Once again, it was a bifurcated market on Wednesday that saw Big Tech & Communication Services names lift the NASDAQ to an all-time high. But the old stodgy tech names in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (IBM, Cisco, and Intel) were among the biggest losers in the index. The biggest disappointment came from airline stocks, which took off at the open and closed negative on the day.

The S&P 500 eked out a net gain; however, buying was focused on defensive sectors: Utilities and Real Estate. 

More great news came from the manufacturing sector. The June Purchasing Managers’ Index report (PMI) came in at 52.6, well ahead of the consensus estimate of 49.0 with strong percentage point gains in key categories. 

Employment remains in deep contraction for the 11th month in a row.

Rollbacks

More rollback news from California and McDonald’s (MCD), coupled with a mandatory mask notice in Pennsylvania, became a speedbump. Watch for President Trump to promote masks soon, which would please the market.

Portfolio Approach

There were no changes in our Hotline model portfolio yesterday.

Portfolio Approach

We added a new Consumer Discretionary Position and reduced Cash to 5% in our Hotline Model Portfolio.  If you are not currently a subscriber to our Hotline service, call your account representative or email Research@wstreet.com.

Today’s Session

In June, the jobless rate fell to 11.1% from 13.3% in May.  There were 4.8 million jobs gained from 2.7 million in May, as the continued resumption of economic activity ramped up. New people filing for claims decline by 55,000 to 1.43 million, which is an improvement but is still historically high.

Jobless Rate Month over Month

The futures doubled on the news.  We will have more information on the economic data released in our Afternoon Hotline.