indexes closing up for the week.

In doing so, the Dow extended their winning streak to 6 days in a row.

The S&P did the same while making another new recovery high in the process. Their higher weekly close also makes it two weeks in a row for them.

While the Nasdaq's decline on Friday ended their winning streak at 7 days, their higher weekly close makes it two weeks in a row for them as well.

I should also mention that the small-cap Russell 2000 Index made an upside breakout on Friday, jumping to a new recovery high on increased volume. And they too were higher for the week for the 2nd week in a row.

The big news on Friday, of course, was the better than expected Employment Situation Report which showed we gained 1.763 million new jobs last month vs. estimates for 1.675 million. The unemployment rate also beat expectations which fell from 11.1% to 10.2% vs. views for 10.5%.

That makes it three months in a row of better than expected job gains totaling 9.279 million.

As you know, there was some concern going into Friday's report of a softer number, given the ADP report two days earlier which estimated job gains of only 167K. But as we noted, ADP's numbers are often markedly different from the official jobs numbers, and that was true again this time.

In other news, earnings season continues to impress. And we'll get another heavy week of earnings this week with 1,356 companies on deck.

Unfortunately, talks broke down in Congress for the fourth coronavirus relief/stimulus bill.

But the President had said, absent a deal, he was prepared to offer aid through executive orders. And after the talks broke down, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he would recommend to the President that he indeed sign executive orders to provide the badly needed relief.

The market seemed to like the news that some form of relief was coming, whether it be thru a bill from Congress or an executive order from the President.

And on Saturday, the President signed four executive orders: 1) $400 per week supplemental unemployment payments, 2) payroll tax holiday for the rest of the year for those earning $100,000 or less, 3) an extension of student loan relief that also goes thru the end of the year, 4) and a halt to evictions.

Separately, there is some concern over what China will do in retaliation for the U.S. sanctioning 11 Hong Kong and Chinese officials for suppressing pro-democracy protests.

And that's on top of the administration's threats over banning China's TikTok and WeChat apps. The ban won't go into effect for 45 days. But China has warned of consequences if they go thru with it. We shall see.

In the meantime, the U.S. economy continues to recover, as the reopening (bumps and all) continues to expand.

That's why analysts are calling for unprecedented growth for the remainder of the year.

And why it looks like stocks have a lot more upside to go.

So make sure you're taking full advantage of it.

See you tomorrow,

Kevin Matras

Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research

Sponsor

Options Genius Reveals 100% Profit Target Strategy (Every Week)

100% profit targets weekly - Options Genius shares his simple system to profit on options trades every single week with just 1 trade. If you are looking for 1 perfect trading idea to generate consistent profits you have to watch his short video.

Watch this video now

Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com

Image: Bigstock

5 Housing Stocks to Buy With Mortgage Rates at Historic Lows

Investing in housing-related stocks right now can make the most of the decline in mortgage rates this year. Read More »

Image: Bigstock

Is P/S the Best Valuation Metric in This Environment?

This metric is a much more exact tool, representing the true purchase value of the company per unit of sales. Read More »

Image: Bigstock

Gold Price Sprinting Toward New All-Time High: 5 Winners

We suggest these five top-ranked gold stocks which have the potential to outperform the broader market in the coming days. Read More »

Image: Bigstock

Nasdaq Tops 11,000: 5 Best Stocks With Room for More Upside

These stocks have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), a Growth Score of B or better and a solid estimated earnings growth rate. Read More »

Image: Shutterstock

Making Sense of the Earnings Picture

The full extent of the pandemic's earnings impact is becoming clearer as we enter the final stages of the Q2 earnings season. Read More »

Sponsor

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +44.0% gain from 2017 through Q2 2020. Amazingly, they soared +50.9%, +93.8%, +122.2, +153.0%, and even +156.8%.

Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

See Stocks Free >>

Image: Bigstock

Bull of the Day: Apple (AAPL)

Get a glimpse of the analysts who nailed it, and those who didn't for the premier tech ecoosystem. Read More »

New Zacks Strong Buys for Monday August 10th

Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today. Read More »
 

Download our app for convenient on-the-go access to even more—daily and weekly newsletters published by Zacks experts, proprietary research and tools, and Portfolio Tracker on Zacks.com.
Download our Zacks App for Apple iOS
Download our Zacks App for Android

Visit Success Stories to hear how Zacks research, tools and portfolios help our members outperform the market.

This free resource is being sent by Zacks.com. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The Zacks #1 Rank Performance covers the period beginning on January 1, 1988 through July 6, 2020. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank #1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above.

Zacks Emails
If you would prefer to not receive future profit-producing emails from Zacks.com the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, then please click here and confirm your request. If you have trouble with the unsubscribe link, please email support@zacks.com.

Zacks Investment Research
10 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60606