U.S. stocks were mixed intraday on Friday as investors digested new economic data. In February, total nonfarm payrolls rose 275,000 according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report. This was higher than the expected 198,000, and higher than last month's 229,000 (revised down from 353,000). While a hotter-than-expected jobs reading initially sparked a sell-off, the rise in unemployment on the next line of the report led stocks to bounce back. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% in February, rising 0.2% from the month prior. In February, total nonfarm payrolls rose 275,000 according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report. This was higher than the expected 198,000, and higher than last month's 229,000 (revised down from 353,000). The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% in February, rising 0.2% from the month prior.

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 fell on Tuesday morning as investors weighed results from major retailers and awaited earnings from Nvidia after the close. Lowe's shares fell after the company cut its full-year guidance, citing weaker purchases of big-ticket items and reduced spending on DIY projects. Best Buy shares also fell following mixed 3Q results and a lower full-year sales forecast. On the housing front, the National Association of Realtors said that U.S. sales of existing homes fell 4.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million units, below the Reuters consensus forecast of 3.90 million. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P 0.4%, and the Nasdaq 0.8%. Crude oil fell slightly to $77.50 per barrel, while gold jumped $27 to trade near $2007 per ounce.

Stocks fell on Tuesday morning on concerns about more weak economic data from China, along with unexpected interest rate cuts by the Chinese central bank, and potential downgrades of several major U.S. banks by Fitch. Retail sales data were stronger than expected. The Commerce Department said that U.S. retail sales rose 0.7% in July, up from 0.3% in June and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 0.4% growth. The Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Crude oil fell nearly 2% to $81 per barrel, while gold traded near $1942 per ounce.

As we approach the second half of 2023, we continue to see a wide dispersion of returns among sectors and industries. Titles for 2023 could be "The Good and the Bad" or "The Great and the Terrible." We've previously detailed signs that we might see some reversion to the mean - and, indeed, we saw some of that in the past week and over the past month.

Stocks were mostly lower on Thursday morning following new inflation and employment data. The Labor Department reported that its producer price index for final demand rose 2.3% year-over-year in April, down from 2.7% growth in March. The core PPI, excluding volatile food, energy and trade services prices, rose 3.4%, also slowing from 3.7% a month earlier. First-time unemployment benefit claims rose by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 for the week ended May 6. The reading was the highest since October 2021 and exceeded the Reuters consensus forecast of 245,000. The Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was flat.

Insider-sentiment data, updated weekly by Vickers Stock Research, has been increasingly bearish for the past three weeks. And this week, the data from Vickers remains very worrisome.

Insider-sentiment data, updated weekly by Vickers Stock Research, has been increasingly bearish for the past three weeks. And this week, the data from Vickers remains very worrisome.

Stocks were mostly lower on Monday morning as investors weighed new earnings reports and looked ahead to retail sales data later in the week. Tyson Foods shares rose slightly after the company reported below-consensus fiscal 4Q EPS, but better-than-expected sales. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $89 per barrel, while gold rose $5 to $1775 per ounce.

After a huge improvement from mid-July until mid-August, breadth has deteriorated in the second half of August. We saw plenty of breadth thrusts off the June low, so this can be quite common. As we said recently, if the initial rally since mid-June was wave one of a new bull market, wave twos can be nasty. What this does is reset sentiment before the typically much-calmer and more-consistent wave three starts.

Stocks rallied on Wednesday morning on signs of moderating inflation. The Labor Department said that its consumer price index rose 8.5% on a year-over-year basis in July, down from 9.1% in June with help from lower gasoline prices, and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 8.7%. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose at a 5.9% rate, unchanged from the June reading. The Dow rose 1.4%, the S&P 1.5%, and the Nasdaq 2.5%. Crude oil fell more than 2% to $88 per barrel, while gold traded near $1813 per ounce.

The S&P 500 ran into key resistance last week at the 4,175 region and, so far, the pause looks like it could be a bull flag. The index has come a long way, so we will give the bulls the benefit of the doubt in the short term. Of course, a break of the flag to the upside would bring the next piece of resistance into view at 4,225, which is a 50% retracement of the bear market.

Recently, we have detailed some very bullish statistics (sentiment, oversold breadth) for the stock market as well as some very bearish stats (breadth again, price action, the yield curve, and Fed tightening). Believe it or not, this is often the case during a bull or a bear market -- which doesn't make our job easy. It is critical to know the timeframe in play for each indicator, the time it takes to go from one extreme to another, and (obviously) which indicators have worked best in the past. That said, indicators that worked the best in the past offer no guarantee of working well in the future.

In this edition, mainstream oil companies face a dilemma, the travel industry is showing cabin fever, pumped-up gas prices, and Unilever, Capri, and Okta.

Earnings, Economy Roll along through Market Wreckage

We recently raised our rating on the Energy sector to Over-Weight from Market-Weight. Already strong demand for petroleum products (related to global reopening) is now exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which has led to broad sanctions on Russia and may exclude this major supplier from the global energy markets. Although we expect other counties to add to supply, we expect energy prices to remain elevated at least through year-end. Energy accounts for 3.6% of S&P 500 market cap; over the past five years, the weighting has ranged from 2% to 10%. We think investors should consider allocating 4%-5% of diversified portfolios to the group. The sector is outperforming thus far in 2022, with a gain of 32.3%. It also outperformed in 2021, with a gain of 47.7%. It underperformed in 2020, with a loss of 37.3%, and in 2019, with a gain of 7.6%. Here are some of the Energy sector companies that are on our BUY List. Some also are featured in our model portfolios (Growth & Income, Equity Income, Growth, and Institutional) and in our Focus List.

Stocks gave up early gains on Wednesday morning as investors continued to watch developments in Ukraine, and Western nations imposed a first round of sanctions on Russia. On the earnings front, Lowe's shares rose 3% after the home improvement retailer posted better-than-expected 4Q results and raised its sales and earnings guidance for 2022. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P 0.4%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil traded near $92 per barrel, while gold rose $3 to $1911 per ounce.

Stocks rallied on Friday morning following a strong October employment report. The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 531,000 payroll jobs last month, up from a revised 312,000 in September and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 450,000. The official unemployment rate fell to 4.6% from 4.8% in September. The Dow rose 0.9%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Crude oil traded near $79.50 per barrel, while gold rose $8 to $1802 per ounce.

Stocks rose on Thursday morning following new weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 385,000 for the week ended July 31, down from 399,000 a week earlier but slightly above the Bloomberg consensus of 383,000. The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit rose 6.7% to a record $75.7 billion in June, driven by a sharp increase in imports. The consensus forecast was $74.1 billion. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Crude oil rose to $69 per barrel, while gold traded near $1805 per ounce.

The stock market was volatile last week as inflation concerns whipsawed stocks, ultimately pushing them lower on the week. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 361 points, or 1.06%. The S&P 500 was up 1.49%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.32%. For the week, the DJIA was down 397 points, or 1.14%, the S&P 500 was down 1.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.34%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 12.34%, the S&P 500 is up 11.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 4.20%.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning, reversing Wednesday's gains, following mixed earnings reports and new employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 730,000 for the week ended February 20, down from a revised 841,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 825,000. Moderna shares rose 6%, despite a wider-than-expected 4Q loss, as revenue far exceeded the consensus estimate. The company also said that it expected to produce at least 700 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine this year, up from its prior forecast, and 1.4 billion in 2022. The Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 1.0%. Crude oil fell slightly to $63 per barrel, while gold traded near $1781 per ounce.

Stocks rose strongly on Monday morning after Pfizer and BioNTech reported that their coronavirus vaccine was more than 90% effective in a late-stage clinical trial. The companies also said that they had thus far found no serious safety concerns with the vaccine. Pfizer shares rose nearly 9%. The Dow rose 3.9%, the S&P 2.8%, and the Nasdaq 0.7%. Crude oil jumped more than 8% to $40 per barrel, while gold dropped $88 to $1864 per ounce.

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning as investors weighed prospects for further government stimulus measures and the approval of a coronavirus vaccine in Russia - despite the lack of standard Phase 3 testing. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 0.6% in July, above the Reuters consensus forecast of 0.3% and the strongest growth since October 2018. The Dow rose 0.9%, the S&P rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $42 per barrel, while gold dropped more than 4% to $1954 per ounce.

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning as investors weighed prospects for further government stimulus measures and the approval of a coronavirus vaccine in Russia - despite the lack of standard Phase 3 testing. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 0.6% in July, above the Reuters consensus forecast of 0.3% and the strongest growth since October 2018. The Dow rose 0.9%, the S&P rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $42 per barrel, while gold dropped more than 4% to $1954 per ounce.

Stocks rallied on Monday morning following positive data on a potential coronavirus vaccine from Modena and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In an interview on '60 Minutes,' Mr. Powell said he expected the U.S. economy to 'recover steadily' through the second half of the year assuming no second wave of the virus. However, he cautioned that the recovery could stretch through the end of 2021 and that a full recovery would likely require the development of a vaccine. The Dow rose 3.5%, the S&P 3.1%, and the Nasdaq 2.4%. Crude oil rose 12% to $33 per barrel, while gold fell $19 to $1740 per ounce.

Stocks rallied on Monday morning following positive data on a potential coronavirus vaccine from Modena and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In an interview on '60 Minutes,' Mr. Powell said he expected the U.S. economy to 'recover steadily' through the second half of the year assuming no second wave of the virus. However, he cautioned that the recovery could stretch through the end of 2021 and that a full recovery would likely require the development of a vaccine. The Dow rose 3.5%, the S&P 3.1%, and the Nasdaq 2.4%. Crude oil rose 12% to $33 per barrel, while gold fell $19 to $1740 per ounce.

This edition features the lithium cycle; midstream energy; Enbride's cash flow; and notes from Lam Research, Aon, and new coverage Central China Real Estate.

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.

Williams Companies is a pipeline company that owns and operates the large Transco and Northwest pipeline systems and associated natural gas gathering, processing, and storage assets. In August 2018, the firm acquired the remaining 26% of Williams Partners (its limited partnership) it did not own.

Williams Companies is a pipeline company that owns and operates the large Transco and Northwest pipeline systems and associated natural gas gathering, processing, and storage assets. In August 2018, the firm acquired the remaining 26% of Williams Partners (its limited partnership) it did not own.

Williams Companies is a pipeline company that owns and operates the large Transco and Northwest pipeline systems and associated natural gas gathering, processing, and storage assets. In August 2018, the firm acquired the remaining 26% of Williams Partners (its limited partnership) it did not own.