Fed Flips The Script On Wednesday's Session

Apparently, the Fed’s 2% inflation target isn’t the tripwire to more hikes as was previously feared. In the minutes released Wednesday, Fed Chair Powell and friends suggested that “a temporary period of inflation modestly above 2%” would be tolerable.

In other words, the market heard that breaching 2% inflation won’t immediately trigger the dreaded fourth rate hike of 2018 (a hike in June is widely expected). This dovish news flipped the market’s script on Wednesday. The major indices started the session in the red on growing pessimism over trade talks with China and the June summit with North Korea. But a late surge after the minutes brought stocks onto positive ground.

The NASDAQ advanced 0.64% to 7426, while the S&P increased 0.32% to 2733.3. The Dow was under by more than 150 points at its worst but finished with a gain of 0.21% to 24,886.8.

Portfolio activity was more modest on Wednesday, but there were still a couple of noteworthy moves. Options Trader wants more time for one of its winners. The editor sold existing calls for a big gain and then immediately reinvested with bull call spreads. Also, Home Run Investor used a pullback in a solar company to get in at a good price after a strong earnings report. Learn more about these moves and more in the highlights section below:

Today's Portfolio Highlights:

Options Trader: The two calls in Stryker (SYK) have really paid off for the portfolio over the past month. But now there are only 23 days left until expiration, so Kevin wants more time. The editor sold to close those June 170.00 Calls Wednesday for a profit of 132%. But then he immediately repositioned into several bull call spreads by buying to open 6 September 185.00 Calls AND selling to open 6 September 190.00 Calls. If these spreads can get to $190 by their mid-September expiration, then they will make 354%. See the full write-up for more specifics on today’s moves.

Home Run Investor: The portfolio pounced on an opportunity Wednesday to pick up Solaredge Tech (SEDG), which was getting beaten up by the shorts and was down about 7% Wednesday. Brian Bolan liked its recent beat-and-raise quarter and sees a long-term tailwind in California’s recent law requiring new homes to include solar panels. This buy is part of the editor’s plan to cap the portfolio’s number of holdings at 15. Therefore, Wednesday’s activity also included selling three names, including Ruth’s Hospitality Group (RUTH, +7.5%). Learn about all these moves in the full write-up.

Insider Trader: The turnaround plan at Tiffany (TIF) appears to be working really well for the jewelry staple. On Wednesday, it reported a positive earnings surprise of approximately 35% as net sales of $1.03 billion also beat our expectations and improved 15% from last year. Same-store sales were up 7%. Perhaps most importantly, TIF raised its outlook for fiscal 2018. Shares soared by 23.3% Wednesday, which easily gave IT the best performing stock of the day among all the portfolios.

Disclosure: Zacks.com contains statements and statistics that have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. References to any specific ...

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