U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors digested positive retail data and company earnings. Monthly spending was up 0.4% from August. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims came to 241,000, down 19,000. The Dow was up 0.4% to close at a record high, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were nearly flat.

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.

It's been a wild, volatile, mostly down week with stocks rotating from tech to small caps, then surprisingly back the other way. There's been much selling and segmentation in the broad market. The massive, global IT glitch was not a welcome ending to a summer Friday morning. At midday, Wall Street is all in red and trying to shake off the week and get prepped for next week - Big Tech earnings are coming and more key inflation data.

The cold hard message is sinking in. Higher rates are here to stay for longer than expected. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said multiple times that the Fed will be 'data-driven' when deciding on monetary policy. And the data has spoken. First, let's look at inflation. There has been great progress made in knocking inflation down from its peak of 9.1% in June of 2022. But achieving progress at the current lower levels, with inflation in the low-3% range, as expected, has been difficult. The Fed has been specific, saying inflation needs to be at 2% before restrictive policy will be eased. The Fed was patient after the January inflation data, and again with February data. But when March showed persistently higher prices, the Fed threw came right out and said that change can wait. Chairman Powell said the following last week. "The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence..." and "If higher inflation does persist, we can maintain the current level of restriction for as long as needed." Now let's consider unemployment. The Fed again has been specific. Officials are looking for a 4.1% unemployment rate to gently (hopefully) slow the economy. Currently, the rate is not budging and is vacillating between 3.8% and 3.9%. Given the current macroeconomic backdrop, the following is a list of industries and companies we like that should benefit from a sustained period of higher interest rates. All are BUY-rated at Argus.

Stocks are up at midday trading on Monday following a volatile week. The 10-year Treasury yields are the highest since November on the heels of strong retail sales data. U.S. retail sales were above expectations, rising 0.7% in March. This follows an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in February. Sales excluding automobiles were up 1.1%, and excluding gasoline were up 0.6%. Among the advancing sales categories were gasoline stations (+2.1%), general merchandise (+1.1%) and building material & garden stores (+0.7%). Among the declining sales categories were sporting goods, hobby, music & bookstores (-1.8%), clothing (-1.6%) and electronic & appliances (-1.2%).The Dow was up 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%. Crude oil is trading near above $84 per barrel and gold fell $6 to $2368 per ounce.

Stocks are up at midday trading on Monday following a volatile week. The 10-year Treasury yields are the highest since November on the heels of strong retail sales data. U.S. retail sales were above expectations, rising 0.7% in March. This follows an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in February. Sales excluding automobiles were up 1.1%, and excluding gasoline were up 0.6%. Among the advancing sales categories were gasoline stations (+2.1%), general merchandise (+1.1%) and building material & garden stores (+0.7%). Among the declining sales categories were sporting goods, hobby, music & bookstores (-1.8%), clothing (-1.6%) and electronic & appliances (-1.2%).The Dow was up 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%. Crude oil is trading near above $84 per barrel and gold fell $6 to $2368 per ounce.

Stocks headed higher on Friday with the S&P 500 on track to hit an all-time high. Most of the magnificent seven stocks are higher. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey showed a 13% jump in overall sentiment during the month of January to 78.8. This was the highest since July 2021, and well above expectations for a reading of 70.1. The National Association of Realtors Existing home sales fell 1% last month from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.7 million, its lowest sales activity since August 2010. The Dow rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq gained 0.9%. Crude oil traded above $73 per barrel, while gold rose $8 to $2030 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.

Market Outlook for 2023

Market Outlook for 2023

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.

During the weeks leading up to earnings season, we highlighted bullish insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research. In addition, in the month since then, the S&P 500 has advanced by about 5.6%. Now that earnings season is underway, the insider sell/buy ratios from Vickers have weakened. Is it time to get defensive? We took a deeper dive on current insider-sentiment data, and we say no.

Monday Tee Up: Inflation and Earnings

Inflation Marches on as the Market Tries to Stabilize

Second-Quarter Review and Outlook for the Second Half of 2022

Stocks have struggled in 2022, but insider-sentiment readings from Vickers Stock Research have not at any time suggested a full-on dash to the exits is in order. In general, insiders have bought the dips.

Stocks plunged again on Tuesday morning after their wild swing on Monday amid continued interest rate concerns, mixed 4Q earnings reports, and the standoff with Russia over Ukraine. The IMF lowered its 2022 global economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 4.4%, reflecting a weaker outlook in both the U.S. and China. The IMF now projects 4.0% growth in the U.S. this year, down from its prior forecast of 5.2%. The Dow fell 1.4%, the S&P 2.2%, and the Nasdaq 2.8%. Crude oil rose to nearly $85 per barrel, while gold rose $5 to $1847 per ounce.

Stocks rose on Monday morning as investors awaited earnings from major tech companies this week. Facebook will report after the close on Monday. Tesla shares rose nearly 6% after the company reported that Hertz had ordered 100,000 Tesla cars. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil rose to more than $84 per barrel, while gold traded near $1809 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 Stumble as the Economy Moves Ahead

Stocks continued their overall strong trend in the April 16 week, which saw the launch of the biggest crypto exchange (Coinbase) and finished with modest but across-the-board gains. Also notable in that week was the resurgence in growth sectors that had previously taken a back seat to cyclical and defensive areas of the market.

Insider sentiment continues to suggest a reasonable degree of caution. As we have said for several weeks now, this caution does not mean that a major correction is bound to occur. But it does suggest that there are few near-term catalysts that insiders see as likely to drive stock prices (around all-time highs already) quickly higher.

New Year Brings More of the Same for Economy, New Sector Leadership