Stocks rose Friday to close a positive week for the market, overcoming Friday the 13th jitters. The prior such date for superstitious investors was Friday the 13th in March. Not much happened after that, besides a global pandemic and an economic crash.

Stocks fell sharply on Thursday afternoon on concerns about the economic impact of the pandemic, as new coronavirus cases continued to skyrocket in the U.S. and around the world. The selloff marked a sharp reversal from the start of the week, when markets soared on optimism over the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. On the employment front, first-time unemployment benefit claims fell from the prior week to 709,000, below the consensus forecast of 731,000, and continuing claims fell to 6.786 million, below the consensus of 6.825 million. However, the decline in continuing claims likely reflects the expiration of state benefits for many workers. Including extended federal unemployment benefits, approximately 21.2 million workers were receiving benefits in late October. The Dow fell 1.08%, the S&P 1.00%, and the Nasdaq 0.65%. Crude oil fell more than 1% to $41 per barrel, while gold rose $14 to 1876 per ounce.

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.

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning as investors weighed prospects for further government stimulus measures and the approval of a coronavirus vaccine in Russia - despite the lack of standard Phase 3 testing. The Labor Department said that its producer price index rose 0.6% in July, above the Reuters consensus forecast of 0.3% and the strongest growth since October 2018. The Dow rose 0.9%, the S&P rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $42 per barrel, while gold dropped more than 4% to $1954 per ounce.

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.

Stocks fell on Thursday amid increased trade tensions, new housing market data, and continued heavy job losses. The Labor Department said that 2.44 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, down nearly 250,000 from the prior week but above the consensus of 2.4 million. The new data raised the number of people filing for benefits to 38.6 million since mid-March. Continuing claims, showing workers who have not been rehired, rose by 2.5 million to 25.1 million, also above the consensus forecast. On the housing front, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales dropped 17.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted 4.33 million units, the sharpest drop in nearly 10 years. The Dow fell 0.41%, the S&P 0.78%, and the Nasdaq 0.97%. Crude oil rose 1% to nearly $34 per barrel, while gold fell $31 to $1721 per ounce.

Large-caps have outperformed over the past 12 months, but small- and mid-caps may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, many smaller companies often are more focused on domestic operations and may not be exposed to the global economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. For another, prior to COVID-19, the long-term record favored small-caps over large-caps. From 2003-2019, the Russell 2000 Index had climbed 282%, compared to an advance of 233% for the Russell 1000 Index. In 2020, a relatively weak performance by the Russell 2000 Index has brought the measures more in line for the year-to-date. SP despite risks associated with smaller-cap stocks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 15%-20% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of small- and mid-cap stocks.

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 edition features the lithium cycle; midstream energy; Enbride's cash flow; and notes from Lam Research, Aon, and new coverage Central China Real Estate.

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 edition features an in-depth look at the coronavirus impact on 2020; U.S. multi-industrials; fair value cuts in the energy sector; and notes from Albemarle and new coverage Alcon and Epiroc.

Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer. Our outlook for robust lithium demand is predicated upon increased demand for electric vehicle batteries. Albemarle produces lithium from its salt brine deposits in Chile and the U.S. and its hard rock joint venture mines in Australia. Albemarle is also a global leader in the production of bromine, used in flame retardants, and oil refining catalysts.

The S&P 500 fell 7.6% on Monday, its worst one-day decline since late 2008 during the financial crises. From its all-time high on February 19, the index has plunged 19% in just 13 days, also the worst decline since late '08. The index fell to support from the 61.8% retracement of the rally since December '18, as well as chart support from the March and June '18 lows in the 2,740 area.

SQM is a Chilean commodities producer with significant operations in lithium (for electric vehicle batteries), specialty potassium fertilizers, iodine (for X-ray contrast media), and solar salts. The company extracts these materials through its high-quality caliche ore and salt brine deposits.

There is a primary reason we pay close attention to the insider-sentiment data produced by Vickers Stock Research: corporate executives, directors and beneficial owners are, by design, likely to have a valid sense of how things are going at the companies for which they work. So if they're happy, probably we should be happy as well. But, at times, that advantage can become diluted by events about which even insiders can only speculate. And the coronavirus seems to be just such an event.

With one trading day left to 2019, we can say that the last 52 weeks were the “Year of the Large Cap.” This can be proved in many ways, with the first and most obvious being overall price returns on the major indices. The SPY has risen about 28.5% this year, with the MDY (S&P MidCap 400) up 23.9% and the SLY (S&P SmallCap 600) bringing up the rear with a 20.5% gain.

Stocks rose on Tuesday morning as investors awaited a speech on trade by President Trump at the Economic Club of New York. On the earnings front, CBS shares fell following mixed third-quarter results, reflecting the impact of a carriage dispute with AT&T. Tyson shares rose nearly 5% despite disappointing fiscal 4Q sales and earnings as management expressed optimism about 2020. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil rose to about $57 per barrel, while gold traded near $1448 per ounce.

Large-caps have outperformed over the past 12 months, but small- and mid-caps may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, most smaller companies are often more focused on domestic operations and may not be exposed to the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing trade wars. For another, the long-term record favors small-caps over large-caps. Since 2003, the Russell 2000 Index has climbed 260%, compared to an advance of 189% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. But small-caps can be risky. Large-caps outperformed small-caps in nine of the 16 years of our test period. Annual returns were negative four times for both indices, but the average decline for small-caps was 18% in down years versus an average 12% annual decline for large-caps in down years. The standard deviation for monthly returns was 5.29% for small-caps over the 15-year period, versus 3.89% for large-caps. Still, despite the risks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 15%-20% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of small- and mid-cap stocks.

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