NASDAQ Climbs 2.3% As Stocks Swing Back From Rough Start

We seemed poised for another sharp selloff this morning, but the volatility worked in our favor today as stocks swung sharply higher and closed in positive territory.

Tech had an especially good session Thursday that sent the NASDAQ upward by 2.3% (or about 160 points) to 7150.58. The FAANGs were mostly higher, especially those best suited for this temporary stay-at-home economy like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX, +5.25%) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB, +4.2%).

For the other indices, it was the most “normal” day we’ve seen in a while. (Normal in the old-fashioned way of a few weeks ago, that is.)

For example, this session broke the S&P’s unbelievable streak of 8 consecutive days with moves of 4% or more in either direction.

The index only rose by 0.47% to 2409.39. Meanwhile, the Dow fought back from a more than 700-point plunge this morning to finish higher by 0.95% (or around 188 points) to 20,087.19.

The index is back above 20K after closing below that mark yesterday for the first time since February 2017.

It wasn’t much of a bounce back from Wednesday’s disheartening performance, which included the Dow plunging 6.3% (or more than 1300 points), the S&P slipping 5.2% and the NASDAQ off 4.7%.

But we have to appreciate any positive move after the indices have slipped approximately 30% in such a short time period to end one of the most impressive bull markets in history. Plus, there were no circuit breakers today!

We’ve seen a lot of action from the government this week as they attempt to soften the economic blow of this coronavirus.

Late today, the Senate released a relief proposal that would send $1200 in cash to individuals and $2400 to couples. This comes a day after President Trump signed the first relief measure from Congress and amid plans for a hefty stimulus package.

You know what else would help investors feel better heading into the weekend? If the market could manage a second straight positive session on Friday.

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Commodity Innovators: Is it time to get long oil? Jeremy thinks this might be a good time for some long-term investing in the commodity, given recent headlines suggesting that the U.S. might intervene in the Saudi-Russia oil dispute. The editor added the following three names on Thursday:

• United States Oil ETF (NYSE:USO)
• Scorpio Tankers (STNG)
• Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)

The latter two names would rise with any crude oil relief. Read the full write-up for details on each of these new buys.

TAZR Trader: While there’s likely more pain to come, the market’s test of SPX 2300 is setting up the possibility of a powerful relief rally. Kevin made a couple moves today to capture that move higher by adding ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and ProShares UltraPro S&P500 (UPRO). Read the full write-up for the particulars on the these moves, as well as updates on other positions and the editor’s ongoing analysis of this unprecedented selloff.

Technology Innovators: You can’t keep an aggressive growth investor out of the game for long! Despite not knowing where the bottom is yet, Brian threw fear aside and added a few names that are showing life today. The new buys are:

• Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)
• Teladoc (TDOC)
• Facebook (FB)
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

The editor also sold Sapiens Int’l (SPNS) and Zendesk (ZEN) with the former name bringing a profit of 18.1%. Read the full write-up for more on all of today’s moves.

Have a Great Evening,
Jim Giaquinto