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 edged higher on Monday morning amid a new round of earnings reports and housing market data. Investors also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Commerce Department said that U.S. new home sales fell 6.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units, below the Reuters consensus forecast of 800,000. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P 0.2%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $72 per barrel, while gold fell $3 to $1799 per ounce.

The stock market moved higher last week as the market digested a busy earnings week. Tech stocks outperformed blue chips as earnings came in very strong in portions of the tech sector. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 238 points, or 0.68%. The S&P 500 was up 1.01%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.04%. For the week, the DJIA was up 374 points, or 1.08%, the S&P 500 was up 1.96%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.84%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 14.56%, the S&P 500 is up 17.46%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 15.12%.

The stock market moved higher last week thanks to a solid performance on Friday. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 448 points, or 1.30%. The S&P 500 was up 1.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.98%. For the week, the DJIA was up 84 points, or 0.24%, the S&P 500 was up 0.40%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.43%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 13.93%, the S&P 500 is up 16.33%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 14.07%.

Stocks rose on Friday morning, led by the Financial and Basic Materials sectors, as investors looked ahead to the first 2Q earnings reports from major banks next week. Analysts currently expect strong 65.8% earnings growth from S&P 500 companies in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES. The Dow rose 1.1%, the S&P 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 0.4%. Crude oil traded near $74.50 per barrel, while gold rose $8 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.

We recently raised our rating on the Utilities sector to Market-Weight from Under-Weight. Regulated electric and gas distribution operations are benefiting from the recovery in commercial and industrial demand as workers return to offices, plants, factories, and showrooms. Hotter summers are also pushing up demand for air conditioning across most of the U.S. The sector is underperforming the market thus far in 2021, with a gain of 1%. It underperformed in 2020, with a gain of 3.9%, and in 2019, advancing 22.2%. The sector accounts for 2.6% of the S&P 500. Over the past five years, the weighting has ranged from 2.0% to 4.0%. We think the sector should account for about 2%-3% of diversified portfolios. The sector includes the electric, gas, and water utility industries. Here is how we use our analysts' Utility sector ideas in our Focus List and Model Portfolios. All stocks are rated BUY.

Stocks closed at record levels on Thursday after President Biden announced that a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure agreement had been reached. The Street's optimism may be premature as this is only the first step. In other news, the initial jobless claims for the week ended June 19 totaled 411,000, down from 418,000 a week ago. New orders for durable goods in May rose 2.3% to $253.3 billion. The S&P closed up 0.6%, the Nasdaq was up 0.7% and the Dow 1.0%. Crude oil traded near $73 per barrel, while gold fell $8 to $1774 per ounce.

Stocks rose on Thursday as investors looked past more signs of inflation in the government's May consumer price data. The Labor Department said that the CPI rose 5.0% year-over-year in May, up from 4.2% in April. The reading was above the Reuters consensus forecast of 4.7% and the sharpest annual increase since 2008. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, also rose 3.8% from the prior year. On the employment front, first-time jobless claims fell to a new pandemic era low of 376,000, down from the prior week but slightly above consensus. Continuing claims fell to 3.499 million, down from 3.757 million a week earlier and below the consensus forecast of 3.665 million. The Dow rose 0.06%, the S&P 0.47%, and the Nasdaq 0.78%. Crude oil rose slightly to $70 per barrel, while gold fell $6 to $1901 per ounce.

We have adjusted our recommended sector allocations this month. The following reflects our guidance for the calendar third quarter of 2021. We have raised the Consumer Staples and Utilities sectors to Market-Weight from Under-Weight. We have also lowered the Consumer Discretionary and Energy sectors to Under-Weight from recommended Market-Weight. The rebalancing process takes place four times a year, early in the months of March, June, September, and December. Our current Over-Weight sectors are Technology, Healthcare, Financial Services, Industrial, and Communication Services. Our current Market-Weight sectors are Consumer Staples, Utilities, Real Estate, and Basic Materials. Our Under-Weight sectors are Energy and Consumer Discretionary. Argus suggests that advisors and investors leverage this consistent and comprehensive process to tweak weightings within their balanced equity portfolios.