Stocks Up On Stimulus, Dow Hits Another New All-Time High  Image: Bigstock Stocks were mostly higher yesterday with the large-cap Dow and small-cap Russell 2000 leading the way. The Nasdaq ended just a fraction of a point lower, but they held onto virtually all of the 3.69% gain from the day before. With the House passing the Senate's stimulus bill yesterday, that $1.9 trillion package will start making its way into the economy in the very near offing. The economy was already poised to soar as the U.S. gets ready to fully reopen its businesses in the coming weeks and months. But the added stimulus should send the economy and the market even higher. In other news, MBA Mortgage Applications were off -1.3% due to refi's being down by -5.0%. But the purchase index was up 7.0%, and that's on top of last week's gain of 2.0%. And the Consumer Price Index came in as expected at 1.7% on a y/y basis. Ex-food and energy, that drops down to 1.3%, just under last month's 1.4% and views for the same. Today we'll get a look at Weekly Jobless Claims, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report (or JOLTS for short). That comes on the heels of last week's blowout jobs report where 379,000 new jobs were created last month. With report after report coming in better than expected, coupled with the unprecedented amount of money getting ready to be pumped into the economy, I would not be surprised to see forecasts for future growth revised sharply higher. As it stands now, the Atlanta Fed is already estimating Q1 GDP to come in at 8.4%, and others are forecasting full-year GDP to grow at the fastest pace in 38 years. But something tells me that will be going up. In the meantime, what we are seeing right now is history in the making.
And historic times typically usher in historic price moves. So make sure you're taking full advantage of it. By the way, in spite of the rally we've seen so far, I think valuations look great. I know some people get spooked when they see a high stock price. But the price of a stock tells you nothing about its valuation. For example, a $100 stock can be considered a major bargain whereas a $10 stock can be considered overvalued. And vice versa. But there's no denying the attraction of lower priced stocks. Especially when you find those overlooked gems right before they break out. Yet just like high priced stocks, plenty of people have hang-ups about low priced stocks as well. But I love finding low priced picks just as much as the next guy. And if you like finding them too, make sure you read our latest commentary... 3 Keys to Cheap Stocks with Big Upside Potential Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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