The markets fluctuated on Wednesday as Boeing (BA) and Twitter (TWTR) earlier today posted better than expected earnings, but as bond yields and commodity prices increased.
Action Alerts PLUS holdings Amazon (AMZN) , Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the companies reporting after today’s close.
Here are three top takes from the columnists of Real Money and Real Money Pro, our premium sites for Wall Street professionals and active investors:
Jim Cramer: Follow the Bouncing Equities
TheStreet’s Jim Cramer says, “Of course it can bounce. No one disputes that. Our own Carolyn Boroden told a very good story here about a bounce. We were down big yesterday. We have some companies that reported good numbers and some that are bad.”
“The good ones are asserting themselves,” says Cramer, “The bad ones? They can lift, too. How about the bull markets?”
“To me you just have to stay close and recognize that we have some mixed pictures.”
Uncertainty Is the New Market Normal – And More Severe Tests Are Coming
“I would love to tell you that this news flow is over and now you may return to our normally scheduled programming. Gang, I would love to, but the fact is that the mental state (and market condition) of uncertainty is your new normal. Monetary and fiscal policy have both been perverse for so long, does anyone really think that they will know when a normalized equilibrium is reached? Is that even possible?,” writes Real Money columnist Stephen Guilfoyle.
4 Dividend Grower Stocks to Watch
Real Money columnist Jonathan Heller notes that “the 10-Year’s move above 3%, which is believed to be a ‘psychological’ level by many, may be unwelcome competition for dividend paying stocks, especially if it continues to head higher. One potential strategy for dividend seekers is to identify stocks that have historically increased their dividend payouts, and may have the wherewithal to continue to do so.”
Heller has screened stocks with specific criteria. “Twenty-two names made the cut, and I will create a tracking portfolio to monitor performance moving forward, in order to see whether the concept has merit in an increasing interest rate environment, ” Heller says. To begin, here are four of his qualifiers.
