Stocks fluctuated near breakeven on Thursday morning amid a new round of earnings reports and weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 419,000 for the week ended July 17, up from 368,000 a week earlier and above the consensus forecast of 350,000. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%. Crude oil rose slightly to $71 per barrel, while gold traded near $1807 per ounce.

The latest run higher in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had reached our target with an intraday high of $77 on July 6. That was followed by a sharp reversal, with WTI closing that day at $73.37. Then WTI really got hit on Monday, falling by 7.3% to $66.35, the largest one-day decline since September 2020.

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 inflation concerns spread from Wall Street to Main Street. Blue chips relatively outperformed as earnings season kicked off. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 299 points, or 0.86%. The S&P 500 was down 0.75%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.80%. For the week, the DJIA was down 182 points, or 0.52%, the S&P 500 was down 0.97%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.87%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 13.33%, the S&P 500 is up 15.20%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 11.94%.

Stocks fell on Friday morning amid new retail sales and consumer confidence data. The Commerce Department said that U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% in June, up from a decline of 1.7% in May and above the Reuters consensus forecast, which called for a drop of 0.4%. The University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index fell to 80.8 in the first half of July, down from a final reading of 85.5 in June and below the consensus forecast of 86.5. The Dow, the S&P, and the Nasdaq were all down about 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $72 per barrel, while gold fell $16 to $1813 per ounce.

Stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors weighed a new round of earnings reports along with employment and manufacturing data. The Federal Reserve said that U.S. manufacturing output fell 0.1% in June, reflecting reduced automobile production due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage. The reading was down from a 0.9% increase in May and below the consensus forecast calling for 0.2% growth. On the employment front, first-time jobless claims fell to 360,000, the third straight reading below 400,000 but slightly above consensus. Continuing claims fell to 3.241 million from 3.367 million a week earlier and came in below the consensus of 3.3 million. The Dow rose 0.15%, the S&P fell 0.33%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.70%. Crude oil fell 2% to $71.50 per barrel, while gold rose $4 to $1829 per ounce.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning following earnings reports from a range of major companies and new employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 360,000 for the week ended July 10, down from 386,000 a week earlier but above the Bloomberg consensus of 350,000. On Capitol Hill, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his view that the recent spike in inflation would prove temporary and indicated that the Fed would maintain its current bond-buying program in the near term. The Dow was flat, the S&P fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%. Crude oil fell more than 1% to $72 per barrel, while gold traded near $1826 per ounce.

Stocks were down on Wednesday morning. The Labor Department said that U.S. producer prices rose 1.0% in June, following a 0.8% increase in May. The reading marked the largest annual gain in more than 10 years. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P was down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq fell less than 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $75 per barrel, while gold rose $3 to $1824 per ounce.

When investors are souring on the stock market, they tend to sell any rallies. And when they are willing to let the good times roll, they tend to buy any dips. So far, 2021 has been a year of buying the dips. That may explain why, in the trading year to date, every month except January finished with a gain on the S&P 500. The blue-chip index advanced 5.8% in the first half, was up 14.4% as of mid-year, and is already up 1.7% in July. Granted, historically July is the best summer month, averaging a 1.1% gain on the S&P 500 since 1980.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

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.

Certain market sentiment indicators remain exceedingly enthusiastic. Generally, we don't pay much attention to this data, but today we'll spend some time examining the extraordinary exuberance. The real action comes from the CBOE put/call (P/C) ratios, Rydex investor data, small-trader option activity, and the AAII asset allocation to stocks.