Stocks edged higher on Thursday as investors weighed a new round of earnings reports along with employment and housing market data. AT&T posted better-than-expected 2Q results, reflecting strong growth in wireless subscribers, and raised its full-year guidance. Texas Instruments also topped consensus estimates, though the shares fell 5% on a lower-than-expected 3Q sales forecast. On the housing front, the National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes rose 1.4% to an annualized 5.86 million units in June, slightly below the consensus forecast. First-time jobless claims rose to 419,000, up from the prior week and above consensus. Continuing claims fell by 29,000 to 3.236 million. The Dow rose 0.07%, the S&P 0.20%, and the Nasdaq 0.36%. Crude oil rose 2% to $71.50 per barrel, while gold rose $4 to $1808 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.

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 were mixed on Tuesday morning following earnings reports from major retailers and new housing market data. Walmart shares rose 2% after the company reported better-than-expected 1Q sales and earnings and raised its full-year guidance. Macy's shares also rose following an unexpected first-quarter profit. The Commerce Department said that U.S. housing starts fell 9.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.569 million units in April, down from 1.733 million in March and below the Reuters consensus forecast of 1.71 million. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $66 per barrel, while gold fell slightly to $1868 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 finished higher on Thursday in a volatile session as investors weighed a new round of 1Q earnings reports along with weekly employment data. The Labor Department reported that first-time jobless claims fell to 498,000, the first drop below 500,000 in the pandemic era and below the consensus forecast. However, continuing claims rose to 3.69 million from 3.653 million and topped the consensus estimate. The data came ahead of the government's April employment report on Friday morning. The Reuters consensus calls for the addition of 978,000 new payroll jobs after an increase of 916,000 in March. The Dow rose 0.93%, the S&P 0.82%, and the Nasdaq 0.37%. Crude oil fell 1% to $65 per barrel, while gold rose $31 to $1815 per ounce.

Stocks rose modestly on Wednesday morning, recovering some of their losses after Tuesday's selloff. On the employment front, payroll provider ADP said that U.S. private employers added 742,000 jobs in April, up from 565,000 in March. The reading was the strongest since last September but missed the Reuters consensus, which called for an increase of 800,000 jobs. The Institute for Supply Management said that its services index fell to 62.7 in April, down from 63.7 in March and below the consensus forecast of 64.3. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil traded near $66 per barrel, while gold rose $7 to $1783 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 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, we look to innovative companies to navigate the challenges. At Argus, an 85-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. The following innovative and BUY-rated companies recently were added to our Growth model portfolio, as well as our new Innovative Growth Separately Managed Account, and our Modern Innovators UIT. The full list of stocks also is in our Innovation theme model portfolio.

The stock market moved lower last week, then rallied on Friday, ultimately finishing flat-to-down. Tech stocks and blue chips performed similarly, with tech narrowly outperforming. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 228 points, or 0.67%. The S&P 500 was up 1.09%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.44%. For the week, the DJIA was down 0.46%, the S&P 500 was up 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.25%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 11.23%, the S&P 500 is up 11.29%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 8.76%.

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 rallied on Monday morning following Friday's strong March employment report, which showed the addition of 916,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, well above the Reuters consensus forecast of 647,000. The Institute for Supply Management also reported strong services data, with its nonmanufacturing index rising to 63.7 in March. The reading was up from 55.3 in February and above the consensus forecast of 59.0. The Dow rose 1.1%, the S&P 1.3%, and the Nasdaq 1.4%. Crude oil traded near $60 per barrel, while gold fell $3 to $1725 per ounce.

Stocks were generally higher on Wednesday morning, led by the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors, as investors awaited more details about the Biden administration's $2 trillion infrastructure improvement plan. On the employment front, payroll provider ADP said that U.S. private employers added 517,000 jobs in March, up strongly from a revised 176,000 in February. The reading missed the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 550,000, though it was still the strongest gain since September. The Dow was flat, the S&P rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.6%. Crude oil traded near $61 per barrel, while gold rose $19 to $1703 per ounce.

We recently raised our rating on the Communication Services sector to Over-Weight. In this barbell sector, media and entertainment companies should benefit from robust online activity and the reopening of theme parks and movie theaters. Providers of telecom services should benefit from ARPU gains as the 5G rollout gains traction. The style mix of the sector is approximately one-third value and two-thirds growth. The adjusted pro-forma beta is approximately 1.1 (like the old telecoms), while the yield is 0.9% (reflecting the impact of Google and Facebook). The smoothed growth rate is 7% and the P/E ratio is 21x. The sector accounts for 11% of the S&P 500. We think investors should consider allocating 12%-14% of diversified portfolios to the sector. Here are some of our top picks.

Everyone is talking about the new $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus plan instead. Meanwhile, U.S. debt levels have quietly and quickly grown over the past 10 years. Total U.S. debt is now more than 120% of GDP, according to the Office of Management & the Budget. That is the highest level since World War II. In the 1980s, the debt/GDP ratio was solidly in the 40% range, and moved up toward 60% by 2000. The debt level soared around 2010, as the government spent aggressively to brake the recession and rekindle growth. (According to Keynes, that's what the government is supposed to do.) Still, despite more than 10 years of economic growth prior to the pandemic, the debt level has only grown as a percentage of GDP. Now, in light of the fiscal spending to fight the impact of COVID-19, debt levels have surged. This is not a problem that has to be fixed today. After all, interest rates are low on an historical basis and policies to change the trajectory (less spending, more taxes) could push the economy into decline. But politicians should start to establish a plan to address the issue in the next 10-15 years. If not, the situation could result in hyperinflation or an inability for the government to address long-term problems such as rebuilding infrastructure or addressing climate change.

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, prior to the pandemic, had expanded to record levels. And now, the U.S. Healthcare industry is mobilizing to improve COVID-19 testing, treatments and vaccines. Consider that U.S. GDP was approximately $1 trillion in 1930 but nearly $22 trillion at the end of 2019. That's growth of 22-times. Meanwhile, the U.S. population has grown less than 3-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 $32 trillion, representing 41% of global equity market capitalization, while U.S. GDP represented only 25% of global GDP. The current low level of interest rates (the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield is 1.1%) and the relatively high level of the dollar both attest to the confidence that global investors have in the innovative U.S. economy.

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 Lazard Ltd. (LAZ); KLA Corp. (KLAC); Silk Road Medical Inc (SILK); Pinterest Inc (PINS) and the Focus List deletions are Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG); Moderna Inc (MRNA); Verizon Communications Inc (VZ); Western Digital Corp. (WDC).

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 stock market dropped last week, as surging bond yields signaled tighter lending conditions may lie ahead. Tech stocks were the hardest hit and the Nasdaq recorded its worst week since October-though blue chips certainly weren't spared. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 470 points, or 1.50%. The S&P 500 was down 0.48%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.56%. For the week, the DJIA dropped 562 points, or 1.78%, the S&P 500 was down 2.45%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 4.92%. For the year-to-date, the DJIA is up 1.06%, the S&P 500 is up 1.47%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.36%.