Busy Week Ahead With The Economy, Earnings, And The Election In Focus

Plus 5 New Strong Buys for Today

Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President

Busy Week Ahead With The Economy, Earnings, And The Election In Focus Image: Bigstock Stocks closed lower on Friday and lower for the week. Friday's pullback was led by big tech. In spite of beats by Amazon, Facebook, and Apple on Thursday after the close, they all traded lower on Friday, dragging down the markets. But I wouldn't worry too much about big tech. Nor would I worry too much about the market. I would chalk last week up to profit taking and position squaring with the catalysts being the rise in virus cases, and uncertainty ahead of Tuesday's election. As I was mentioning all last week, with Europe grappling with an increase in Covid cases and talk of more shutdowns, that fear spooked U.S. investors given the rise in cases here in the states as another shutdown would hamper growth. Fortunately, our economy has seen the fastest economic rebound in history. And because our economy was so strong going into the pandemic, it's allowed us to strongly bounce back. That was underscored by last week's Q3 GDP report which showed a 33.1% growth rate which was the largest in history. And with expectations for more growth in Q4 (especially if Congress can pass another stimulus bill after the election), not to mention expectations for all of 2021 to grow at the fastest pace in 38 years, it looks like there's a lot more upside to go for both the economy and stocks. Election uncertainty remains a factor as well. Even though the election is tomorrow, we could see uncertainty persist for the rest of the week, or longer if it's close, given the additional time to count mail-in ballots. But we could also very well see a winner declared tomorrow night, and everybody's worst fears over a contested election would vanish in an instant. We shall see. In the meantime, earnings season continues to roll on with 1,884 companies set to report this week, and another 1,241 next week. Since stocks typically go up during earnings season, it's nice to have that historically positive catalyst in play. And while we're on the topic of positives, Friday's Chicago Purchasing Managers Index came in better than expected at 61.1 vs. estimates for 58.0. And Consumer Sentiment increased to 81.8 from last month's 81.2 and views for the same. That was a 6-month high. Always nice to see a strong reading here since roughly 70% of our GDP comes from consumer spending. We may have a few crazy days with tomorrow's election. Or not. Either way, the economy is on a strong path of recovery. And as the economy continues to improve, that should be good news for stocks. See you tomorrow, Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research Sponsor Free Report: Buffett's Secret $11.3 Billion EV Stock Warren Buffett is quietly building an $11.3 billion stake in this little-known electric vehicle stock. It's surprising that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying this EV stock. Even more shocking is that Buffett's keeping this quiet. You will NOT find this stock in Berkshire's published portfolio. But it's the 4th largest position in his portfolio, bigger than his stake in Kraft Heinz, U.S. Bankcorp and Wells Fargo! Don't get left behind on Buffett's huge bet. Go here ASAP to download my FREE report with the NAME and TICKER SYMBOL of this stock. Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com Image: Bigstock 4 Top Gainers From the Rise in New Durable Goods Orders Durable goods orders picked up Q3, signaling that activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector is seeing steady expansion. Read More » Image: Bigstock Coronavirus Continues to Boost Videogame Sales: 4 Winners The industry has found a blessing in disguise in the coronavirus pandemic that is keeping people indoors most of the time. Read More » Image: Bigstock 4 Stocks to Capitalize on Promising Foreign Auto Industry Auto sales growth in China and rising demand of EVs amid climate change concerns are fueling the Zacks Foreign Auto industry's prospects. Read More » Image: Bigstock The Great Chip Consolidation: Who's Next? The biggest chip deals in history are occurring right now in one of the most unprecedented markets. Read More » Image: Bigstock Can U.S. Economy Hold Momentum in Q4 After an Astonishing Q3? At this stage, it is a good time to invest in large-cap (market capital >$10 billion) growth/momentum stocks. Read More » Sponsor Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks? Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +44.0% gain from 2017 through Q2 2020. Amazingly, they soared +50.9%, +93.8%, +122.2, +153.0%, and even +156.8%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation. See Stocks Free >> Image: Bigstock Bull of the Day: Qorvo (QRVO) A leading provider of radio frequency (RF) solution, a market that is expected to explode over the next 5 years as the 5G revolution connects everything. Read More » New Zacks Strong Buys for November 2nd Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List today. Read More »   Download our app for convenient on-the-go access to even more—daily and weekly newsletters published by Zacks experts, proprietary research and tools, and Portfolio Tracker on Zacks.com. Visit Success Stories to hear how Zacks research, tools and portfolios help our members outperform the market. Get all of our market insights and much more when you connect with us. This free resource is being sent by Zacks.com. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The Zacks #1 Rank Performance covers the period beginning on January 1, 1988 through October 5, 2020. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank #1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above. Zacks Emails If you would prefer to not receive future profit-producing emails from Zacks.com the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, then please click here and confirm your request. If you have trouble with the unsubscribe link, please email support@zacks.com. Zacks Investment Research 10 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1600 Chicago, IL 60606