Stocks Rise For Third Straight Week Despite Trade Questions

Macy's stock was hit with a major sell-off

Josh Selway

Jan 11, 2019 at 2:49 PM

U.S. stocks rose this week, though Friday's price action has them set to snap their five-day win streak -- the longest such streak for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) since September. Another streak remains alive, however, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), SPX, and Nasdaq (IXIC) each are set for a third straight weekly win. Trade talks between the U.S. and China were the main focus this week, and the government shutdown generated more headlines, too, but a resolution still seems far off.

Cannabis and Retail In Focus

Weed stocks continue to stoke the imagination of Wall Street, with Cowen becoming the latest firm to say it's bullish on the sector for 2019. Tilray (TLRY) saw huge gains this week, as did Constellation Brands (STZ) investment Canopy Growth (CGC). In response, there was a lot of movement from call traders.

Retail was the other sector making big moves this week, after a number of high-profile department stores released holiday sales figures. Traders mostly expressed disappointment with the updates, with Macy's (M) shares in particular getting bashed for the company's fourth-quarter update.

More Healthcare M&A, Airline Weakness

Traders were met with more buyout buzz out of the healthcare space to start the week, when Eli Lilly (LLY) said it was buying Loxo Oncology (LOX) for $8 billion. This was against the backdrop of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which had a number of drug stocks making huge moves.

For travel stocks, it was more dreariness after American Airlines (AAL) gave an ugly forecast and these booking sites were hit with a bear note. Meanwhile, analysts picked a pizza delivery favorite, and stuck behind Amazon.com (AMZN) in a big way. Another analyst put Wix.com (WIX) on their best ideas list.

Netflix Earnings Are Coming

Looking ahead, there's reason to believe Crocs (CROX) shares will keep rising to new highs, and these bank stocks could be good targets for bullish traders. Investors will also be watching closely Netflix's (NFLX) earnings release, scheduled for after the close on Thursday.

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