The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where labor and materials costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic and the current period of high inflation, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products (such as vaccines and AI) and services (such as Zoom calls) and moving into new markets, the domestic economy would not be growing, and capital would not be flooding into the country. The current high level of the U.S. dollar relative to currencies around the world attests to the confidence that global investors have in the durable and innovative U.S. economy.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Treasury bond yields have been rising in recent weeks on concerns over stubbornly high inflation. Meanwhile, corporate bond yields have risen, but not as rapidly as Treasury yields, as investors remain optimistic about the potential for economic and profit growth -- and thus lower default rates. As a consequence, spreads between corporate and Treasury bond yields have narrowed. The spread between AAA-rated corporate bonds and 10-year government bonds in February was 82 basis points (bps), below the 35-year average of 123 bps and down 20 bps from December. The gap between the government 10-year bond yield and a BAA-rated bond (still investment grade) in February was 156 basis points, below the historical average spread of 230 bps and down about 25 bps in the past two months. We watch these spreads closely for a few reasons. First, from an asset-allocation standpoint, tight corporate bond spreads signal that corporate bond prices are above historical fair value, and we may look to under-weight the segment in our model portfolios. Next, from a broad market standpoint, the changes in the spreads offer clues to the bond market's view of corporate financial strength, which appears to be improving given the narrowing spreads. This is important as the economy approaches a period of slower growth.

Monday Tee Up: The Fed's Dot Plot

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

In this edition, we say viva Veeva; the China housing market is building up to something positive; computer software has a great future; and Sensata, Sunny Optical, and Onsemi.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks hit an intraday high on Thursday on the Fed's final policy decision of 2023, but gave up some of their gains by market close. In other news, last week's initial jobless claims came in at 202,000, down from 220,000 in the week prior. The Street had been expecting new claims to remain at 220,000. U.S. retail and food services sales rose 0.3% in November according the U.S. Census Bureau's advance reading. Excluding automobiles and parts, sales rose 0.2%; excluding gasoline stations, sales rose 0.6%. On the housing front, mortgage rates fell below 7% for the first time since August. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq was up 0.2%. Crude oil traded near $72 per barrel, while gold rose $53 to $2051 per ounce.

With the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq challenging their July highs, and the Nasdaq 100 close to its all-time highs from late 2021, sentiment data is reflecting extreme readings of optimism. If this is the next leg of the bull market, it doesn't matter. But if we are entering another bear market or are still in one from an individual stock perspective, then it does matter. Confusing? Yes. Hard to interpret? Not so much. We been watching sentiment for a very long time, and it can takes years to figure out and, more importantly, to accept.

Since the market bottomed on October 27, Technology sector stocks have bolted higher, lifting the mega-cap S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq, and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) to impressive gains. The SPX is up over 7%, while the Nasdaq and the QQQs have popped by 9% in the past 10 days. Important resistance at 4,400 was breached slightly on Friday, with the S&P 500 finishing the week at 4,415. That just happens to be an exact 61.8% retracement of the recent pullback. The decline also was a 61.8% retracement of the March to July rally. The index broke its downward-trending channel last week, as did the Nasdaq and the QQQs. For the SPX, the next area of chart resistance is 4,500 -- which is a 78.6% take-back of the decline.

The Portfolio Selector features the Argus Focus List, a group of 30 "best idea" stocks generated and regularly updated by Argus' analysts and investment policy committee. It also includes the director of research’s monthly investment strategy column, stock recommendations and sector picks, economic forecasts, and an asset allocation model. This month, the Focus List additions are Linde Plc. (LIN); Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (CRWD); Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD); Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VRTX) and the Focus List deletions are Adobe Inc (ADBE); Albemarle Corp. (ALB); Catalent Inc. (CTLT); Intel Corp. (INTC).

Innovation may be hard to define. But to borrow from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it. The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where labor and materials costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic and the current period of high inflation, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products (such as vaccines) and services (such as Zoom calls) and moving into new markets and applications, the domestic economy would not be growing, and capital would not be flooding into the country. The current high level of the U.S. dollar relative to currencies around the world attests to the confidence that global investors have in the durable and innovative U.S. economy.

On Tuesday, Treasury yields broke to new recovery highs and the stock market shrugged yet again. The small- and mid-caps had a good day, with the Russell 2000, the S&P 600, and the S&P 400 all rising 1.1% to 1.2%. Regional banks, some of which reported Q3 earnings, also had a good day, with the SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) popping. Still, the KRE is not far from its bear-market lows following the implosion early this year in the industry.

Regarding insider sentiment, our premise for the past two weeks has been that insiders have parked themselves on the sidelines and are awaiting a meaningful catalyst before they make any decisions about buying or selling shares. And indeed, the data from Vickers Stock Research this week continues to reflect corporate executives, directors, and beneficial owners who are simply not engaged at the moment -- and the weekly barometers from Vickers could not be more neutral.

A mild-but-broad pullback is underway, but the lows on the major indices from last month have yet to be tested. Treasury yields remain in the upper area of their almost 11-month range, while the dollar pushes higher. Neither event is equity friendly in the near term.

Most major indices rose last week after falling for the three prior weeks (for the first time since December 2022). The S&P 500 (SPX) added 0.8%, the Nasdaq tacked on 2.3%, and the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) rose 1.6%. Technology (XLK) led, with a 2.3% gain, followed by Discretionary (XLY, +1.2%), Real Estate (XLRE, +0.7%), and Communication Services (XLC, +0.5%). Energy (XLE) fell 1.4% and Staples (XLP) lost 0.8%.

Our bond/stock asset-allocation model is indicating that bonds are the asset class offering the most value at the current market juncture, as interest rates have risen over the past few quarters and stocks have recovered some ground. But stocks are not yet seriously overvalued. Our model takes into account levels and forecasts of short-term and long-term government and corporate fixed-income yields, inflation, stock prices, GDP, and corporate earnings, among other factors. The model output is expressed in terms of standard deviations to the mean, or sigma. The mean reading from the model, going back to 1960, is a modest premium for stocks of 0.15 sigma, with a standard deviation of 1.0. The current valuation level is a 0.80 sigma premium for stocks, which is inside the normal range but up from 0.50 at the beginning of the year. Other measures also show reasonable valuations for stocks. The current forward P/E ratio for the S&P 500 is 18x our 2024 estimate, within the normal range of 10-21 and down from 22 a year ago. And the current S&P 500 dividend yield of 1.5%, while below the historical average of 2.9%, is up from 1.2% as recently as 2021. Based on current valuation levels, as well as our interest rate and earnings forecasts, we have called for a recovery in stock prices in 2023 and have boosted our year-end S&P 500 target to 4,600. Our recommended asset-allocation model for moderate accounts is 67% growth assets, including 65% equities and 2% alternatives; and 33% fixed income, with a focus on opportunistic segments of the bond market.

Argus has published its latest Portfolio Selector, which features its popular Focus List. Each month, Director of Research Jim Kelleher, CFA, surveys the team of Argus Research industry analysts for their timeliest recommendations out of the company's fundamental universe of approximately 500 stocks. The Focus List typically includes 30 stocks: turnover is high, as Jim typically adds three or four new stocks per month. Below are the latest additions, all of which are rated BUY at Argus.

The Portfolio Selector features the Argus Focus List, a group of 30 "best idea" stocks generated and regularly updated by Argus' analysts and investment policy committee. It also includes the director of research’s monthly investment strategy column, stock recommendations and sector picks, economic forecasts, and an asset allocation model. This month, the Focus List additions are Tesla Inc (TSLA); Walmart Inc (WMT); Merck & Co Inc (MRK); Adobe Inc (ADBE) and the Focus List deletions are DraftKings Inc. (DKNG); Dell Technologies Inc (DELL); Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO); Coca-Cola Co (KO).

The S&P 500 (SPX) slightly exceeded the top of its bullish channel on June 15, but sold off on June 16 and is back inside the channel. A sustained break above the channel brings the next key area of resistance into play, as a 78.6% retracement of the bear-market low is at 4,535. Chart resistance from the March 2022 high is at 4,628.

Innovation may be hard to define. But to borrow from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it. The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where labor and materials costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic and the current period of high inflation, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products (such as vaccines) and services (such as Zoom calls) and moving into new markets and applications, the domestic economy would not be growing, and capital would not be flooding into the country. The current high level of the U.S. dollar relative to currencies around the world attests to the confidence that global investors have in the durable and innovative U.S. economy.

We recently raised our rating on the Technology sector to Over-Weight from Market-Weight. As interest rates start to fall, IT demand in enterprise and data center markets is holding up. And mounting interest in ChatGPT could herald the age of AI, which could be a huge industry driver. Over the long term, we expect the Technology sector to benefit from pervasive digitization across the economy, greater acceptance of transformative technologies, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Healthy company and sector fundamentals are also positive. For individual companies, these include high cash levels, low debt, and broad international business exposure. The sector is outperforming the market thus far in 2023, with a gain of 12.4%. Tech underperformed the market in 2022, with a loss of 28.9%, and outperformed in 2021, with a gain of 33.4%. The P/E ratio on projected 2023 earnings is 23, above the market multiple. Earnings are expected to grow 14.5% in 2023 after having fallen 3.3% in 2022. Earnings rose 37.9% in 2021 and 7.7% in 2020. The sector's debt ratios are below the market average, as is the average dividend yield of 0.5%. Here is how we use our analysts' Technology sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios.

The stock market closed at weekly highs after 11 big banks agreed to deposit $30 billion into First Republic. According to a joint statement by the Fed, 'This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.' Meanwhile, the European Central Bank raised its deposit rate from 2.5% to 3% while stating that inflation is projected to remain too high for too long. On the positive side, new economic data surpassed expectations with initial claims dropping from 212,000 to 192,000 claims while housing starts and building permits both rose more than projected to 1.45 million and 1.52 million respectively. The S&P 500 is up 1.8%, the Dow is up 1.2%, the Nasdaq rose 2.5%.

One silver lining of a down market is that stocks become more affordable. During the very tough 2022 for almost all equities, the Technology sector was one of the hardest hit groups. Many Tech stocks, which are traditionally growth stocks, now offer both growth and value characteristics. When stock values pull back, especially far back, it usually is not a good time for investors to retreat. Rather, we advise that shareholders look for companies with strong managements, desirable products or services, and solid track records. For this week's list, we did exactly that in beaten-down Technology. We used the Argus Research Screening Tool and applied the following criteria: the stocks must be in the Technology sector; must be rated BUY at Argus; must carry an Argus Financial Strength rating of Medium-High or High; and must trade at least 30% below their 52-week high. Here are the top 10 results, suggesting attractive valuations.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Early last week, we noted that insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research suggested that corporate insiders 'may coast into the end of 2022 on autopilot, without an expectation for share prices to surge but also without fear that a significant pullback is pending.' By the end of last week, that statement was tested (severely) as stocks surged early in the week and then pulled back significantly at the end of the week. So, has sentiment among insiders now changed? Simply put, it has not.

Innovation may be hard to define. But to borrow from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it. The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where labor and materials costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic and the current period of high inflation, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products (such as vaccines) and services (such as Zoom calls) and moving into new markets and applications, the domestic economy would not be growing, and capital would not be flooding into the country. The current high level of the U.S. dollar relative to currencies around the world attests to the confidence that global investors have in the innovative U.S. economy.

Innovation may be hard to define, but to borrow from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it. The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles, to a large degree - have moved overseas, where costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy is at its largest point in history and still growing. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products and services, and moving into new markets and applications, the domestic economy would be contracting, not expanding, and capital would not be flooding into the country. Particularly at this juncture of the market and economic cycles, when uncertainty is high due to high inflation and rising interest rates, we look for innovative companies to navigate the challenges successfully. At Argus, an 88-year-old independent research firm that has innovated a time or two in its long history, we have focused on four types of innovative companies: Industry Disruptors; First to Market; New Product Specialists; and Product & Process Perfectors. Here are some examples of companies, featured in our Innovation theme model portfolio.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks rose modestly on Wednesday morning as investors awaited the Fed's interest rate announcement. Housing market data was weak. The National Association of Realtors said that U.S. sales of previously owned homes were down 0.4% from the prior month in August and 19.9% from the prior year, reflecting rising mortgage rates, higher pricing, and a low inventory of homes available for sale. However, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.80 million sales topped the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 4.69 million. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 0.3%. Crude oil fell 1% to $83 per barrel, while gold rose $5 to $1676 per ounce.

In this edition, Putting Chips on Chipmaker ASML, Okta's Core Is Strong, Adobe's Acquisition, and Roblox, National Instruments, and FedEx

Stocks were mostly higher on Thursday morning as investors weighed new economic data and a second day of congressional testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P flash U.S. Composite PMI fell to 51.2 in June from a final May reading of 53.6. The manufacturing PMI fell to 52.4, down from 57.0 last month and below the consensus forecast. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.0%. Crude oil traded near $106 per barrel, while gold fell $4 to $1835 per ounce.

Innovation may be hard to define. But to borrow from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, you know it when you see it. The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, creating new products (such as vaccines) and services and moving into new markets and applications, the domestic economy would not be growing, and capital would not be flooding into the country. Consider that U.S. GDP was approximately $1 trillion in 1930 but was more than $24 trillion at the end of 2021. That's growth of 24-times. Meanwhile, the U.S. population has grown less than three-times during that time span, to 320 million from 120 million. The delta between GDP growth and population growth has been driven, in large part, by innovation.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The stock market opens Monday on a two-week win streak. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial average was up 106 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 was up 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2%. Year-to-date, the numbers are still negative. The Dow is down -4% and the S&P 500 is off -4.7%. The Nasdaq Composite remains the underperformer, now down -9.4% year-to-date. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 153 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell -0.2%.

This edition features our different tune on Sirius XM, credit card company calculations, China equities, and GoodRx, Carnival, and Adobe.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The stock market moved lower last week as the Fed accelerated QE and Omicron cases surged. Blue chips outperformed tech stocks by a sizeable margin as investors were in a risk-off mode on every day except Friday. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 532 points, or 1.48%. The S&P 500 was down 1.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.07%. For the week, the DJIA was down 606 points, or 1.68%, the S&P 500 was down 1.94%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.95%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 15.55%, the S&P 500 is up 23.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 17.70%.

ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing continues to grow. According to Opimas, a management consultancy focused on global capital markets, global assets under management in ESG strategies had grown to $40.5 trillion in 2020, doubling in four years and tripling in eight years. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol and firearms. In time, the list of industries to avoid increased to include soft drinks, fast food, and oil and gas, among numerous others. Performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as the climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights. For our part, we track ESG developments at specific companies as part of our Management analysis - one of the six points in our proprietary Six-Point Fundamental Approach. In addition to following the ESG proclamations from the companies under coverage, we partner with an ESG research firm, the JUST Capital Foundation, and leverage its analysis and insights as well. JUST Capital's mission is to drive measurable corporate change to create a stakeholder-centric, inclusive form of capitalism that reflects the priorities of the American public. JUST utilizes a combination of data-driven research and strategic engagement in an attempt to shift norms and practices in corporate America and the financial markets. Environment, and Shareholders. JUST ESG Custom Ratings rank stocks in the Russell 1000 on these criteria using a scale of 1-100. Drawing on the JUST Capital rankings, we have compiled focused lists of companies followed by Argus Research that are in position to have this type of "sustainable impact" on the environment, workplace, community, and marketplace. These firms have exemplary records not only in delivering on the bottom line, but also in improving the environment, contributing to community relations, and showing respect for their employees. We have lists focused on the top companies in each sector, as well as lists of companies that score well on certain financial metrics, such as yield, beta, value, and momentum. We also have a Theme Model Portfolio based in part on the ESG criteria. To build the Argus U.S. ESG Model Portfolio, we applied financial concepts such as industry diversification, income generation, risk reduction and growth at a reasonable price to our various lists. In addition, all stocks must be on the Argus BUY list. Here are the new stocks that have been added to the Argus U.S. ESG Model Portfolio.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction with the global investment community. In January 2020, BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who oversees approximately $9 trillion in assets, announced that his firm would be investing in companies that are making progress on sustainability. He doubled down in his January 2021 letter, calling on company managements to disclose their plans for making their businesses "compatible with a net-zero economy" by 2050. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Impact Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, focused at first on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. But the performance of these initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as the climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights.

The United States economy is full of innovation. It has to be. Manufacturing industries that dominated the economy decades ago - textiles, televisions, even automobiles to a large degree - have moved overseas, where costs are lower. Yet the U.S. economy, even during the pandemic, has expanded to record levels. If U.S. corporations weren't innovating, the domestic economy would not be growing and capital would not be flooding into the country. Consider that U.S. GDP was approximately $1 trillion in 1930 but nearly $23 trillion at the end of 1H21. That's growth of 23-times. Meanwhile, the U.S. population has grown less than three-times during that time span, to 320 million from 120 million. The delta between GDP growth and population growth has been driven, in large part, by innovation. In addition, the value of listed corporations on U.S. stock exchanges at the end of 2020 was approximately $41 trillion, according to SIFMA, representing 38% of global equity market capitalization, while U.S. GDP represented only 26% of global GDP. The current low level of interest rates and the relatively high level of the dollar both attest to the confidence that global investors have in the innovative U.S. economy.

This edition features the continuing shift to software; biopharma capital allocation; rising ransomware attacks; and new coverage of Stem, Keysight, and Carlyle Group.

The Market's Big Test

The Technology sector started slowly in 2021 as investors focused on value stocks. But the sector has come on strong in recent months (up 22% year-to-date) and now is outperforming the market (up 20.7%) as well as value sectors such as Consumer Staples (+8%), Utilities (+10%), Materials (+17%), and Industrials (+18%). The sector is the largest in the U.S. market and now accounts for more than 28% of the S&P 500. Over the long term, we expect the sector to benefit from pervasive digitization across the economy, greater acceptance of transformative technologies, and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT). Healthy company and sector fundamentals are also positive. For individual companies, these include high cash levels, low debt, and broad international business exposure. We have an Over-Weight ranking on the Tech sector and think investors should look to allocate up to 30% of their diversified portfolios to the group. Here is how we use our analysts' Tech sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios.

Stocks gave up most of their early gains on Thursday but still finished in positive territory, with the S&P and the Nasdaq at record levels. Employment data was positive, as first-time jobless claims fell to 340,000, below the consensus forecast and the lowest level since March 2020. Continuing claims fell to 2.748 million, also down from the prior week and below consensus. The data came ahead of the government's August employment report on Friday morning. The Bloomberg consensus calls for the addition of 725,000 new payroll jobs after an increase of 943,000 in July, and a decrease in the unemployment rate to 5.2%. The Dow rose 0.37%, the S&P 0.28%, and the Nasdaq 0.14%. Crude oil rose to nearly $70 per barrel, while gold fell $4 to $1812 per ounce.

Stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors digested the Fed's policy decision. Interest rates will remain near zero but 13 of the FOMC's 18 members expect at least one rate hike by the end of 2023. The central bank will continue to purchase at least $120 billion a month in agency mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasuries. Yields on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to 1.59%, but subsequently slipped to 1.5%. In other news, initial jobless claims rose to 412,000 for the week ended June 12. The Dow fell 0.6%, the S&P was down less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq was up 0.9%. Crude oil traded near $71per barrel, while gold fell $7 to $1774 per ounce.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.