So what happened? All we heard about was a looming recession coming in 2019. The slumping economy. It turns out that scenario only played out in the imagination of investors living on Fantasy Island. GDP growth in the first quarter came in at 3.2%, anything but a slumping economy, and even better it was a full percentage point better than last year.

Even today the naysayers were trying to write-off the strong growth. All I heard about was inventories and exports, blah, blah, blah. Stop, just stop! You were wrong, just give it up. There was no slump.

While they point to what they want, I can point to the estimates that suggest the government shutdown cost the GDP as much as 0.4%. So does that mean 1Q GDP could have been as high as 3.6%? So you point to exports, I’ll point to the shutdown. Whatever…

Earnings

Here’s another stat nay-sayer won’t like, according to S&P Dow Jones, 75% of the 228 S&P 500 companies that have reported results have beaten their earnings estimates. To top it off, earnings estimates for 2019 increased this week to $165.35 from $165.02, while 2020 estimates increased to $186.26 from $185.65. But can we talk more about this over the weekend.

(Data from S&P Dow Jones)

S&P 500 

Stocks continue to push the envelope and the S&P 500 SPY is nearing its next and last major break out. By that I mean, there are no more areas of resistance to break from here. The line in the sand is 2,940; I revised this higher from 2,938. A rise above 2,940 puts the S&P 500 into uncharted waters. The big question is what happens then? Will we get a big melt-up? Not sure. I haven’t thought that far out.

Russell 

The Russell IWM closed right on the cusp of a significant break out at 1,591.

Amazon

If you own Amazon AMZN, you have to be very happy about the performance of the stock Friday. The stock held firm at support at $1,903 and bounced hard off it. I think this sets up the stock up for a run to $2,025. I did point out a few trends that I am seeing in their business that are worth tracking closely, around revenue growth, ads, and margins.BREAKING DOWN AMAZON – Growth Slows Again

Intel 

The Intel INTC results weighed on the broader sector today, but mostly on Nvidia and Micron. The call revealed a few caveats that are likely to be negative around the data center and NAND pricing. I reviewed in greater detail in the video where the information in the call was highlighted.  What Does Intel Means For Micron And Nvidia – Not Good

Nvidia 

Nvidia’s NVDA is clinging to support at $178, and the uptrend in the RSI is broken. I noted in the video the odds of the stock falling back to $150 just increased today.

Micron

Micron MU continues to struggle at resistance around $44.

Photo From Flickr