Stocks were higher on Thursday, as earnings news provided a boost. The Nasdaq led the way, but all indices were in the green. That said, there were signs of profit-taking by the end of the day.

Alcoa Corp. is a global provider of bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products. The company is based in Pittsburgh and has approximately 13,900 employees. The shares are a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

Despite bursts of outperformance, small- and mid-cap stocks (SMID) have underperformed large-caps year to date -- as they have over the past five years. But they may be in a better position to generate market-beating returns going forward. For one thing, SMID companies tend to focus on domestic markets, so their businesses could be less disrupted by the trade and tariff debate, or fallout from unrest in the Middle East, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, issues in China, or other geopolitical developments. As well, the prices of SMID stocks generally are lower than the prices of large-caps. Finally, there are long stretches in the record books when SMID stocks have outperformed large-caps. SMID stocks can be risky, but despite those risks, diversified investors look to have exposure to small- and mid-caps based on the long-term performance record. We estimate that 20% of the U.S. stock market's capitalization is comprised of SMID stocks.

We've now booked three days of gains out of four on the major indices. The S&P 500 (SPX), S&P 100 (OEX), S&P 400 (MDY), and S&P 600 (SML) are all headed toward a major region of resistance, and the results should be a big tell for the stock market. Will the indices retest their lows or possibly undercut their lows before they bottom? Or will they pause at the cluster of resistance before barreling ahead in what could end up being "V" bottom? And yes, there are more possibilities. The markets ripped higher on Wednesday, with the major indices popping 1% to 1.4%. A majority of the gains came after the 2:00 announcement of the Fed's decision (and commentary) to leave the fed funds rate alone. What was the market expecting? Market breadth was decent, with NYSE advancers-decliners at +1,465, and NYSE advances/total issues and NYSE up volume/total volume both at 72%. There is a major cluster of resistance for the SPX between 5,750 and 5,825, which includes the slightly rising 200-day average; the declining 21-day exponential; a 38% and 50% retracement of the decline; and the closing and intraday breakdown levels from January 12 and 13. On the downside, it's pretty simple, with the closing low of the pullback at 5,522. For the OEX (2,743), the cluster of resistance lies between 2,785 and 2,850. For the MDY (546), heavy resistance lies between 550 and 570. And for the SML (1,302), which has traced out an "Arbeter's Fish Hook Bottom," resistance comes in between 1,360 and 1,400. It seems like the market came into 2025 offside (too bullish back then) and it appears it has again moved off-side (now too bearish). (Mark Arbeter, CMT)