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Stocks closed higher yesterday led by the Nasdaq with a 1.28% gain. But it was the S&P 500 that set a new record when it briefly made a new intraday all-time high.
Kevin Matras   
Profit from the Pros
By Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President
Zacks Investment Research
  

Nasdaq Led Yesterday's Rally, S&P 500 Made New Intraday All-Time High

Stocks closed higher yesterday led by the Nasdaq with a 1.28% gain. But it was the S&P 500 that set a new record when it briefly made a new intraday all-time high. And while it didn't make a new all-time high close, or the second highest close for that matter, it did settle in at the third highest close ever. (Although, the difference between the highest close and the third highest close is literally less than one tenth of one percent.) The small-cap Russell and mid-cap S&P 400 were off moderately. But they were the leaders the day before.

Tech stocks helped fuel the rally after Tuesday afternoon's Stargate announcement and the building of AI data center(s), billed as the "largest AI infrastructure project in history."

But we also saw plenty of other stocks join the party, including Netflix, which gained 9.69% yesterday after posting a positive EPS surprise of 1.67% the afternoon before, which translated to a whopping 102% quarterly EPS growth rate vs. this time last year.

We also saw positive EPS surprises from other stocks and industries yesterday morning, ranging from Proctor & Gamble (positive EPS surprise of 1.08%); Amphenol (positive EPS surprise of 10.0%); and the Travelers Companies (positive EPS surprise of 39.3%).

Same goes for after the close yesterday with Discover Financial Services posting a positive EPS surprise of 61.2%; and Alcoa, which officially kicks off earnings season, with an 11.8% positive EPS surprise.

(FYI – for those who are interested to know, reported earnings by Alcoa has long been considered the 'official' start to earnings season, while Hewlett-Packard (now HP Inc.) has long been considered the 'official' end to earnings season. That's because, Alcoa, at one time, was the first Dow component to report earnings. And Hewlett-Packard was the last of the Dow components to report earnings. Ironically, both AA and HPQ are no longer part of the Dow Jones Index. But after bookending earnings season for so long, that tradition has stuck, regardless of their current Dow non-membership status.)

Today we'll get earnings from another 115 companies, including GE Aerospace, Texas Instruments and Union Pacific to name a few.

In other news yesterday, MBA Mortgage Applications rose 0.1% w/w with purchases up 0.6% and refi's down -2.9%.

The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations came in at 2.2% y/y vs. last month's 2.0% expectation.

And Leading Indicators slipped -0.1% m/m, which was in line with the consensus, but down from last month's upwardly revised 0.4% (from 0.3%).

Today we'll get Weekly Jobless Claims, and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index.

And we'll see if the markets can extend their gains yet again.

I know we're only 3+ weeks into the new year, but it's off to a great start.

See you tomorrow,

Kevin Matras

Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research

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