First-Quarter Review and Full-Year 2021 Outlook

Stocks fell on Thursday afternoon after Bloomberg reported that President Biden would propose raising the capital gains tax rate for people earning at least $1 million. Prior to the tax news, stocks were mixed as investors weighed new 1Q earnings reports, a decline in existing home sales, and weekly employment data. First-time jobless claims fell to 547,000, a new post-pandemic low and below the consensus forecast of 610,000. Continuing claims fell to 3.674 million, down from 3.708 million a week earlier but slightly above the consensus forecast. The Dow fell 0.94%, the S&P 0.92%, and the Nasdaq 0.94%. Crude oil traded near $62 per barrel, while gold fell $9 to $1784 per ounce.

Stocks rose on Thursday morning, led by the Technology and Healthcare sectors, as investors weighed more 1Q earnings reports and weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell sharply to 576,000 for the week ended April 10, down from 769,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 700,000. Bond yields retreated, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling below 1.6%. The Dow rose 0.8%, the S&P 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 1.0%. Crude oil fell slightly to $63 per barrel, while gold traded near $1767 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.

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.

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.

Something unusual happened in the stock market on Monday, and it could have a bullish impact in the months ahead. The market roared ahead -- but it wasn't a growth versus value day, as has been common of late. Instead, the S&P 500 rose 2.4%, the NYSE added 2%, the Dow Jones Industrials improved by 1.9%, both the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) popped 3%, the S&P 400 Midcap increased 2.8%, and the Russell 2000 (IWM) tacked on 3.6%. Now those are consistent gains!

Stocks fell on Thursday morning following mixed earnings from Walmart and disappointing employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 861,000 for the week ended February 13, up from a revised 848,000 a week earlier and well above the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 773,000. Continuing claims of 4.494 million were down from the prior week but above the consensus forecast of 4.425 million. The Dow fell 0.6%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 1.1%. Crude oil fell slightly to $61 per barrel, while gold traded near $1776 per ounce.

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 on Thursday, but gave up some of their midday gains, as investors weighed results from a range of major companies along with new employment and GDP data. The Labor Department reported that both first-time and continuing unemployment claims fell from the prior week, and came in below consensus forecasts. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said that the U.S. economy expanded at a 4.0% rate in 4Q, slightly below the consensus forecast of 4.2%. For the full year, the economy contracted at a 3.5% annualized rate - the first full-year decline since 2009. On the earnings front, McDonald's posted disappointing 4Q sales and earnings, with international comp sales down 7.4%, reflecting the impact of coronavirus lockdowns in Europe. Tesla shares fell 3% after the automaker posted mixed fourth-quarter results and failed to provide specific sales guidance for 2021. The Dow rose 0.99%, the S&P 0.98%, and the Nasdaq 0.50%. Crude oil fell to $52 per barrel, while gold fell $4 to $1845 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.

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.

Stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from Wednesday's selloff but also giving up some of their gains late in the session. The Commerce Department reported strong growth in 3Q GDP, which rose at a better-than-expected 33.1% annualized rate. Unemployment claims, still high by historical standards, also trended lower. First-time unemployment benefit claims fell from the prior week to 751,000, below the consensus forecast. Continuing claims totaled 7.756 million, also down from the prior week and below consensus. The Dow rose 0.52%, the S&P 1.19%, and the Nasdaq 1.64%. Crude oil fell more than 3% to $36 per barrel, while gold fell $13 to $1866 per ounce.

Stocks fell sharply on Monday morning amid continued election uncertainty and rising coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe. New home sales data was also weak. The Commerce Department said that U.S. new home sales fell 3.5% to a seasonally adjusted 959,000 units in September, below the Reuters consensus of 1.025 million. The Dow fell 2.0%, the S&P 1.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.1%. Crude oil traded near $38.50 per barrel, while gold rose $3 to $1908 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.

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.

Much of the weekly data from Vickers Stock Research suggests that things are pretty much as expected in the world of insider transactions. Earnings season is still underway and the volume of insider transactions is therefore low. As well, most of Vickers' insider indexes and insider sell/buy ratios are either neutral or slightly bearish. That makes sense as insiders jumped in when stock prices cratered on COVID-19 fears, and those same insiders have pulled back as stocks have rebounded. So is there anything of note in current insider activity? Why yes there is.

Stocks rose on Monday morning amid positive vaccine news, as Moderna said that it had begun a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and reports that Senate Republicans and the White House would announce a $1 trillion coronavirus aid package - a starting point in negotiations with House Democrats. Capital goods orders were also strong. The Commerce Department said that core capital goods orders excluding aircraft rose 3.3% in June, up from 1.6% in May and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 2.3% growth. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 1.2%. Crude oil traded near $40.50 per barrel, while gold soared nearly $40 to $1937 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.

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.