Editor’s Note: The stock market will be closed next Monday, January 16, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The InvestorPlace offices and customer service department will also be closed on Monday. We hope you enjoy the long holiday weekend!
The second week of January proved to be a very headline-driven one. So in today’s Market360, let’s review the big news that dictated market direction.
The first bit of economic news came from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday when he made his first public appearance of the year. Powell stated that the Fed’s independence from politics is crucial for its battle against inflation. Investors seemed to take well to this news as stocks did advance as investors weigh this new information.
Then on Thursday morning, the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released. As I discussed in Thursday’s Market 360, overall CPI declined 0.1% over the past month and is now running at a 6.5% annual pace, which was in line with economists’ expectations. While investors’ initial reaction to the CPI numbers was mixed, stocks ultimately ended the day up nicely higher with the S&P 500 climbing up 0.3%, and the Dow and NASDAQ both rising 0.6%.
The big banks stepped up to the plate with their latest quarter reports on Friday. Results were mixed; Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) topped analysts’ estimates, while Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo Corporation (WFC) fell short of earnings expectations. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon also made some “doom and gloom” comments about a potential recession this year that spooked investors and dragged the bank stocks and the broader market lower in early trading.
The big banks’ earnings marked the official start of the fourth-quarter earnings season, but it will kick into high gear next week. In the meantime, I’ve taken a close look at the latest institutional buying pressure and each company’s fundamental health and revised my Portfolio Grader recommendations for 98 blue chip stocks.
Chances are you have at least one of these stocks in your portfolio, so you may want to give this list a skim accordingly. I’ve listed the first 10 stocks below that were downgraded from a Buy (B-rating) to a Hold (C-rating). For the full list of 98 stocks – as well as their Fundamental and Quantitative Grades – click here.
| Ticker | Company Name | Total Grade |
|---|---|---|
| ACI | Albertsons Companies, Inc. Class A | C |
| AEG | Aegon N.V. ADR | C |
| AXP | American Express Company | C |
| BBDO | Banco Bradesco S.A. Sponsored ADR | C |
| BBY | Best Buy Co., Inc. | C |
| DD | DuPont de Nemours, Inc. | C |
| DFS | Discover Financial Services | C |
| FCNCA | First Citizens BancShares, Inc. Class A | C |
| HBAN | Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | C |
| JPM | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | C |
Now that the fourth-quarter earnings season is here, you want to be invested in the stocks that are poised to post strong earnings, sales and positive forward-looking guidance, as these are the stocks that should be rewarded by Wall Street. In other words, you want your portfolio to be chock-full of companies with superior fundamentals.
If you’re not sure where to look, then consider my Growth Investor service. My Buy Lists are filled with fundamentally superior companies that are forecast to post stunning earnings and sales growth and set to emerge as the market leaders in the coming weeks and months. If you join me at Growth Investor today, you’ll have full access to my latest buys, Top Stocks lists, as well as my High-Growth Investment and Elite Dividend Payers Buy Lists.
Click here to learn how to get started with Growth Investor today.
Sincerely,
Louis Navellier
The Editor hereby discloses that as of the date of this email, the Editor, directly or indirectly, owns the following securities that are the subject of the commentary, analysis, opinions, advice, or recommendations in, or which are otherwise mentioned in, the essay set forth below:
