Vertex Pharmaceuticals Share News (VRTX.US)

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HOW TO KEEP THE BEAR AWAY (1027 EDT/1427 GMT)

The S&P 500 has been flirting with bear market territory in May, but it is yet to join the Nasdaq with that distinction after relentless declines mostly led by growth stocks.

Macroeconomic risks including the war in Ukraine and a slowdown in China are as much as a contributing factor as heightening inflation, and a more hawkish Federal Reserve to combat it.

Goldman Sachs has recognized 20 stocks that offer a "Margin of Safety" for equity investors looking to seek shelter from the storm.

GS has identified these stocks based on three main factors: size and liquidity, balance sheet strength and attractive valuation.

"The typical stock on our list today trades at an adjusted 2023 P/E of 12x compared with the S&P 500 median of 20x." - GS

The list includes:

Company name                       Sector
Best Buy Inc                       Consumer Discretionary 
Franklin Resources                 Financials 
ConocoPhillips                     Energy 
Coterra Energy                     Energy 
Chevron Corp                       Energy 
Devon Energy                       Energy 
Electronic Arts                    Communication Services 
EOG Resources                      Energy 
Microchip Technology               Information Technology 
Micron Technology                  Information Technology 
Pioneer Natural Resources          Energy 
Qualcomm Inc                       Information Technology 
Qorvo Inc                          Information Technology 
Robert Half International          Industrials 
Skyworks Solutions                 Information Technology 
T. Rowe Price                      Financials 
Tyson Foods                        Consumer Staples 
Take-Two Interactive               Communication Services 
Vertex Pharmaceuticals             Healthcare 
Exxon Mobil                        Energy

RISK-ON RUN IN EARLY TRADE (1007 EDT/1407 GMT)

Wall Street's main indexes are jumping in early trade Tuesday as solid retail sales data and a clutch of strong forecasts added to an upbeat global mood driven by hopes of easing crackdown on tech firms and COVID-19 in China.

In Europe and Asia, shares rallied as Shanghai achieved the long-awaited milestone of three straight days with no new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine zones, raising hopes that restrictions might be eased. With this, the iShares China Large-Cap ETF is surging around 3%.

Of note, even with a pop in the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield back up toward 3%, growth shares are outperforming value so far on Tuesday.

This with a decided "risk-on" bent to early trade, with FANGs, banks, and chips among outperfomers so far, while defensive groups lag.

Here is an early trade snapshot:

NASDAQ 100 FUTURES: THE MAGIC OF 50%? (0912 EDT/1312 GMT)

Traders eye retracement levels on their charts as zones from which significant reversals may develop.

Some traders expect a market or security to retrace half of its prior bull or bear phase at which point they may look for some form of trend change. So far, CME e-mini Nasdaq 100 futures are dazzling the crowd:

From their March 2020 pandemic-panic intraday low to their November 22, 2022 intraday high, Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 10,187 points, or 155%, over 424 trading days.

After collapsing from their November peak, the futures did find support in February and March at the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the March 2020-November 2022 advance.

The futures came within 0.5% of the 38.2% retracement on March 15, before experiencing a powerful 18% 10-day thrust into their late-March peak.

However, that rally proved fleeting, then failing to sustain strength above the descending 100-day moving average (DMA), the futures ultimately collapsed to fresh lows.

Last Thursday, at their 11,689 intraday low, they were down 5,072.75 points from their November peak, which put them just 20.75 points, or only around 0.18%, from the 50% retracement of the March 2020-November 2022 bull-phase at 11,668.25.

As if a wand was waived, the futures immediately stabilized, and rallied.

In premarket on Tuesday, they were up more than 7% from last Thursday's low in less than three trading days.

It now remains to be seen if this test of the 50% retracement will do the trick for bulls, and if strength will prove to be more sustainable than the rally from mid-to-late March.

At the moment, the 100-DMA, which capped the March pop, is nearly 2,000 points, or about 15%, above the last price.

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