Stock Market Today: FDA Gives Stocks a Booster Shot
The FDA's emergency-use green light of a COVID-19 treatment helped give the major indices a lift Monday, with the Dow leading the way.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
Enthusiasm for potential treatments for COVID-19 continued to boost stocks in this brand-new bull market.
The major indices were helped Monday by an Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to use antibody-rich plasma from recovered COVID patients to treat serious cases in new patients – despite thin evidence so far of its efficacy.
Financial Times (paywall) also reported on Sunday that "the Trump administration is considering bypassing normal US regulatory standards to fast-track an experimental coronavirus vaccine from the UK for use in America ahead of the presidential election, according to three people briefed on the plan," but AstraZeneca (AZN) denied that report.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The S&P 500 (+1.0% to 3,431) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.6% to 11,379) both set record closing highs, and the small-cap Russell 2000 gained 1% to 1,568. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the strongest of the major indices, gaining 1.4% to close at 28,308; it remains about 4% below its Feb. 12 all-time closing high.
Looking ahead: Dollar General (DG), Nordstrom (JWN) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) are among the companies to watch out for in a retail-heavy earnings slate.
The Market's Heavy Tilt Continues
They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but that hasn't been precisely accurate this time around.
Despite Monday's "rotation" day that saw more cyclical sectors take the lead, technology (and tech-related) stocks with mega market values have done most of the lifting in boosting the major indices to record highs, even as many other stocks have delivered dismal returns.
"'Big tech' (how they’re generically compartmentalized) has been a powerful force. Rightly so, the dominance of the five largest stocks in the S&P 500 have received much investor attention (and buying pressure)," writes Liz Ann Sonders, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, in recent market commentary. "In equal-weighted terms, they represent 1% of the S&P 500; but in cap-weighted terms, they now represent nearly their own quartile."
"That said, it would be in keeping with history for at least some short-term consolidation – which could simply take the form of a rotation away from the concentrated leadership areas vs. something more sinister. Most historical studies of similar periods of concentration show a tendency for flat-to-lower stock prices short-term; but higher prices longer-term."
That shouldn't put longer-term investors off the tried-and-true formula of buying cheap, market-tracking exchange-traded funds, but it's understandable if even generally conservative investors want to be a bit more tactical with their approach. Stock picking is back in fashion because of stark disparities in individual share performance this year. Individual asset classes and market sectors are leaving others behind in the pandemic's new normal.
One way to build a nimble but diversified portfolio aimed at weighting current winners over laggards is to gather up a variety of low-cost ETFs. Read on to discover Kiplinger's 20 favorite cheap ETFs that cover various facets of the market.
-
How to Turn Your 401(k) Into A Real Estate EmpireTapping your 401(k) to purchase investment properties is risky, but it could deliver valuable rental income in your golden years.
-
My First $1 Million: Retired Nuclear Plant Supervisor, 68Ever wonder how someone who's made a million dollars or more did it? Kiplinger's My First $1 Million series uncovers the answers.
-
How to Position Investments to Minimize Taxes for Your HeirsTo minimize your heirs' tax burden, focus on aligning your investment account types and assets with your estate plan, and pay attention to the impact of RMDs.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into AMD Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayAdvanced Micro Devices stock is soaring thanks to AI, but as a buy-and-hold bet, it's been a market laggard.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UPS Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayUnited Parcel Service stock has been a massive long-term laggard.
-
How the Stock Market Performed in the First Year of Trump's Second TermSix months after President Donald Trump's inauguration, take a look at how the stock market has performed.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Lowe's Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayLowe's stock has delivered disappointing returns recently, but it's been a great holding for truly patient investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into 3M Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayMMM stock has been a pit of despair for truly long-term shareholders.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Home Depot Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayHome Depot stock has been a buy-and-hold banger for truly long-term investors.
