Credit: Shutterstock photoInvestors aren't exactly panicking about Turkey's financial crisis, but they still don't like the possibility of such a meltdown spreading to other markets overseas. Wall Street started the week in a defensive posture with the major indices each moving lower.
Despite geopolitical concerns, tech held up the best on Monday. While it wasn't enough to keep the NASDAQ's positive open going, it did give the tech-heavy index the smallest loss of the day with a slip of 0.25% to 7819.7.
After teasing for several days last week that a new all-time high was on the way, the S&P has now slipped for four straight sessions. It was off 0.40% to 2821.9.
The Dow had the worst performance as several big banks moved lower due to the Turkey mess. The index has its own four-session skid after today's decline of 0.50% to 25,187.7.
"While the potential for Turkey to blow up is scary, the economy is only the 17th largest in the world. So, while this potential crisis is a bigger deal than Greece, it likely won't affect the U.S. unless there is contagion in other Europe countries," said Jeremy in Counterstrike .
"While markets were weak the last two trading days, most stocks have held up fine. The market still feels strong, so I added two more stocks today," he continued.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Counterstrike: If the market is disappointed because a company "only" beats by 12%, then you know that company has been on quite a roll. Such is the case for Weight Watchers (WTW), which soared 100% to over $100 from January through June. But that 12% surprise was the smallest of the year, leading to a plunge in shares of more than 25%. Needless to say, Jeremy sees the HFTs playing games here and thinks that WTW is poised to continue moving higher, so he bought the stock on Monday with a 7% allocation.
You'll definitely need WTW's services if you spend too much time at today's second buy. Dave & Buster's (PLAY), which combines dining and entertainment in their multiple locations across the country, also drifted lower despite a 12% positive surprise. It has since recovered some of that lost ground, but the editor still feels comfortable adding the name. Since the recent move lower has already confirmed support, Jeremy decided to buy a bigger 12% allocation. Read a lot more about these moves in the full write up.
Momentum Trader: Tech is back on the move after stumbling a bit during earnings season and Dave found a company from the space with room to run higher. AudioCodes (AUDC) is a vendor of advanced voice networking and media processing solutions for the digital workspace. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) reported a "stellar" quarter that included a positive earnings surprise of 40%. The stock is breaking out and gained more than 5% on this otherwise down day. The editor believes the share price can stay above $10 and continue moving higher, so he added it today with a 12.5% allocation. Read the complete commentary for more.
Black Box Trader: This weekly adjustment included three swaps. The stocks sold from the portfolio include:
• Platform Specialty (PAH)
• Sprouts Farmers Markets (SFM)
• CBRE Group (CBRE)
The new buys that replaced these names include:
• Molina Healthcare (MOH)
• DR Horton (DHI)
• Kemet Corporation (KEM)
Read the Black Box Trader's Guide to learn more about this computer-driven service designed to take the emotion out of investing.
Zacks Confidential: So was this earnings season really as good as everyone was expecting? Yes! But that doesn't mean everything went up. In fact, there were some high profile misses just as there were high profile beats. Kevin knows exactly who to turn to when it comes to earnings season. In this week's Zacks Confidential , Director of Research Sheraz Mian offers another extensive breakdown of the quarter. Plus, get a couple of recommendations and find out what's in store for next season by clicking: Final Q2 Earnings Scorecard.
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
