The Nasdaq is up at midday, thanks to Tesla and its strong earnings report after the bell last night. The other major indices are flat to down. Bonds are lower with the 10-year Treasury note down 4 bps at 4.20%. Meanwhile, oil is steady at $71 per barrel.

Mega-cap stocks came back on Tuesday, at least for a day, while small- and mid-cap issues took the day off. It was definitely a risk-on day, as Information Technology (XLK) popped 2%, Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Communications Services (XLY) added 1%, and Financials rose 0.7%. Energy (XLE) was smacked, off 2.6% as WTI fell over 4% after its recent run. The S&P 500 gained 1% and is less than 10 points away from another 2024 all-time closing high. The Nasdaq rose 1.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 was up 1.6%. But as if often the case, looking under the hood tells the real story. Technology was led by a few major semiconductors, including NVDA (+4%) and AVGO (+3%). NVDA has been tracing out a bullish continuous inverse head-and-shoulders, while AVGO has been forming a complex double bottom since the middle of June. Both are very close to completing these patterns and possibly breaking out to all-time highs. One concern about jumping back on the semi train is that we are not seeing other stocks completing bases and many are nowhere near highs. That can be rectified, but the strongest industry moves occur when the majority of stocks are participating. The other area of IT that showed strength was software, including some cloud stocks. ORCL (+2.6%) has broken out to all-time highs, while CRM (+2.5%) has rallied nicely over the past month and is nearing its March 2024 all-time high. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) rose over 2% and recently broke to all-time highs after tracing out a massive base that started in late 2021. The Amplify Cybersecurity ETF (HACK) has also hit all-time highs. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

For the first time since late 2023/early 2024, WTI (at around $71.30/barrel) is starting to look interesting for a number of reasons. Crude fell to $68 in December 2023, drifted sideways-to-higher until February, and then rallied to almost $88 by April. Since then, oil has been in what looks like an ABC or three-wave decline, dropping to a recent low of $65 on September 10. That was the lowest price since May 2023. After peaking in March 2022 just above $130, crude has been range trading between $64 and $95 for the past two years. Back in late 2023/early 2024, the Commitment of Traders (COT) data on oil became very bullish for the first time since the summer of 2023, with commercial hedgers having a relatively high net futures position and large speculators having a low net futures position. That same positioning has occurred over the past couple of weeks. In the very near term, $72 is important resistance as a jump above that price would represent a false breakdown, would break the bearish trendline off the peak since August 12, and would represent a 38.2% retracement of the decline since early July. There are many pieces of potential chart, moving-average, and retracement resistance from $72 to $80. The recent low of $65 is key chart support. Sentiment toward WTI is close to pessimistic, another potential contrarian positive. One of the few negatives is that October and November are the worst two months for oil when looking back over 30 years. Still, seasonality historically is supposed to be bullish from March to September -- and it certainly wasn't in 2024. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Tuesday was another mixed day for stocks, as investors waited for quarterly numbers from Nvidia, the "King of AI." Most indicators that we have seen (the index charts, the mega-cap charts, market breadth, long-term momentum) and many other technical gauges and studies point to further gains for the bull market and the leaders that got us here -- the Technology stocks. Seasonality, as we have said, is still an unknown based on the month of September and its tough history. One other bullish indicator comes in the form of the renewed interest in "other" areas of the market. Long-forgotten stocks in many sectors, industries, and market caps have come to life -- and that can go a long way in extending the current advance. It also alleviates a lot of fears about market breadth and a market that has been led by only a few heavyweights. Indeed, the major complaint about the bull market since 2022 has been that only a few stocks have accounted for a large proportion of the gains in the major indices. In 2024, all 11 S&P 500 sectors have year-to-date gains between 4.4% and 21%. At the top of the list, we have Communication Services and Utilities, both up 21%; Financial tacking on 20%; Consumer Staples and Technology rising 16%; Healthcare popping 15%; Industrials gaining 14%; and Real Estate, Materials, and Energy all climbing about 10%. At the bottom is Consumer Discretionary, up 4% due to TSLA's 16% drop. That stock had a massive run from 2019 until 2021 but hasn't gone anywhere since late 2020. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Summer Shakeout amid Positive EPS Season The stock market in mid- to late-July experienced its worst stretch of the year, including its worst week since 2022. The strong start to the month sent the S&P 500 and the other major indices to all-time highs. Even following the late-month selloff, stocks entered the final partial trading week of July barely changed for the month. The stasis in the market is consistent with ongoing uncertainty. The nature of the presidential election changed dramatically over the past month. The Fed appears to be teeing up 50 basis points (bps) or possibly even 75 bps of rate cuts by the end of the year. However, no cuts appear likely until mid-September, leaving investors dangling. Consumers too are waiting for rate cuts, whether they know it or not, because a lower fed funds rate is the linchpin to getting the overall interest rate environment down from its multi-year peak. Amid the uncertainty, the second-quarter earnings season mostly has been a bright spot. While good past-quarter earnings are always important, investors hold their breaths regarding current-quarter outlooks. Companies have generally reaffirmed the moderately positive outlook for the full year, which is still trending toward high single-digit to low double-digit EPS growth for 2024. Up and Down in July The S&P 500, which came into mid-year up 14.5% for 2024, piled on an additional 3.8% in the first half of July. The index was up 18.8% for the year at its all-time closing peak of 5,667 on 7/16/24. By 7/19/24, the S&P 500 had shed over 100 points. And by 7/25/24, the index had lost more than 260 points from its all-time high, to close at 5,399. Given the strong start to the month, followed by equally strong selling, the S&P 500 entered the final partial trading week of July up 14.4% for the year - barely budged from where it stood at mid-year. The Trump assassination attempt and the switch in Democratic presidential contenders occurred in the space of two weekends. However, rather than point to political upheaval, most investors attributed the July selling to a much-needed correction in extremely overbought names in the Information Technology and Communication Services sectors. While some wealth flowed out of all equities in the late-July period, much of the proceeds from tech stock redemptions flowed into other sectors. With three trading days remaining in the month as of 7/26/24, Information Technology (IYW) was down 4% for the month of July; and Communication Services (XLC) was down just under 2%. Where did the money go? Lots flowed into the Financial sector (IYF), which was up 7% for the month. Upcoming cuts in the fed funds rate will pinch banks' net interest margins. However, the 2Q earnings season for the sector has been highly positive, featuring significant recovery in fee-based businesses such as investment banking. Those upcoming lower interest rates can also be expected to rekindle loan and mortgage growth, which have been an ongoing negative amid generally positive bank earnings results. Other winning sectors in July include Industrials (IYJ), up 4.5%; Utilities (IDU), up 3.3%; Healthcare, up 2.9%; Consumer Staples, up 2.5%; and Materials, up 2.4%. Most of these sectors rose with the market early in the month and then were able to hold onto their gains on generally positive second-quarter earnings results. As we prepared this report, the market on 7/29/24 was oscillating, rising in the morning on earnings optimism toward traditional growth leaders and then selling off by midday on fears those companies would disappoint. The market response to upcoming earnings and other major non-technology companies could determine not just the July outcome, but also the market's performance in August and into summer-end. Second-Quarter Earnings Season The above-cited July 29-through-August 2 period will be the biggest week in 2Q24 EPS season, with about one-third of S&P 500 components companies reporting results. We will be sure to weigh in on the biggest earnings week, which culminates with equally big economic news, the nonfarm payrolls for July on 8/2/24. In the interim, and based on 2Q24 EPS data through 7/26/24, the second-quarter earnings season has been a success so far. With just over 180 companies (36%) of S&P 500 component companies reporting, second-quarter 2024 earnings from continuing operations are up 9.1% on a share-weighted basis compared with 2Q23 EPS. According to Bloomberg, 2Q24 earnings are up 14.8% on a market-cap-weighted basis. This premium of market-cap-weighted to share-weighted EPS growth is consistent with recent quarters and is reflective of the earnings outperformance of the largest capitalization companies compared with small and mid-caps. According to the other earnings compiling agencies, FactSet reports 9.8% earnings growth for 2Q24 as of 7/26/24; and Refinitiv is reporting 12% earnings growth. Variation in performance measurements among FactSet, Refinitiv and Bloomberg reflect minor differences in calculating continuing operations earnings as well as different prior-year baselines. For the remainder of our 2Q earnings report card, we will mainly source Bloomberg data unless otherwise noted. An unusually high percentage of companies (31%) have reported negative earnings for 2Q24. The average EPS decline for the negative-earnings group, which is heavily weighted in Energy, Materials, and Real Estate, is 16%. For the 69% of companies reporting positive EPS, average earnings growth is a robust 22%. A key reason investors are optimistic about second-half 2024 earnings growth is that the negative drag from Energy, Materials, and Real Estate is expected to diminish in 3Q24 and particularly in 4Q24. About 79% of companies have reported positive EPS surprises in 2Q24, compared with (again) a high 14% of companies reporting negative surprises. According to FactSet, 78% of companies have reported positive EPS surprises. These percentage are above the 10-year average of 74%. For these companies, the median beat against consensus estimates is 5.2% (FactSet has it at 4.4%). For the first time in several quarters, the median beat against expectations is below the 10-year average of 6.8%. At the sector level, the strongest earnings growth is coming from Financial, Information Technology, and Utilities - all up in the 16%-17% range year over year. Communication Services 2Q24 earnings are up 15%. Other sectors reporting positive EPS growth include Healthcare, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, and Industrials, in descending order; all are up in the 2%-4% range. As noted, Energy, Materials, and Real Estate are all down; Materials is off in high single-digits, while Energy and Real Estate earnings are down 20%-21% from a year earlier. From a statistical standpoint, 36% would be considered a fairly reliable and predictive sample size. Timing of the remainder of 2Q24 earnings season, however, may introduce some variability. Over 61% of Financial companies have already reported, in what has been a better-than-anticipated season for the sector. Only 23% of Energy companies have reported; given similar sensitivity off all component companies to key commodities (oil and natural gas), the contribution from this sector will likely continue to pull down overall results. The swing sector is likely to be Information Technology. Fewer than 30% of tech companies have reported. Further, 2Q earnings from the heavy hitters (Apple, Microsoft, etc.) are not reflected in the data discussed above. Earnings from the big Healthcare, Industrial, and Consumer Discretionary (AMZN) companies could also play an outsized role. For 2Q24, Argus continues to model high-single-digit continuing-operations EPS growth for S&P 500 component companies. We see a higher likelihood that our forecast misses on the upside than on the downside. In other words, once all the component companies are tallied, we are more likely to see low-double-digit EPS growth for 2Q24 than we are to see mid-single-digit EPS growth. Conclusion Investors will veer away from earnings analysis for a few hours on the morning of 8/2/24 to assess the state of the labor economy. Argus Chief Economist Chris Graja, CFA, forecasts 185,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs for July, approximately in line with the 188,000 consensus forecast. The bigger focus will be on the unemployment rate, which was 4.1% in June. If July unemployment hits 4.2%, that would trigger the Sahm indicator. When unemployment rises 50 bps within a cycle, the Sahm rule posits, recession follows or has already begun. In this scenario, deteriorating labor markets become 'a self-reinforcing feedback loop,' according to former New York Fed president William Dudley. Secular and demographic factors may argue for structurally lower unemployment rates over the long term. This includes ongoing retirements from within the huge Baby Boomer cohort, and a smaller pool of workers from the generational cohorts that follow available to fill vacant boomer positions. Triggering the Sahm rule, nonetheless, would be a warning sign and presumably a wake-up call for the Fed to focus on the fight in front of it (preventing recession) and not the nearly won war against inflation.

Things are starting to get ugly, with a smell of panic in Technology land as the "can't miss" semiconductor stocks are stinking it up. But at least the money fleeing those stocks is being moved into other areas of the market. The NYSE, Dow Jones Industrials, the S&P 500 equal weight, the S&P MidCap 400, the Russell 2000, and the S&P Small Cap 600 continue to catch a bid -- with most remaining near all-time highs. We had mixed results after the bell, with MSFT down 2.6% and AMD up 9%. MSFT had been hanging near its 100-day average while AMD had been destroyed in recent months. The most-loved semi, NVDA ($103.73) fell another 7% Tuesday and has given back 23.5%. But the stock is still up massively from $11 in October 2022. In our July 25 comment, we proffered that those looking to add/start a position in NVDA should note that there is an unfilled gap at $106.50, the 21-week exponential at $104, and another unfilled gap as well as the last breakout area at $96. So with pain comes opportunity -- and we have now entered a potential region of support. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX $220.58) has cratered almost 17% over the past 14 sessions, its largest decline in that time period since June 2022 (which was during a tough bear market for Information Technology). There is a cluster of support near $200, which includes the last low in April, trendline support off the lows since October 2022, and a 38.2% retracement of the bull market. Distribution days on the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and the SOXX continue to add up, as we count seven on both ETFs over the past 14 days. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Early last week, we talked about the broadening stock market, but noted that the expansion in outperformance remained within Information Technology. We have seen a pause in the leading semiconductor stocks, but a pop in computer hardware and software. We also have seen nice short-term moves in banks, with some breaking out of bullish bases. But it's the semis we are worried about for a number of reasons. The industry has been on fire, soaring by 31% since April 19; by 79% since October 2023; and by 165% since October 2022. There have been a few decent pullbacks along the way, which is positive as each pullback creates a bullish base and a platform that turns into chart support on the way down. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is 70% above its 200-week exponential average. That was exceeded only after the rebound from the pandemic, so we are in rarefied air. While the S&P 500, S&P 100, Invesco S&P Top 50 (XLG), Nasdaq, and Nasdaq 100 all have made all-time highs over the past five days, the SOXX has done so by a mere $0.31. The Van Eck Vectors Semi ETF (SMH), the Dow Jones U.S. Semiconductor Index ($DJUSSC), and "King Nvidia" have not. The SOXX relative strength (RS) versus the QQQs has been flat since early March, while the RS of the other two semi indices has been flat over the past month. The vortex indicator for the semi stocks is either just crossing into sell territory or is close. The last time this occurred was in late March and again in August to October of 2023, both early days in semi pullbacks. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Crude oil (WTI) looks like it is finally waking from its slumber, but Energy sector stocks have barely budged. WTI broke out of its bearish channel on Monday and has popped to $80.60/barrel, from a June 4 low of $72.48. The channel had been in place since early April, with crude bottoming in an area of chart support between $68 and $76. WTI also broke back above its 50-day average after losing it on May 1. The next potential resistance is at the $82 level, which represents a 61.8% retracement of the recent decline and is an area of minor overhead supply. The final decline in early June was a false breakdown -- and many times, these are bullish. On June 4, WTI cycled into minor oversold territory of 30 on the 14-day relative strength index, and that momentum indicator now is back above the midpoint of 50. Daily moving-average convergence/divergence (MACD) has turned higher and is very close to crossing into positive territory. While it appears the trend has turned, trend strength (according to the Chande Trend meter) is barely above neutral and the daily Vortex indicator is neutral. Longer term, it's possible that crude oil is tracing out a bullish base between the mid-$60s and the mid-$90s.

Tuesday was a tough start to the last four days of May, especially for the broader market. Yes, NVDA hit another all-time high (ATH), popping 7% and now up 20% in just three days following the company's quarterly report. But since gapping to an ATH on May 15, the S&P 500 has stalled for the past eight days, while the Nasdaq and the Nasdaq 100 have crawled a bit higher. The real weakness on Tuesday was in the Dow Industrials, the NYSE, and the S&P MidCap 400 -- which all gave back 0.6%.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday ahead of the April jobs report due out on Friday. Apple (AAPL) rose 6% after hours when it announced a $110 billion stock buyback plan. The two-year Treasury yield fell to 4.889% while the 10-year yield was down to 4.58%. The Dow was up 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq rose 1.5%. Crude oil traded above $79 per barrel and gold rose $3 to $2313 per ounce.

Early last year, the consensus belief had the economy headed toward a recession and the Federal Reserve needing to be aggressive with interest-rate cuts to prevent significant weakness in GDP. As 2023 progressed, the recession callers backed off as the economy kept its footing after the huge hike in the fed funds rate as well as the entire Treasury curve. And while inflation came down a lot faster than may thought, it did so without a concurrent weakening in the economy.

Stocks gave up early gains on Wednesday morning as investors continued to weigh comments from Fed officials along with a new round of earnings reports. Warner Bros. Discovery plunged more than 15% after the company reported a wider-than-expected 3Q loss amid weak network advertising revenue. Disney will report fiscal 4Q results after the close. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 0.2%. Crude oil fell to $76 per barrel, while gold traded near $1963 per ounce.

An old saying (that we have tweaked a bit) goes something like this: The faster the retreat, the quicker the slide will be complete. When a stock, a sector, an index, a commodity, a Treasury bond, a currency, or any other instrument falls out of bed and drops from the second to the first floor, a strong bounce is usually near. We have talked about the importance of price slopes many times -- and when they are steep or parabolic (be that to the downside or the upside), the best advice for those playing the direction is be ready for a sharp reversal. In other words, don't get overly greedy on the way up and don't get overly panicked on the way down.

The FOMC kept the fed funds target at 5.25%-5.50%, but continues to say that rates will stay higher for longer. The chances for a 25-basis-point hike at the meeting on November 1 popped to 72% from 31% on Tuesday. In addition, the potential for rate cuts in 2024 has fallen, as the market now sees the funds rate at a target of 5.5%-5.75% by the May 1 meeting next year. We warn investors not to get too hung up on what the Fed does and says. Still, the central bank has a remarkable history of tightening too much and pushing the economy into a recession.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Institutions must file a Form 13F to report their holdings, and it is due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters. So these forms have now come in from 2Q23. We like to review the 13Fs of major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others, in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists have made progress in the past year with high-profile investments into companies such as Fedex and Union Pacific. According to Vickers, here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers such as Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors LLC.

Stocks fell on Tuesday morning on concerns about weak trade data from China, as both exports and imports declined more than expected in July. Investors also weighed Moody's credit downgrades of 10 U.S. banks. On the earnings front, UPS shares fell after the company reported mixed 2Q results and lowered its full-year revenue and margin forecasts. Meanwhile, Lilly jumped 17% after reporting strong 2Q results, helped by sales of its new diabetes drug, and raised its 2023 guidance. The Dow fell 1.0%, the S&P 1.1%, and the Nasdaq 1.4%. Crude oil fell slightly to $81.50 per barrel, while gold traded near $1960 per ounce.

Earnings, Employment, Economy: Three Es Keeping Recession at Bay

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.

We are raising our intermediate-term technical outlook back to bullish from neutral. After breaking out of a bullish cup formation on February 1, and above chart resistance from the prior highs at 4,100, the S&P 500 (SPX) pulled right back to that level on Monday and again on an intraday basis on Tuesday. The index also fell right to short-term trendline support off the lows since January 20. The result was a picture-perfect bullish backtest of support and a very strong bounce.

Stocks Rally in October, but Fed, Elections Threaten Gains

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 fell on Friday morning after a better than expected July employment report raised prospects for continued aggressive Fed rate hikes. The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 528,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, up from a revised 398,000 in June and well above the consensus forecast of 250,000. The official unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%, below the consensus of 3.6%. Wage growth was higher than expected. Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% from the prior month and 5.2% from the prior year, both above consensus estimates. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P 0.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.1%. Crude oil rose more than 2% to $90.50 per barrel, while gold fell $15 to $1792 per ounce.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13-Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have now come in from 1Q22. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, according to the data from Vickers.

April Deluge: Our Monthly Survey of the Economy, Interest Rates, and Markets

Stocks plunged on Thursday on concerns about soaring inflation and the impact of aggressive Fed rate hikes. The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index rose at a 7.5% annualized rate in January, up from 7.0% in December and the highest reading in 40 years. Employment data was mixed. First-time jobless claims fell to 223,000 for the week ended February 5, down from 239,000 a week earlier and below the consensus forecast of 230,000. Continuing claims were flat with the prior week at 1.621 million and slightly above consensus. The Dow fell 1.47%, the S&P 1.81%, and the Nasdaq 2.10%. Crude oil traded near $90 per barrel, while gold fell $7 to $1830 per ounce.

Back with a Vengeance: Our Monthly Survey of the Economy, Interest Rates, and Markets

Back with a Vengeance: Our Monthly Survey of the Economy, Interest Rates, and Markets

KKR is one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, with $459.1 billion in total assets under management, including $349.1 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of September 2021. The company has two core segments: asset management (which includes private markets--private equity, credit, infrastructure, energy and real estate--and public markets--primarily credit and hedge/investment fund platforms) and insurance (following the February 2021 purchase of a 61.5% economic stake in Global Atlantic Financial Group, which is engaged in retirement/annuity and life insurance lines as well as reinsurance). On the asset management side, private markets accounts for 42% of fee-earning AUM and 67% of base management fees, while public markets account for 58% and 33%, respectively.

July ended with a bout of selling, but bulls considered it overdue profit-taking after another successful month. Even with Friday's washout, the S&P 500 rose 2.3% in July. That marked six straight months of appreciation for the blue chip index (only January has been negative in 2021) and was the best market month since April.

Stocks continued their recovery on Friday morning, despite weaker-than-expected April retail sales data. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales were unchanged last month following a 10.7% jump in March. The reading was below the consensus call for 1.0% growth. The Dow rose 0.8%, the S&P 1.1%, and the Nasdaq 1.6%. Crude oil traded near $65 per barrel, while gold rose $16 to $1840 per ounce.

The stock market performed well last week, touching fresh highs with no clear-cut catalysts aside from relatively strong earnings. Tech stocks outperformed blue chips, though small-cap stocks outperformed both. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 28 points, or 0.09%. The S&P 500 was up 0.47%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.50%. For the week, the DJIA climbed 310 points, or 1.00%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.23%, and the Nasdaq Composite led the way, climbing 1.73%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 2.78%, the S&P 500 is up 4.76%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 9.37%.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13-Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have been processed for 3Q20. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of Activist investors, according to Vickers.

Stocks rose strongly on Wednesday morning despite the still uncertain outcome of a much closer-than-expected presidential election. Still, by mid-morning, Joe Biden had opened narrow leads in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin and stood to benefit from as yet uncounted mail-in ballots in these and other key states. Wall Street also focused on the Senate, where Republicans were likely to remain in control with a narrow majority. The Dow rose 2.1%, the S&P 2.6%, and the Nasdaq 3.7%. Crude oil traded near $39 per barrel, while gold fell $8 to $1903 per ounce.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13-Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and are just now coming in from 2Q20. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of Activist investors, according to Vickers.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13-Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and are just now coming in from 2Q20. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of Activist investors, according to Vickers.

Stocks were largely flat on Thursday morning following a new round of corporate earnings reports and weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time unemployment benefit claims fell by 249,000 to 1.186 million for the week ended August 1, below the Reuters consensus forecast of 1.415 million. On the earnings front, Bristol-Myers shares rose after the company posted strong 2Q results and boosted its full-year guidance. The Dow was flat, the S&P fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Crude oil fell slightly to $42 per barrel, while gold rose $16 to $2066 per ounce.

Stocks were largely flat on Thursday morning following a new round of corporate earnings reports and weekly employment data. The Labor Department said that first-time unemployment benefit claims fell by 249,000 to 1.186 million for the week ended August 1, below the Reuters consensus forecast of 1.415 million. On the earnings front, Bristol-Myers shares rose after the company posted strong 2Q results and boosted its full-year guidance. The Dow was flat, the S&P fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Crude oil fell slightly to $42 per barrel, while gold rose $16 to $2066 per ounce.