Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Scores Biggest Surge in 4 Months
Tesla, Apple and a most other large-cap tech names triggered a relief rally in the Nasdaq a day after the index fell into correction.
The Nasdaq Composite, doing its best impersonation of a pendulum of late, swung hard in the bulls' direction Tuesday with its best one-day performance in roughly four months – just one day after falling into a correction from its Feb. 12 peak.
"The Nasdaq market 'capitulated' (on Monday)," says market strategist Louis Navellier. "Volume was light, however, which is less of a concern than high-volume declines, which indicate panic."
Today's "buy-the-dip" moment in the tech-heavy index coincided with a short reprieve in rising Treasury rates; the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 1.55% on Tuesday.
"The 10-year (yield) is now overbought on the short-term charts," says Dan Wantrobski, technical strategist and associate director of research at Janney Montgomery Scott, adding that further pullbacks "should power better relative performance out of the tech sector over the short-run."
Tesla (TSLA, +19.6%) broke a five-session slump, roaring ahead on robust vehicle sales data out of China. That, as well as big moves in tech blue chips such as Apple (AAPL, +4.1%), Microsoft (MSFT, +2.8%) and Nvidia (NVDA, +8.0%) sent the Nasdaq 3.7% higher to 13,073 – its biggest single-day gain since Nov. 4, 2020. The Dow finished a slim 0.1% higher to 31,832.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The S&P 500 gained 1.4% to 3,875..
- The small-cap Russell 2000 popped 1.9% to 2,245.
- U.S. crude oil futures declined by 1.6% to $64.01 per barrel.
- Gold futures rebounded 2.3% to settle at $1,716.60 per ounce.
- Rocket Cos. (RKT, +3.2%) broke a four-session losing streak on the record date of its $1.11-per-share special dividend. While RKT's payout is expected to be a one-time affair, there are some stocks that more regularly pay special dividends.
- Bitcoin prices continued their recent resurgence, climbing 5.0% to $54,388. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
What Hedge Funds Are Holding
That's more good news for the hedge fund set, which is having a nice start to 2021.
The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 4.8% through March 8, beating every one of the major indices. In part, they have the Dow Jones Industrial Average to thank – Dow 30 stocks feature prominently among the stocks most widely held by hedge funds and other institutional money.
But they're also heavy in the technology sector, which has lagged in 2021 – so it stands that Tuesday's revival in mega-cap tech was celebrated by much of Wall Street's "smart money."
What exactly do hedge funds own en masse at the moment? Today, we've taken a dive into their most recent filings and identified 25 stocks that are most widely held among institutional holders with deep pockets and rich research resources. Have a look!
