GM and Toyota came under President-elect Donald Trump's watchful eye
Stocks kicked off 2017 in fine fashion, with the Dow coming within one point of the highly watched 20,000 mark, and the
S&P 500 Index (SPX) and
Nasdaq Composite (COMP) also tallying
new highs. And while a strong start to the new year for the SPX suggests
the bull market could continue over the long term, several
signs of short-term caution are flashing. As such, we're watching these
seven key technical levels on the broad-market barometer.
Healthcare stocks were in full focus this week, as the new Republican-led Congress got underway -- and Vice President-elect Mike Pence promised a quick repeal of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although
valuation concerns busted Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN) and
a court ruling sent Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) spiraling, several names boomed on the all-but-expected end to Obamacare. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), for instance, is set to end the week nearly 7% higher, although
historical headwinds could put pressure on the shares this year. Additionally, Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:AGN) -- while
snapping its impressive daily win streak -- is on track for a more than 5% weekly win.
And while President-elect Donald Trump was quick to offer his two cents on Obamacare via Twitter, it was his tweets toward automakers that caught Wall Street's attention. Specifically, shortly before Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) said it would
cancel plans to build a plant in Mexico, Trump sent
a critical tweet over sector peer General Motors Company's (NYSE:GM) south-of-the-border Chevy Cruze operations. Likewise,
Trump condemned Japan-based Toyota over its planned Mexican plant.
Retail stocks also shared in the limelight, as
disappointing holiday sales sparked a sector-wide swoon -- albeit one that online retailer
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) avoided -- and brought several notable names to
critical technical junctures. Nevertheless, not all brick-and-mortar retailers followed in the bearish footsteps of
J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and
Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS), with Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) reporting a rise in December sales, and earning
a pair of bullish brokerage notes as a result.
There was plenty of action on the tech front, too, as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) got underway in Las Vegas -- and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shareholders took a tour of
the much-anticipated Gigafactory. Among the notable news coming out of CES were reports of GoPro Inc's (NASDAQ:GPRO) Karma relaunch -- which
sparked a short-lived breakout for the shares -- and Mobileye NV's (NYSE:MBLY) new strategic partnership with NIO, which followed up
a big announcement with BMW and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).
Looking ahead to the first full week of trading in 2017,
several Fed officials are set to take the stage -- with Wall Street looking for insight over the last jobs report of President Barack Obama's tenure,
released earlier today, as well as the "considerable uncertainty" toward the new administration the central bank expressed in
the recently released minutes from the December meeting. Additionally, the fourth-quarter earnings season is likely to draw some attention, with a number of big banks -- which have seen
a rapid rise in short interest of late -- on tap to report near week's end, including
potential contrarian candidate JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).
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