Markets began the week with decent gains and the Nasdaq finishing higher by .9% and the S&P 500 by .8%. The action was bullish as it looked like benchmarks would go negative in the late morning and afternoon hours too. For them to fight back after last Thursday and Fridays behavior has to be considered a positive and keep in mind the last 2 weeks of December are historically bullish. For the Nasdaq it was its second consecutive nice reversal on a Monday. On 12/14 it CLOSED more than 80 handles off intraday lows. We all are aware of the bifurcation in the markets as FANG names have been robust this year as many other names have not kept pace. A group identified this weekend were the paper and packaging plays. There participation is seen as an indication of backbone within the overall economy. Obviously if things are being packaged, consumers and businesses are spending. The key players in the group like IP and PKG are lower by 36 and 28% respectively from their recent 52 week highs, and that behavior has juiced up their dividend yields to 4.7 and 3.6%. Other lesser known names like KS which fell 11% last Thursday and Friday and is 40% off its recent 52 week highs. The stock fell 24 of 32 weeks ending between 2/27-10/2. It seems strange that UPS and FDX seem bogged down with struggling to fulfill orders with strong demand. Perhaps people and companies are recycling more, or being more efficient with how much they send, or both. If the group can catch some love a name to be involved with is newcomer MPSX. It came public in late October and the last 8 weeks have CLOSED with a 16 or 17 handle. Six of the last 8 have traded intraweek above 18 but NONE have finished above.
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