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.

The stock market was mixed last week, with Tech stocks outperforming blue chips by a sizeable margin for the second straight week. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 was down 0.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.21%. For the week, the DJIA was down 87 points, or 0.24%, the S&P 500 was up 0.58%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.55%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 15.56%, the S&P 500 is up 20.75%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 19.21%.

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 were largely flat at midday on Tuesday after paring early losses. On the housing front, the Case-Shiller index showed a sharp 19.1% rise in the price of single-family homes for the 12 months ended in June, up from 17.1% a month earlier and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 18.5% growth. Consumer confidence data was weaker than expected. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell to 113.8 in August, down from 125.1 in July and below the consensus of 123.0. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $69 per barrel, while gold fell $2 to $1810 per ounce.

Stocks fell on Thursday after terrorist attacks at the Kabul airport killed at least 12 U.S. soldiers along with scores of Afghan civilians. Investors were also cautious ahead of a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, which may provide further clues about the Fed's timeline for tapering bond purchases. Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department reported that GDP rose at a 6.6% annualized rate in 2Q, up slightly from its previous estimate but below the consensus forecast. U.S. GDP rose at a 6.3% rate in 1Q. On the employment front, both first-time and continuing unemployment claims rose slightly from the prior week and were above consensus forecasts. The Dow fell 0.54%, the S&P 0.58%, and the Nasdaq 0.64%. Crude oil fell about 1% to $68 per barrel, while gold rose slightly to $1794 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 Friday morning, led by the Technology sector, though investors remained concerned about prospects for slower economic growth and the impact of the Delta variant. On the earnings front, Deere posted solid fiscal 3Q results and raised its full-year guidance, though the shares fell on concerns about rising costs and supply-chain issues. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.6%, and the Nasdaq 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $63 per barrel, while gold rose $2 to $1785 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.

Consumers are now more willing to spend on lifestyle enhancements along with necessary spending on life-saving treatments. In addition, the survival of the Affordable Care Act has kept the ranks of insured U.S. citizens above the historical average, further increasing consumer spending on healthcare services and products. Meanwhile, companies with experience in diagnostic testing, vaccines, and antiviral medicines, as well as suppliers of protective equipment and other hospital products, should benefit from efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The sector accounts for 13.0% of the S&P 500, and includes companies in the pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services, and insurance industries. The sector is underperforming the market thus far in 2021, with a gain of 12.9%. We think the sector should account for 15-17% of diversified portfolios. Here is how we use our analysts' Financial Services sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios. All stocks are rated BUY at Argus.

The stock market was flat to down last week as positive earnings surprises proved to be baked-in. Tech stocks modestly underperformed blue chips. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 149 points, or 0.42%. The S&P 500 was down 0.54%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.71%. For the week, the DJIA was down 126 points, or 0.36%, the S&P 500 was down 0.37%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.11%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 14.14%, the S&P 500 is up 17.02%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 13.85%.

The onset of the coronavirus in 2020 knocked the stock market into a bear market. Though stocks have recovered, the U.S. economy is about to slow down and COVID-19 cases are rising again as virus variants spread. Volatility, which has dropped from the highs of 2020, still has not returned to pre-COVID levels. Daily prices can swing wildly, as they did during two consecutive days in mid-July when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points. Yet investors exit the stock market at their own peril, as long-term returns from equities consistently have outpaced long-term returns from other asset classes. Argus believes that Min Vol is an all-weather strategy that is timely in any investing climate and can deliver market-matching returns on an absolute basis and superior returns on a risk-adjusted basis over various time periods.

Stocks Stumble as the Economy Moves Ahead

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 U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June, up from the tepid prior two-month average of 426,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 5.9%. The re-opening trend was prominent, as jobs gains were led by sectors such as leisure and hospitality (+343k) and local government education (155k). Industries including professional and business services, and retail, also added jobs. Manufacturing and construction were little changed. The labor market continues to reflect the impact of the pandemic, as the shape and character of the workforce is changing as the economy recovers. The current number of jobs is approximately 6.7 million lower than the pre-COVID February 2020 level, according to Automatic Data Processing. The labor force participation rate remains a low 61.6%, compared to the historical average of 65%. Last month, 14% of employed persons teleworked because of the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, that reading was 3.0%. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that 364,000 people filed initial unemployment claims, down from 385,000 a month ago. Though trending in the right direction, the data indicates that the employment environment is still under stress. We expect the unemployment rate will remain high above 5.0% -- and thus the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low -- into 2022.

Last week, we talked about the relative-strength turn towards Technology stocks that started in the middle of May. It just happened to coincide with the decline in the long end of the Treasury yield curve to the downside. If a pop in rates hurts Tech stocks, then a retracement in rates should help the sector. The 10- and 30-year Treasury yields have fallen only two to three basis points over the past month, which is not all that much. But perhaps more importantly, they stopped going up.