During trading Thursday, 161 stocks traded to a 52-week high, while 2 stocks bottomed out at new 52-week lows. The S&P 500 is up 0.98% so far today while the Dow is up 0.8%, the Nasdaq is up 1.24%, and the Russell 2000 is up 0.08%.
Stocks are mostly higher Thursday as tech stocks lead the way higher and small caps drag behind. Helping stocks push to record territories today was better-than-expected March Retail Sales which showed 9.8% growth as stimulus measures bounced spending back after it declined 2.7% in February. Initial Claims fell more than expected as well, posting a sharp drop to 576,000 claims last week, after spiking to 769,000 the week before. Additionally, banks are down sharp despite continuing to beat earnings estimates, with Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup © both falling after beating earnings and revenue estimates this morning.
Sector Highlights
Financial Services stocks dominated our list of highs today with 33 out of the 161 total stocks that reached their high coming from the Financial Services sector. The Financial Services sector is underperforming the market, decreasing 0.48% so far on the day. Over the last month the Financial Services sector has underperformed the market, decreasing 1.48% while the S&P increased 4.6%.
BlackRock (BLK) stock is on highs after missing earnings estimates while beating revenue estimates. Meanwhile, Brown & Brown (BRO) is on highs following yesterday’s acquisition of Leon Silver for an undisclosed amount. Lastly, Prudential (PRU) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse with a price target of $121.
Financial Services: AFL, AIZ, AJG, ALL, AMP, APAM, BGCP, BLK, BRK.B, BRO, BSIG, BX, EQH, FAF, FNF, GAIN, GL, KKR, MCO, MRCC, MSCI, NDAQ, ORI, PRI, PRU, RE, SC, SF, THG, TW, VOYA, WRB, WU,
Consumer Cyclical had the second largest presence on our 52-week highs, with 24 out of 161 highs coming from the Consumer Cyclical sector. The Consumer Cyclical sector is underperforming the market today, increasing 0.66% so far on the day. Over the last month the Consumer Cyclical sector has outperformed the market, increasing 6.54% while the S&P increased 4.6%.
American Eagle (AEO) is on highs after providing upside Quarter 1 guidance yesterday. Meanwhile, AptarGroup (ATR) is on highs despite being downgraded at Robert W. Baird to Neutral from Outperform, with a price target of $150. Lastly, Home Depot reached highs after being downgraded to Hold from Buy at Zelman.
Consumer Cyclical: ABG, AEO, AN, ANF, ATR, AZO, CAL, CCK, GPS, HD, KTB, LEVI, LGIH, LOW, MLHR, ORLY, PAG, ROST, SBUX, SKX, TOL, TPR, WH, YUM,
The Lists
The following stocks traded to 52-week highs:
ABG, ACM, AEO, AFL, AGCO, AIZ, AJG, ALL, AMP, AN, ANF, APAM, ARCB, ARDX, ATR, AVY, AZO, BGCP, BIP, BKH, BLD, BLK, BRK.B, BRO, BSIG, BX, CAL, CC, CCK, CDW, CE, CI, CORE, CPT, CRL, CSX, CWST, DELL, DRE, DTE, DUK, DXC, EL, ELF, EPAM, EQH, EXP, EXPD, EXPO, FAF, FISV, FIX, FLT, FNF, FR, FRPT, FTNT, FUL, G, GAIN, GL, GLW, GMED, GOOGL, GPN, GPS, GRA, HD, HHC, HPQ, HUBG, ILPT, INGN, INMD, IPG, IQV, JBL, JCOM, KDP, KFRC, KKR, KRO, KTB, LAND, LEVI, LGIH, LH, LHX, LIN, LOW, LPX, LSI, LSTR, MCO, MDT, MDU, MEDP, MLHR, MMS, MMSI, MOH, MRCC, MSCI, MSFT, NDAQ, NEOG, NSA, NTAP, NTUS, NVDA, NWE, NXRT, ODFL, OMC, ORCL, ORI, ORLY, PAG, PCH, PEG, PM, POST, PRAH, PRI, PRU, PSA, PWR, RE, RFP, RGP, ROST, RSG, SBUX, SC, SF, SGH, SKX, STE, STX, SUN, SUPN, SYK, SYNH, TBI, TFX, TGNA, THG, TOL, TPR, TSN, TW, UNH, VOYA, WH, WRB, WRI, WU, WY, XPO, YUM, ZBH
The following stocks traded to 52-week lows:
EVFM, EXTN
The following ETFs traded to a 52-week high:
UT, DIA, ECH, EFA, EPP, EWA, EWC, EWG, EWQ, EWT, EWU, EWW, EZA, EZU, GREK, ICF, IHF, IHI, IOO, ITB, IWF, IYH, IYM, IYR, KCE, KIE, MDY, MOO, OEF, PHO, QQQ, RTH, SDY, SLX, SPY, URE, VGK, VNM, VNQ, VTI, XLB, XLK, XLP, XLV
The following ETFs traded to a 52-week low:
VXX
