(Relatively) Smooth Sailing through Global Market Turbulence

U.S. stock markets corrected for the fourth straight week. The Dow was down 1.17% and the S&P 500 dropped 1.01%. But it has been the global markets that have been hit especially hard, with the MCSI Emerging Markets Index tumbling yet another 3.39%. This index is now down a whopping 13.39% year to date.

Overall, your Bull Market Alert portfolio strongly outperformed the broader U.S. markets this past week, with four out of six positions ending in the plus column. Big gainers included Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS), rising 7.24%, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), up 3.34%, with SSYS moving back to a BUY.

The market sell-off is entering its fifth week, since most markets peaked in the third week of May. But by focusing on specific news-driven stock stories like Delphi Automotive (DLPH) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), up 21.58% and 22.19%, respectively, since my initial recommendations, you’ve done a good job of avoiding much of the pain of this harsher-than-expected sell-off.

By way of comparison, just look at how the world’s top-performing stock market of 2013 — the Philippines — has fared since late May.

That’s an eye-popping 20.17% drop since hitting its high on May 15.

As a general rule, the bigger the drop, the bigger the bounce.

So, I think there will be some big opportunities in global markets in the coming weeks.

But until then, with six positions in your Bull Market Alert portfolio, you have just the right level of “risk on” in your portfolio.

So, I’ll be back with a new Bull Market Alert recommendation next week.

Portfolio Update

Bank of Ireland (IRE) lost 11.43% last week. Fitch Rating’s recent report on IRE noted that Irish finance authority support for the “pillar banks,” including Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks, remains “undiminished” despite retirement of the Irish Bank Eligible Liabilities Guarantee (ELG) back in March of this year. Falling below the 50-day moving average, IRE is now a HOLD.

Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (MPEL) dipped 0.95%. The future of gambling revenue in the Macau region remains intact. Already six times the size of gambling operations in Las Vegas, Macau’s gambling-related revenue as a percentage of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is double the percentage of gambling revenue as a percentage of the U.S. GDP. Moreover, Macau has potential sustainable revenue of $100 billion over the next 10 years, making this investment theme one of the most compelling in Asia. MPEL is a BUY.

Delphi Automotive (DLPH) gained 1.63% over the past five trading days, hitting another new 52-week high. The bullish case remains intact for DLPH as robust return on equity and solid stock price performance drive this stock higher. DLPH is a BUY.

Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS) gained 7.24% last week, following the prior week’s 6.63%, “Jim Cramer news-induced” drop being the buying opportunity I figured it might be. Also helping SSYS to move higher is news that SSYS is in talks to acquire competitor 3D-printer maker Makerbot. Jumping above its 50-day moving average, SSYS changes back to a BUY.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) added 3.34% last week. The largest narcolepsy study to date, the BOND study, released earlier this month, both confirmed and validated the work that JAZZ is doing combating this disease. The study created increased awareness of the disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. JAZZ is a BUY.

Sony Corporation (SNE) rose 1.64% for its first trading week in your portfolio. Sony’s new PlayStation 4 (PS4) video-gaming console received a universal thumbs-up from consumers at the industry leading E3 video-gaming conference last week. In fact, Sony upped its PS4 sales estimates solely based upon the positive reception at E3. With the Japanese Nikkei index climbing back over 13,000, SNE is a BUY.

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