U.S. markets closed mostly higher on Friday following a strong jobs report and positive comments on trade by House National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow. He said President Trump is optimistic about the prospect of a trade agreement with China following the good vibe of trade talks.
The Dow rose 0.3% after testing a high of 25,193. Fresh and lower resistance at 25,250-25,500 held on the 2nd-straight close above the 200-day moving average.The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% following morning run to 2,716. Lower resistance at 2,725-2,750 held with a move above the latter and the 200-day moving average signaling additional strength.The Dow added 1.3% for the week and the S&P rose 1.6%. For January, the indexes jumped 7.2% and 7.9%, respectively.The Russell 2000 gained 0.2% after trading to a midday high of 1,504. Fresh and lower resistance at 1,500-1,510 was cleared and held with continued closes above the latter getting 1,525-1,535 in play.The Nasdaq slipped 0.3% following the late day dip to 7,263. Fresh support at 7,250-7,200 held with a move below the latter being a slightly bearish signal.For the week, the Nasdaq was up 1.4% and the Russell 2000 gained 1.5%. For the month of January Tech rose 9.7% and the small-caps surged 10.3%Energy soared 1.7% to led sector strength. Technology and Financial were higher by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.Consumer Discretionary was the weakest sector after giving back 1.5%. Real Estate and Utilities fell 0.6% and 0.4%.Financials and Technology slipped 0.2% and 0.1% to round out the laggards.For the week, Energy zoomed 3.2% and Consumer Staples jumped 2.9%. There were no sector laggards.
Cooper Companies (COO) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at StephensEldorado Gold (EGO) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at National BankUnited Technologies (UTX) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman SachsDowDuPont (DWDP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorganPayPal (PYPL) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Atlantic EquitiesVedanta (VEDL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill.
EARNINGS Monday Before the Open (EST):Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), Clorox (CLX), DSP Group (DSPG), Johnson Outdoors (JOUT), MTS Systems (MTSC), On Semiconductor (ON), Sysco (SYS), Unifi (UNI)Monday After the Close (EST): Alphabet (GOOGL), Beazer Homes USA (BZH), Control4 (CTRL), Delta Apparel (DLA), Fabrinet (FN), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Kilroy Realty (KRC), Legg Mason (LM), Luminex (LMNX), Qiagen (QGEN), Seagate Technology (STX), Transcat (TRNS), USA Truck (USAK), Versum Materials (VSM)
UPCOMING ECONOMIC NEWS Monday’s Economic Reports (EST):PMI Construction – 8:30amRetail Sales – 8:30amPPI – 8:30amCPI – 8:30amFactory Orders – 10:00amTD Ameritrade IMX – 12:30pmPMI Composite Flash – 10:00am
METALS / OIL
Gold closed at $1,222.10 an ounce, down $3.10Silver settled at $15.93 an ounce, down $0.14
Copper finished at $2.77 a pound, down $0.01
Crude Oil is at $55.34 a barrel, up $1.35
Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) ended at $4.02, up $0.03
I hope this helps you prepare for the trading day. Make it a great one!
Todd Mitchell
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