No Good Reasons for the Bull Market to End at This Time

Only two weeks ago I wrote the headline, “Hello 4,600.” And in just a short while we stretched out to touch 4,700 intraday before closing just a notch below, says Steve Reitmeister, editor of Reitmeister Total Return.

This is not a shock to anyone, given that there are no good reasons for the bull market to end at this time. The only mysteries are how long the bull market lasts, how high it goes, the path it takes to get there, and which stocks will be the standout winners.

The oddity is yet another stock with a seemingly strong earnings report in Dropbox Inc. (DBX) opening higher and then falling apart tick by tick on the day. Right now, I see no fundamental reason for this. It just appears to be the silly games that computer-based traders play.

Often, they target stocks they know they can manipulate to press them lower on events like earnings reports to make money on the way down. And then they become buyers of the same exact shares, at depressed prices, as they know it should rebound as long-term value investors climb on board. I sense this is what happened to DBX, and that's why I am not shaken from our ownership of these shares.

A good example of these computer games is the insanity with Boyd (BYD) last week. They fell 5% because industry peer, Penn Gaming, had a bad earnings report.

But what the HECK does that have to do with Boyd?

They already announced strong earnings. They already received higher estimates. They already received analyst praise and higher targets. Meaning, Penn’s problem are Penn’s alone...not Boyd’s. And thus, it was downright INSANE for BYD shares to drop yesterday. But they did drop because, once again, computers are making the decisions (because they see an opportunity to make it happen).

Yet we saw a reversal of that insanity with BYD rising +5% on the session. And yes, I point that out as I suspect DBX will see a timely righting of today’s wrong.

In other portfolio news, APA Corporation (APA) continues to rally after their impressive report and now rests near the top of the RTR leader board at +54% since inception. Don’t be surprised if it finds some resistance here at $30 before breaking above.

Other recent additions like ManpowerGroup (MAN), MKS Instruments Inc. (MKSI) and Olin Corporation (OLN) are off to strong starts in the portfolio. Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) continues to rally from the recent low of $103 to $129.05 at today’s close.

From here, the economic calendar slows down. And so too does the earnings report calendar. Hopefully in the calm reflection this time will provide, more investors will be wooed by the attractive growth and value properties of our stocks, leading to further gains.