Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the Nasdaq Stock Market is the second-largest exchange in the world by market capitalization, after the New York Stock Exchange. It officially separated from the NASD and began to operate as a national securities exchange in 2006.
NASDAQ, the “National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations”, was at first just a quotation system and didn’t actually trade stocks. As the Nasdaq Stock Market got going, it included a lot of stocks that traded as speculative over-the-counter (OTC) issues.
But as the Exchange became the first U.S. stock market to start trading online, it attracted new tech companies who saw it as a more modern, more dynamic place to list their stocks. Those companies included, Apple, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft and Oracle and a host of others.
The exchange’s heavy weighting toward tech and other “riskier” issues lets investors use it as a barometer of how much risk investors are willing to take on at any one time.
The Nasdaq Stock Market has a pre-market session from 4:00 am to 9:30 am Eastern, a normal trading session from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm, and a post-market session from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
It has three market tiers: Capital Market (small-cap) is an equity market for companies that have relatively small levels of market capitalization; Global Market (mid-cap) is made up of stocks that represent the Nasdaq Global Market, consisting of 1,450 stocks that meet Nasdaq’s strict financial and liquidity requirements; and Global Select Market (NASDAQ-GS large cap), consisting of 1,200 stocks and more exclusive than the Global Market.
It’s been a relatively quiet week for the major indexes despite some bad news (Iran, big warning from Broadcom today), which we take as a constructive sign following the strong push higher after last Monday’s market low. As we write this, the S&P up...
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With the market having come back strong since its swift retreat in early June the immediate threat of a larger correction has diminished. The S&P 500 index is back above its 50-day line and within a couple percentage points of its all-time high.
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From Cabot Top Ten Trader
Our intermediate-term trend model has yet to turn positive—it’s relatively close, we’d probably need to see the Nasdaq lift a couple of percentage points from here for it to happen. There are also a couple of yellow flags we’re an...
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The June market rally has been a ray of sunshine after a dreary May. Is it sustainable? Here are two reasons to think so - and two reasons to question it.
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Our Cabot Tides are yet to flash a green light, and thus we’re content to hold our strong, profitable stocks, but also to keep a chunk of cash on the sideline.
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Our Emerging Markets Timer is still solidly in the bull camp, with the recent pullback being modest compared to the year-to-date upmove.
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The market found its mojo after the Fed vaguely insinuated that it could conceivably consider cutting rates before the end of the year. But it looks like the momentum is gone.
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Market Views
Mixed Signals
The $SPX chart is still bearish, because there are lower highs and lower lows on its chart. Oversold rallies typically carry from their lows up to and slightly above the declining 20-day moving average. That’s exactly what this rally has done far...
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The market remains strong and I continue to recommend that you be heavily invested in a well-diversified portfolio that meets your investment needs.
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The market has been up for six straight days, marijuana stocks look good, overall, and while we don’t quite have a buy signal from our intermediate-term trend-following indicator, we are very close. Today we are averaging up in three stocks.
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We’re looking at economic data that could push interest rates upward (rising food price inflation and business expansion) and we’re also looking at economic data that could push rates downward (GDP potentially falling due to China tariffs, and slowing employment numbers).
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Microsoft doesn't make headlines much anymore. But MSFT stock has been rock solid. Lately, it's been much better than that.
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There has been a flurry of reverse stock splits of late. Are they good for investors? Traditionally no. But there are exceptions.
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Stock Recommendation Tracker
The Stock Recommendation Tracker is a table that features all of the current recommendations in all of our portfolios. It’s a quick way for you to see what stocks are currently in our portfolios and will highlight new additions or any to...
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Stock Recommendation Tracker
The Stock Recommendation Tracker is a table that features all of the current recommendations in all of our portfolios. It’s a quick way for you to see what stocks are currently in our portfolios and will highlight new additions or any to...
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THE BIG IDEA
On a whim, I recently reviewed our car insurance.
Something didn’t feel right, so I went online and got a quote from another provider. It turns out they could cover our two cars with essentially the same coverage – for half the was...
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The market started this week with another sharp selloff, continuing the May weakness and bringing the major indexes down 7.65% (S&P 500) to 10.8% (Nasdaq) from their peaks. But since Monday, the action has been excellent, and the major indexes are working on gains,...
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Pieces are in Place
We’re about five weeks into this market correction, and it’s been a pretty nasty one when looking at the major indexes—from high to low, the S&P 500 has fallen as much as 7.6% and the Nasdaq by 10.8%, with small- mid-cap...
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Emerging markets (EEM) and Chinese stocks in particular continue to struggle a bit this week. The EEM is trading right at its 200-day moving average and below its 50-day moving average so the portfolio remains in a defensive stance.
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The broad market has advanced nicely since mid-day Monday when news that the Fed might lower interest rates sparked a wave of buying. Long-term, the future is bright. But short-term, the portfolio is happy holding a cash level of 23%, deferring new buying.
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