The indices took a break on Tuesday after the recent nice snapback rally, and some of the biggest gainers were stocks that have been very poor performers over the intermediate and longer terms. Rotation is alive and is a major contributor to the longevity of any bull market. As long as the money stays in the market, things have a way of balancing out. But when sellers do not rotate funds (and raise cash instead) problems often follow. So far, it appears that some of the recently beaten-up stocks are experiencing nice demand, with some even seeing steady call option buying. Heavy bullish option activity is associated with institutions and hedge funds seeing value. Over the past week and during the days since the major indices bottomed on March 13, the biggest S&P 500 (SPX) gainers have been TSLA (+27%), PLTR (+15%), BA (+13%), UAL, RCL, and AMD (all up 11%), DRI (+10%), JBL and APH (up 9%), and NRG, IP, COF, GM, FCX, APO, ULTA, and CEG (all up 8%). Some of these stocks were hammered over the past month or two, others have been terrible long-term performers, and a few can be considered market leaders. Also of note, the stocks come from seven different SPX sectors and from diverse industries. The weakest SPX issues over the past week also come from many sectors, but are more concentrated in the Healthcare sector. The drug and biotech stocks were particularly weak Tuesday on tariff news. The worst weekly SPX performers include NKE (-9%), CRL (-8%), MRK, UPS, MU, LVS, and LYB (all down 7%), and ABBV, INTC, DOW, IT, and LMT (all off 6%). (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

The Portfolio Selector features the Argus Focus List, a group of 30 "best idea" stocks generated and regularly updated by Argus' analysts and investment policy committee. It also includes the director of research’s monthly investment strategy column, stock recommendations and sector picks, economic forecasts, and an asset allocation model. This month, the Focus List additions are Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO); Eaton Corporation PLC (ETN); International Business Machine (IBM); Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) and the Focus List deletions are Invesco Ltd (IVZ); 3M Co. (MMM); SAP SE (SAP); TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX).

Founded in Germany in 1972 by former IBM employees, SAP is the world’s largest provider of enterprise application software. Known as the leader in enterprise resource planning software, SAP’s portfolio also includes software for supply chain management, procurement, travel and expense management, and customer relationship management, among others. The company operates in more than 180 countries and has more than 400,000 customers, approximately 80% of which are small to medium-size enterprises.

Founded in Germany in 1972 by former IBM employees, SAP is the world’s largest provider of enterprise application software. Known as the leader in enterprise resource planning software, SAP’s portfolio also includes software for supply chain management, procurement, travel and expense management, and customer relationship management, among others. The company operates in more than 180 countries and has more than 400,000 customers, approximately 80% of which are small to medium-size enterprises.