Categories: Smart Money Masters HotlinesStock Market News

Markets Hit New Highs as All S&P 500 Sectors Shine

Major U.S. market averages hit record highs this past week.

The S&P 500 closed the week 0.15% higher, while the Dow Jones jumped 0.80%. The Dow has been a notable outperformer in recent weeks, and is trading higher than both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in 2017.

Tech stocks recovered, with the Nasdaq rising 1.29%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell another 0.24%, as expectations of a Q4 rally in emerging markets were dashed.

Most gains in your Smart Money Masters portfolio this past week were moderate, with no single stock breaking out to the upside. Chase Coleman’s Priceline Holdings (PCLN) rose 3.30%. Mohnish Pabrai’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCAU) recovered 2.42%. Murray Stahl’s Texas Pacific Land (TPL), your latest recommendation, gained 2.37%.

Seven of your positions are trading below their 50-day moving averages this past week and currently are HOLDs.

Portfolio Update

For the S&P 500, it seems times couldn’t get much better.

Telecom and energy stocks have rallied to push above their 200-day averages. Every major sector is in a bull market, with the S&P 500 itself hitting a new all-time high on Monday.

Surprisingly, historical data going back to 1928 shows that such behavior is not bullish for the market in the coming months. Over the next month, there was more of a downside than upside skew to the returns historically. This negative effect lasted up to the next three months.

Since 1990, the returns have been significantly better. We also are in the midst of strong seasonality. I expect the market to continue its uptrend into the spring.

This is the final weekly update for Smart Money Masters for 2017, since I will be taking a holiday break next week.

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy

Nicholas Vardy

Nicholas Vardy has a unique background that has proven his knack for making money in different markets around the world. He was the Editor of The Global Guru, a free weekly e-newsletter, and also edited the trading services Momentum Trader Alert, which focused on making short-term profits in the hottest markets in the world, and The Alpha Algorithm, which was designed specifically to deliver big, fast triple-digit winners, month after month. He was also the editor of Smart Money Masters, a monthly service focused on longer term investments recommended by the brightest minds in the business. Mr. Vardy has been a regular commentator on CNN International and the Fox Business Network. He has also published articles in The New Republic, The World and I, and The Baker & McKenzie Legal Review. The Global Guru/Nicholas Vardy has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fox Business News, CBS MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance, and MSN Money Central. Mr. Vardy graduated from Stanford with a B.A. — with honors and distinction — in both Economics and History, and he also earned an M.A in Modern European Intellectual History. After winning a Fulbright Scholarship, he earned a J.D. degree at Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. When not uncovering investment opportunities for his subscribers and investors, Mr. Vardy is a keep-fit enthusiast and an avid student of classical music.