Stocks Soar, Poised To Close Up For The Week  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed sharply higher yesterday, with the S&P and the Nasdaq back in the green for the week. The Dow just missed the cut, but only needs a fraction of a percent to get into the weekly plus column as well. Of course, the week's not over, as we still have one more day to go. But yesterday's strong end of day rally bodes well. The war on Ukraine continues. It's been heartening to hear how well Ukraine has been performing. And reports that Ukraine destroyed a Russian landing ship that was unloading armored vehicles was great to see. But the misery in Ukraine continues. And the world hopes the fighting will be over soon. NATO met in Brussels yesterday to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, as President Zelensky has pleaded for more weapons to defend themselves. Although, there has been no official report on what additional steps NATO will take to support Ukraine. In other news, Weekly Jobless Claims fell more than expected, declining by -28,000 to 187K vs. the consensus for 215K. Jobless claims are now at a new 52-year low! Durable Goods Orders fell -2.2% m/m vs. views for -0.5%. Ex-transportation it was down -0.6% vs. estimates for 0.5%, with Core Capital Goods down -0.3% vs. views for 0.4%. And the PMI Composite Flash report came in at 58.5, with the Manufacturing Index at 58.5 vs. the consensus for 55.0, and the Services Index at 58.9 vs. expectations for 52.5. The last several weeks, and really the last several months, have been a challenge. In spite of 40-year high inflation, $100+ oil, and a war, the markets have shown just how resilient they are. The major indexes, from their all-time high close to yesterday's close, are down just -5.69% for the Dow, -5.76% for the S&P, and -11.6% for the Nasdaq. For the year, the Dow is down just -4.49%, the S&P is down -5.16%, and the Nasdaq is down just -9.29%. The challenges are real. But the impressive economic numbers, and the market's steadfast performance, underscores how strong the economy is. And why it looks like there's a lot more upside to go for both! Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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