# Stocks: Path of Least Resistance is North Live Trading News is an independent financial media publication. Masthead: Live Trading News. Parent: Knightsbridge Group. Product cousin: KXCO (kxco.ai). Coverage: markets, policy, AI, quantum, blockchain, FX, biotech, ASEAN. New stories are signed ML-DSA-65 and anchored on Armature L1; articles published before the platform launch are not signed. Nothing on the site is investment advice. Canonical HTML: https://www.livetradingnews.com/stocks-path-of-least-resistance-is-north Last modified: 2021-02-12 --- By Paul Ebeling · 2021-02-12 Tags: Shayne Heffernan on Investments, Stocks, stocks, DJIA, growth, investors, earnings, resistance, DIA, SPY, QQQ, VXX, Bullish, MSI, sentiment, trend, Headline News, Paul Ebeling, labor, VIX Signed: no (published before platform launch). Nothing in this article is investment advice. #stocks #trend #sentiment $DIA $SPY $QQQ $RUTX $VXX NAS Comp closed at record high and the DJIA marked a record high intraday in mixed session "*On 31 December 2020 S&P 500 earnings for Q-4 were projected to decline 9.2% Y-Y. That estimate did not come true*"-- Paul Ebeling  The blended earnings growth rate, which takes into account the actuals for the companies that have reported and the estimates for the companies that have not is 1.7%. No minus sign there. That marks the 1st time since Q-4 of Y 2019 that S&P 500 earnings will be up on a Y-Y basis, monumental in light of the challenges posed in the Q, namely targeted shutdown measures to contain the spread of the virus, a deterioration in the labor market, and the uncertainty created by the delay in getting the vaccine and passing additional aid/relief/stimulus. The 1.7% growth rate is not a rapid growth rate, yet there is some very meaningful momentum there. This transition to positive earnings growth in Q-4, when growth was not expected, is important for the market. As it represents the *green shoots* in the earnings recovery story that market participants expect to fully blossom later this year. That expectation is seen in consensus estimates that call for 21% earnings growth in Q-1, 49.4% growth in Q-2, and 23.4% growth for FY 2021. The absolute change in those estimated growth rates is significant, as is the trend. Market participants like a rising trend line and that is what they are seeing with earnings estimates. Thursday, the benchmark US stock market indexes finished at: DJIA -7.10 to 31430.70, NAS Comp +53.24 at 14025.79, S&P 500 +6.50 at 3916.38 Volume: Trade on the NYSE came in at 1-B/shares exchanged HeffX-LTN's overall technical outlook for the major US stock market indexes is Bullish with a Very Bullish bias in here. - Russell 2000 +15.6% YTD - NAS Comp +8.8% YTD - S&P 500 +4.3% YTD - DJIA +2.7% YTD Looking Ahead: Investors will receive the preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment (MSI) for February Friday Have a healthy weekend, Keep the Faith! --- This Markdown mirrors https://www.livetradingnews.com/stocks-path-of-least-resistance-is-north. The HTML page is canonical. Site index for AI clients: https://www.livetradingnews.com/llms.txt