The daily charts for the major indices all have a 'rolling-over' look, with the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) appearing to be ahead of the S&P 500 (SPX) for a break lower. As well, the news from the Middle East seems to be getting worse by the day -- but, so far, the U.S stock market and economy seem to be turning a blind eye to the potential implications. Crude oil prices, both WTI and Brent, aren't exploding, but have seen pretty good rallies. WTI hit $87.60/barrel at the end of last week from the low $70s just two months ago, while Brent almost reached $92 last week from $77 in early February.

The stock market blasted off late last week, propelling the S&P 500 to an all-time high (ATH). It has been a long recovery (over two years) for the index, as its last ATH was on January 3, 2022. The Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 100 beat the '500' to new highs, while the S&P 400 is close. The Nasdaq and the NYSE still have work to do to puncture their ATHs from late 2021 and early 2022. The Russell 2000 and S&P 600 are nowhere near all-time highs.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership. Form 13-Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters and have come in for 3Q23. We review 13Fs of major activists to determine core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing is now less about generating a short-term return and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists recently made progress with investments into companies such as FedEx and Union Pacific. Based on Vickers data, here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers.

Stocks fell on Thursday, extending yesterday's Fed-driven selloff. While the central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday, the 'dot-plot' expectations of Fed officials pointed to another rate hike later this year and indicated that rate cuts next year would be slower than previously expected. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ended September 16. Turning to stocks, shares of Cisco are down after the announcement the company will purchase cybersecurity and data analytics firm Splunk (SPLK) for around $28 billion in cash. The Dow fell 1.1%, the S&P 1.6%, and the Nasdaq 1.8%. Crude oil fell 1% to $89.50 per barrel, while gold traded near $1940 per ounce.

Stocks recouped some of their recent losses on Friday morning following the government's July employment report. The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 187,000 payroll jobs in July, up from a revised 185,000 in June but below the Reuters consensus of 200,000. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.5% from 3.6% in June, and wage growth was stronger than expected. Average hourly earnings rose 4.4% from the prior year, above the consensus forecast of 4.2%. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.6%, and the Nasdaq 0.8%. Crude oil rose 1% to $82.50 per barrel, while gold rose $8 to $1977 per ounce.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Form 13-Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have now come in from 1Q23. We review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners and ValueAct Holdings, among others, in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists have made progress in the past year with high-profile investments into blue-chip companies such as FedEx Inc. and Union Pacific. Based on Vickers data, here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of Activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers such as Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors LLC.

The S&P 500 (SPX) continues to trend toward several important pieces of resistance following the rally off the March 13 intraday low of 3,809. First, the SPX is right at trendline resistance off the peak since August. Back in the latter part of February, the index had broken down out of a bearish wedge, backtested the lower line of the pattern, and continued lower. From the February 2 closing high to the recent closing low, the index gave up almost 8%, or 324 points. Based on the size of the wedge, a minimum target was down at 3,656 -- which the index didn't come close to hitting.

Certain major indices are approaching very important chart areas and (as we have said recently) some are very close to completing bullish reversal patterns. That could mean the indices would leave their bear markets behind and enter a new bull market. The S&P 500 (SPX) is not quite there.

While stocks have fallen of late, insider sentiment has become increasingly bullish. In keeping with that theme, major stock indices were indeed higher last week. But with the strength in stocks fading noticeably as the week wore on, it sure didn't feel like a rebounding stock market. And the current insider-sentiment data from Vickers Stock Research does little to help -- bringing to mind a well-known quote from Hollywood producer Robert Evans: 'There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying.'

Stocks fell on Thursday morning, led by declines in the Energy and Consumer Discretionary sectors, following new inflation data. The personal consumption expenditures price index rose 6.3% from the prior year in May after a similar increase in April. The core PCE, excluding food and energy, rose 4.7% from the prior year, down slightly from 4.9% a month earlier. The Dow fell 0.8%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 1.0%. Crude oil traded near $107 per barrel, while gold fell $6 to $1811 per ounce.

In this edition, ServiceNow well-poised, electric components on verge of a surge, Illumina's shares have fallen, and Bayer, Carnival, and Kellogg.

Last week, the stock market had its best week since November 2020, breaking its five-week losing streak. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 274 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 1.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.05%. For the week, the DJIA was up 1,810 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 was up 6.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 8.18%. Year-to-date, the Dow is down 4.36%; and the S&P 500 is off 6.36%. The Nasdaq Composite extended its relative underperformance and is now down 11.19% year-to-date.

Stocks rose on the first trading day of January, but since then have endured an as-predicted bumpy ride. The DJIA has fared the best, down just 0.29% in the first trading week of 2022. The S&P 500 is now down 1.87% year-to-date. The Nasdaq has fared the worst, down 4.53% in the first trading week of the new year.

In our view, the Life Sciences segment of the U.S. Healthcare industry is poised for strong growth over the next few years. This is the part of the industry that is developing the next generation of gene therapies, oncology biologics, and vaccines. Gene therapy holds promise for many diseases, but today serves only as an alternative treatment for some rare diseases. After a period of stagnation, gene therapy has experienced a renaissance, due largely to significant advances in technology and manufacturing scale. Scientists have developed safer, more-efficient viral vectors with better targeting capability. As such, the future for gene therapy appears bright. Currently, there are approximately 400 ongoing gene-therapy clinical trials, and we expect to see new gene therapies gain regulatory approval in the years ahead. This is critically important for patients and patient communities who are waiting for therapeutic advances to treat unmet genetic diseases. In the Argus Universe of Coverage, the following companies are among those that are involved in this part of the Healthcare market. All of them carry an Argus BUY rating.

Stocks were largely flat at midday on Tuesday after paring early losses. On the housing front, the Case-Shiller index showed a sharp 19.1% rise in the price of single-family homes for the 12 months ended in June, up from 17.1% a month earlier and above the Reuters consensus forecast of 18.5% growth. Consumer confidence data was weaker than expected. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell to 113.8 in August, down from 125.1 in July and below the consensus of 123.0. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $69 per barrel, while gold fell $2 to $1810 per ounce.

Last week, we talked about the relative-strength turn towards Technology stocks that started in the middle of May. It just happened to coincide with the decline in the long end of the Treasury yield curve to the downside. If a pop in rates hurts Tech stocks, then a retracement in rates should help the sector. The 10- and 30-year Treasury yields have fallen only two to three basis points over the past month, which is not all that much. But perhaps more importantly, they stopped going up.

Certain market sentiment indicators are getting quite bubbly again -- and although we have not paid much attention to this data, it's of interest to step back and review seemingly out-of-bounds optimism. This time, the action comes from the CBOE put/call ratios (P/C), Rydex investor data, small-trader option activity, and the AAII measure of asset-allocation to stocks.

Stocks rebounded on Thursday morning after three days of losses, led by the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors. The Colonial pipeline resumed operations after last week's cyberattack, and was gradually restoring fuel supply to areas affected by the shutdown. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 473,000 for the week ended May 8, down from a revised 507,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus of 490,000. The Dow rose 1.4%, the S&P 1.5%, and the Nasdaq 1.5%. Crude oil fell more than 2% to $65 per barrel, while gold traded near $1820 per ounce.

Stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning amid a new increase in bond yields and weak employment data. Payroll provider ADP said that U.S. private companies added 117,000 jobs in February, well below the Reuters consensus forecast of 177,000 and down from a revised 195,000 in January. Services activity also slowed. The Institute for Supply Management said that its services index fell to 55.3 in February from 58.7 in January and missed the consensus forecast. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%. Crude oil traded near $61 per barrel, while gold fell $25 to $1709 per ounce.

This edition features innovation in cancer screening; video games amid the pandemic; the new administration's effect on energy and utilities companies; and notes from Western Union, Fastenal, and new coverage Neogen.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13-Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have been processed for 3Q20. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of Activist investors, according to Vickers.

Our weekly review of insider sentiment, using data from Vickers Stock Research, has us looking for calendar dates that we can use to end the phrase 'the weakest point since.' As in, 'that data point is at its weakest point since...'

Stocks finished lower on Thursday for the fourth time in five days. Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported first-time jobless claims of 884,000 for the week ended September 5, slightly above consensus, and continuing claims of 13.385 million. In other news, the Senate voted down the GOP coronavirus relief bill, which makes it less likely that a bill will be passed before the November election. The Dow fell 1.45%, the S&P 1.76%, and the Nasdaq 1.99%. Crude oil fell to $37 per barrel, while gold fell $4.50 to $1950 per ounce.

Stocks finished lower on Thursday for the fourth time in five days. Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported first-time jobless claims of 884,000 for the week ended September 5, slightly above consensus, and continuing claims of 13.385 million. In other news, the Senate voted down the GOP coronavirus relief bill, which makes it less likely that a bill will be passed before the November election. The Dow fell 1.45%, the S&P 1.76%, and the Nasdaq 1.99%. Crude oil fell to $37 per barrel, while gold fell $4.50 to $1950 per ounce.

Since April, we have looked at the largest biotech ETF (the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology, or IBB) a number of times with the idea that the industry may come back into favor and provide some decent returns. The industry had been a funk since peaking out in spectacular fashion back in July 2015. Since that peak, and subsequent crash into 2016, the chart has been full of false breakouts and false breakdowns, with absolutely no net gains.

Since April, we have looked at the largest biotech ETF (the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology, or IBB) a number of times with the idea that the industry may come back into favor and provide some decent returns. The industry had been a funk since peaking out in spectacular fashion back in July 2015. Since that peak, and subsequent crash into 2016, the chart has been full of false breakouts and false breakdowns, with absolutely no net gains.

We have published our latest version of the Argus Millennial Generation portfolio. This new generation of consumers - the Millennials - has recently become the largest demographic cohort in the country, and this group, with new lifestyle preferences and different career goals, is demanding a new menu of sustainable products and services. The intersection of important Millennial trends - sustainability, healthier living, an entrepreneurial spirit - has resulted in the emergence and growth of numerous companies well suited to the new generation. Many of these companies are expected to be future industry leaders and are included in the dynamic Argus Universe of Coverage. A diversified portfolio, of course, is more than just a list of companies linked to themes. To build the Argus Millennial Generation Portfolio, we applied financial concepts such as industry diversification, income generation, risk reduction and growth at a reasonable price.

Back on June 5, we noted that there was finally some action in the Treasury market that could lead to higher yields over the intermediate term. Well, yields immediately turned lower, falling from 0.96% to 0.65% by June 11. Certainly, we can blame some of that on last Thursday's stock market slam.

Back on June 5, we noted that there was finally some action in the Treasury market that could lead to higher yields over the intermediate term. Well, yields immediately turned lower, falling from 0.96% to 0.65% by June 11. Certainly, we can blame some of that on last Thursday's stock market slam.