Weekly Performance Review July 5th – July 10th, 2021

The major indices logged their third straight weekly increase and closed in the week in record territory.  A resurgence in fears around the pandemic caused a dramatic mid-week drop, but a strong rebound on Friday helped boost stocks back into positive territory, leaving the Dow and the Nasdaq with a gain of 0.4% and the S&P with a weekly gain of 0.2%. By contrast the Russell 2000 sank more than 1% for the second straight week of losses.

The financial sector led the way, and will take the spotlight next week with the latest earnings results from several banks. 

As earnings season kicks into high gear, the recovery picture should become more clear.  Continue reading for more market insight and to find out how our trades performed for the week.  

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07-06-2021_TAN up 0.2%

The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) is a great way to gain exposure to solar without investing in just one stock.  The fund seeks to track the MAC Global Solar Energy Index and is comprised of about 35 individual components — including both U.S. and international stocks.  The fund follows a blended strategy, investing in both value and growth stocks with various market caps. 

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07-07-2021_KO up 1.38%

Earnings estimates have been trending higher in anticipation of Coca-cola’s upcoming Q2 earnings call.  The company has a long established positive earnings history.  For the past 6 straight quarters KO has topped earnings estimates.  Impressively, for the past two quarters the company has boasted an average earnings surprise of 12.32%.

The stock has been the recipient of a string of upgrades since KO’s last earnings call.

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07-08-2021_SH

The main risk of traditional short-selling is that while profit is capped (a stock can only fall to zero), risk is theoretically unlimited.  Of course, other tactics can be used to cover a position at any time, but with a short-selling position, inventors are at risk of receiving margin calls on their trading account if their short position moves against them. 

Inverse or “short” ETFs are another option that allow you to profit when a certain investment class declines in value.  Some investors use inverse ETFs to profit from market declines while others use them to hedge their portfolios against falling prices.  

With nearly $4 billion in assets, the ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH) is the largest inverse fund by value.  Commonly used by investors as a hedging vehicle, the fund strives to deliver the inverse performance of the S&P 500 (SPX).  If you’re concerned about the stock market falling, then this fund that moves the opposite direction of the largest 500 U.S. corporations is the simplest way to protect yourself. 

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07-09-2021_STMP up 0.47%

E-commerce thrived last year amid lockdowns and social distancing restrictions and continues to thrive as many are maintaining remote arrangements.  In the first quarter ended March 31st, e-commerce sales in the United States increased 39% year over year to $196.66 billion.  Online sales accounted for 19.5% of total retail sales in the first quarter, which is an increase of 360 basis points from the same period last year.

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