Stocks Up On Friday, Nasdaq Up For The Week

Plus 5 Just-Added Strong Buys Stocks Up On Friday, Nasdaq Up For The Week [Kevin Matras - EVP - Photo] Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President Stocks Up On Friday, Nasdaq Up For The Week [Stocks Up On Friday, Nasdaq Up For The Week]Image: Bigstock Stocks closed sharply higher on Friday with the Nasdaq leading the way with a gain of 2.66%. The Dow, S&P, and small-cap Russell 2000 still closed lower for the week, but the Nasdaq finished the week in the plus column. For the year so far, the Dow is up 0.69%, the S&P is up 3.47%, the Russell 2000 is up 6.02%, and the Nasdaq is up 6.44%. Much better start this year than last. Thursday's after-market earnings report by Netflix, which posted a negative EPS surprise, but impressed with a significant beat on new subscribers (7.66 million new subscribers last quarter vs. the consensus for 4.5 million), was up 8.46% on Friday. We also saw beats on Friday by State Street, which reported a positive EPS surprise of 3.50% (they were up 4.67%); Regions Financial posted a positive EPS surprise of 3.08% (they were up 4.61%); and Ally Financial posted a positive EPS surprise of 10.2% (they were up 20%). This week we'll get as many as 523 companies set to report, starting with today's 44 that are on deck. We'll also hear from biggies Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday, Tesla and Abbott Labs on Wednesday, Visa, MasterCard and Intel on Thursday, and Chevron and American Express on Friday. And we'll get one more look at inflation this week with Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, which is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. We saw better than expected inflation readings from both the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the Producer Price Index (PPI) in the last couple of weeks. Another report showing inflation easing should be looked at favorably by the Fed when they make their decision on rates on February 1. At the moment, the market is expecting only a 25 basis point hike vs. 50 bps the last time, and 75 bps in each of the 4 times before that. A move of 25 bps would put the midpoint for the Fed Funds rate at 4.63%. That would leave only 2 more hikes of 25 basis points to get to their projected terminal rate of roughly 5.10%. The market will be listening for any clues as to whether the Fed expects to lower that target, maintain it, or raise it. Interestingly, in spite of the Fed projecting to hit 5.10% before they call it quits, Fed Fund traders, at the moment, appear to be expecting the Fed to hit the brakes at 4.75% - 5.00%. Either way, in a week and a half, we shall find out what the Fed does, and what they are thinking. January is off to a great start. Let's see if the market can keep that going this week. See you tomorrow, [Kevin Matras - Signature] Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research [Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?]( Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +28.8% gain in 2021. Amazingly, they soared +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation. [See stocks FREE »]( Most Popular Articles from Zacks.com [5 Insurance Stocks Likely to Zoom Past Q4 Earnings Estimates]( Technological improvements and adoptions are expected to have lowered costs and improved efficiency for these industry companies. [Read More »]( [Buy 5 Large-Cap U.S. Bigwigs Ahead of Q4 Earnings Next Week]( Each of these large-cap stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. [Read More »]( [Low-Beta Technology; 3 Top Stocks to Consider]( If investors want to shield themselves from spooky price swings, targeting low-beta technology stocks is a solid method. 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