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The volatile and sloppy start to 2025 continued last week as the indexes fell hard on Monday, recovered in the middle part of the week, and then lost ground again on Friday. For the week the S&P 500 fell 0.2%, the Dow lost 0.5%, and the Nasdaq declined by 0.5%.

The big news of the week was the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates by a full half point, and that was certainly part of the reason stocks had another solid week—coming into today, the big-cap indexes were up 1.5% to 2%, while broader indexes put in an even stronger performance.

It’s been a quieter but mostly positive week, with most major indexes up in the 0.5% to 1.5% range, though much of the broad market was relatively flat.

In an effort to keep the Profit Booster portfolio as diversified as possible, today we are adding an emerging broker play that is coming off a strong quarter, and just last night announced a large buyback.

Ahead of the “big” Federal Reserve event this Wednesday, the leading indexes all advanced last week, as the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, the Dow rallied 1% and the Nasdaq rose by 2%.

The story of last week was under-the-surface weakness in growth stocks, while money rotated into “everything else.” And by week’s end the S&P 500 had lost 0.3%, the Dow fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq declined by 0.7%.

Crista writes about earnings for two stocks, a management change and a $300MM share repurchase.

Dividend Champions are similar to Dividend Aristocrats, only there’s more of them. Here are three that look attractive, writes Sure Dividend.

MercadoLibre (MELI) is No. 4 in my five-part series on the best emerging market stocks to buy right now. It’s the eBay of Latin America.

Current Market Outlook


Last week was another constructive week, as the major indexes and leading stocks gave back just a smidgen of their prior two weeks of gains. Plus, of course, today’s action offered more encouragement, with the big-cap indexes spiking back toward all-time highs and many individual stocks notching good gains. We can’t conclude we’re completely out of the woods, especially as volume remains light (today’s volume on the Nasdaq was below average) and the broad market is still so-so (small- and mid-cap indexes are still in the middle of multi-month ranges). Still, the evidence has grown steadily more bullish recently, so we’re following along—we’re bumping our Market Monitor up to level 7 (out of 10), and continued strength would have us getting aggressively invested.

This week’s list is a mixed bag, with some special situations, many different sectors and a few recent breakouts. Our Top Pick is ST Microelectronics (STM), a fast-growing chip maker with a good story and chart. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)	93.53	81-85	74-76
ASML Holding (ASML)	350.01	158-162	147-150
Guidewire (GWRE)	90.60	76-79	71-73
Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND)	267.14	131-134	121-124
Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (LL)	0.00	36-38.5	32.5-31.5
Owens Corning (OC)	0.00	71-74	67-68.5
Pure Storage (PSTG)	25.64	13.5-14.5	12.4-12.9
Barrick Gold (GOLD)	27.20	101-105	93-95
STMicroelectronics (STM)	30.09	17.5-19	16.3-16.8
Summit Materials (SUM)	0.00	29-30.5	27-28

Happy Halloween! True to the occasion, the final day of October is cause for investor celebration this year – all three major indexes were up sharply this month (one more sharply than the other two). Yet, with the Fed set to talk interest rates again this week and midterms and more inflation data on tap for next week, things also still feel a bit spooky out there. So, to fortify our portfolio against any further impending doom, today I’m adding a household name that has a proven track record, pays a hefty dividend, and has been overly punished by all the selling over the past year. In fact, value expert Bruce Kaser just added it to his Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor portfolio.

Enjoy!

Try Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor, the best stock advisor newsletter for profiting from hidden gems and protecting your portfolio no matter what happens.

Today, I tackle one of the questions I get most frequently: What is the difference between Cabot Options Trader and Cabot Options Trader Pro?

In 2000 a small company began selling a proprietary surgical adhesive to seal up arteries. Over the next two decades that company would acquire several highly specialized products for patients undergoing heart surgery.

Today, the company is hitting its stride as surgeons and patients (and the FDA) see how much better its solutions are.

This month’s Issue has all the details.

Viatris (VTRS) reported 1Q 2024 results yesterday, narrowly missing on revenue but coming in line with earnings expectations at 67 cents per share. Sales of older drugs Lipitor and Norvasc declined, with the branded drugs unit’s revenue dropping 4.5% to $2.31 billion. The company has completed its women’s healthcare business divestiture and expects its API unit sale to close soon. Despite the challenges, Viatris reaffirmed its financial guidance for the year, projecting total revenue between $15.5 billion and $16.0 billion, with adjusted EBITDA estimated at $5.0 billion to $5.4 billion. The company remains focused on debt reduction, having paid down $546 million during the quarter.

A couple of weeks ago we discussed the likelihood that the “all things AI” momentum trade would sooner or later lose luster. I called into question the tenacity of some of 2025’s top-performing tech stocks while also speculating that some of this year’s wayside laggards would launch a return to prominence in the coming months.

“Tyler, I want you to know I am extremely impressed with the detailed reports you send to me/us regarding the stocks you have chosen and recommended that we consider for investment. I have been with Cabot for many years and have tried probably all the advisories at one time or another. Yours is expensive, but so far well worth the cost. I thank you for your service.”
G. Casey, Wiesbaden, Germany