Just Don’t Ask Me Why: Nasdaq Jumps, S&P 500 Hits New High

Today, the S&P 500 finally decided to gain more than 0.1%.

Reuters

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 2,051.80, a record high and the end of its five-day small-move streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 17,687.82, also a record, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7% to 4,702.44 and the small-company Russell 2000 finished up 0.5% at 1,170.33.

It’s one of those days where trying to pinpoint the reason for the market’s optimism is downright silly. Bloomberg points to optimism about the economy–despite the lack of economic data–while the Wall Street Journal cites the possibility of market-boosting policy action in Japan and Europe. Let’s just say stocks went up today because they can.

Strategas Research Partners’ Chris Verrone and Todd Sohn aren’t surprised that the market was so quiet (until today’s breakout):

Given both the speed and magnitude of the rally off the October lows, it is likely the market is simply catching its breath. As we wrote in yesterday's work, we're still reluctant to fight seasonality this time of year. Small-caps meanwhile are still one point of concern as performance remains inconsistent (the Russell 2000 underperformed by about 90 basis points yesterday). Credit spreads have continued to leak modestly wider, and we suspect that is still weighing on the performance of some liquidity sensitive groups (e.g., small-caps, high beta, etc.).

Credit Suisse analyst Ric Deverell looks ahead to 2015:

After a period of historically low volatility, driven in part by the predictability of Fed policy, the macro world has come to life in recent months. We expect this awakening to continue over 2015, with changes in both relative economic performance and monetary conditions across regions driving major shifts in capital flows and asset pricing.

Of course, such changes are, by their nature, uncertain and rarely orderly. As the cold fronts from some central banks collide with the warm fronts from others, at the very least, we expect more market storms than seen in the past few years…

For equity markets, 2015 could be a year of two halves: we expect the S&P 500 to rally to 2200 by mid-year, notwithstanding an increase in volatility, but to give up some of the gains in the second half as the Fed comes into play.

Or maybe it will be like Pet Cemetery?

Veterans Day 2014 Freebies

Several businesses will be showing their appreciation for those who have served our country by giving them free meals, services and more on or around Veterans Day. Here's a roundup of the special offers available to veterans and military personnel. Note that some of these offers are available on days other than the Veterans Day holiday on November 11. If you don't see your favorite establishment listed, call it directly to see if it will be honoring veterans and service members with any freebies. And check back because we'll be adding more deals as we learn about them.

SEE ALSO: 68 Fabulous Freebies Free food

Applebee's is offering veterans and active-duty military members a free entrée on November 11 (dine-in only). Proof of service required.

Bar Louie, with locations in 24 states, will honor veterans and active-duty military members with a free meal up to a $12 value on November 10 and November 11 when they show valid military ID or other proof of service.

Bob Evans will let veterans and active-duty military enjoy free all-you-can-eat pancakes on November 11.

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California Pizza Kitchen is offering a free entrée from a special menu (dine-in only) November 11 to veterans and active military members who come in uniform or bring proof of service.

Cheeseburger in Paradise Bar & Grill, with locations in seven states, will give veterans and military personnel with proof of ID a free burger and fries on November 11.

Denny's is offering active, non-active and retired military personnel a free Build Your Own Grand Slam breakfast meal from 5 a.m. to noon on November 11.

Golden Corral will hold its annual free military appreciation dinner November 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to anyone who has ever served in the military (no ID required). The dinner is open to friends and family of military members, but they will have to pay the regular dinner menu pricing.

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt will be giving away free single-scoop ice cream cones to veterans and military personnel with valid ID on November 11 at participating shops. No purchase is required. Handel's has 40 locations in seven states.

Krispy Kreme will give a free doughnut and coffee to veterans and active military (no ID required) on November 11.

LongHorn Steakhouse will offer veterans and active military members a free Texas Tonion appetizer and non-alcohol beverage on November 11 with proof of service.

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, with locations in 22 states and the District of Columbia, will offer veterans (with official ID) a free entrée from a special menu November 9. Dine-in only.

Olive Garden will give active-duty military and veterans a free entrée from a special menu on November 11.

On the Border is giving veterans and active military who dine in the restaurant November 11 a free meal from its "create your own combo" menu.

Red Lobster will be giving veterans and active-duty military members with valid ID or proof of service a free select appetizer November 10 through November 13.

Shoney's will offer veterans and active-duty military a free All-American Burger on November 11.

Texas Roadhouse will honor veterans and active-duty military with a free lunch from a special menu November 11. Proof of service required.

Wayback Burgers will offer veterans and active-duty military a Wayback Classic Burger with the purchase of any side and drink on November 11. Valid form of military ID required.

Free services and product discounts

JDog Junk Removal & Hauling is offering free junk removal services for disabled veterans who book a service on November 11. The franchise, which is owned and operated by veterans, has locations in six states.

Sleep Number is offering special discounts on select Sleep Number beds to current and past military personnel through November 16.

Free park admission

Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia is offering free admission November 7 through November 11 to active-duty military, reservists, veterans and retired military and their dependents.

Knott's Berry Farm in California is offering free admission for veterans and active-duty military (with ID) and one guest November 2 through January 4, 2015.

U.S. National Parks will waive entrance fees on November 11 for everyone at the 133 parks that usually charge an entrance fee.

Business opportunities for vets

Baskin-Robbins is offering an incentive program to veterans who want to open a Baskin-Robbins franchise. It will waive the franchise fee of $25,000 and offer a 0% royalty rate for the first two years for five qualified veterans.

Maui Wowi Hawaiian, a beverage chain that serves Hawaiian coffee and smoothies, is providing a 20% discount off its franchise fee for qualifying military veterans through December 31, 2014.

Benzinga's Top #PreMarket Gainers

Related RAX Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday May 15, 2014 Market Wrap For May 15: Bears Return In Full-Force As Dow Suffers Triple-Digit Point Loss Related JCP #PreMarket Primer: Friday, May 16: Wall Street Giants Take Up Positions In Telecom Sector Stocks To Watch For May 16, 2014 J.C. Penney Posts 1Q Beat, Shares Jump (Fox Business)

J. C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) soared 18.52% to $9.92 in the pre-market trading after the company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. J.C. Penney's same-store sales also surged 6.2% in the quarter.

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) shares climbed 12.87% to $34.63 in the pre-market trading session on confirmation of approach by potential buyers and partners.

Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) shares jumped 10.75% to $68.10 in pre-market trading as the company reported upbeat first-quarter results. Nordstrom posted a quarterly profit of $0.72 per share on revenue of $2.93 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.68 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Nordstrom from Neutral to Outperform.

Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) shares gained 4.56% to $50.00 in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Autodesk posted its adjusted earnings of $0.32 per share on revenue of $592.5 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $569 million.

Posted-In: PreMarket GainersNews Pre-Market Outlook Markets Movers

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Alibaba IPO Filing Indicates Yahoo! Undervalued: StockTwits.com

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Alibaba filed with the SEC Tuesday evening and investors want in on its forthcoming IPO. But, until the Chinese company debuts on a U.S. exchange later this year, would-be Alibaba shareholders are bidding up Yahoo! (YHOO) in anticipation of the company making tens of billions off of its 24% stake in the world?s largest e-commerce Web site.

$YHOO not just a rumor anymore watch for yaho to finally push past $37 tomorrow in earnest ? Robb M to protect the innocent (@Unicorn_Apocalypse) May. 6 at 05:48 PM

@CaballoBlanco damn, noticed there is a lot of open interest and volume in $yhoo OCT calls... looking to long ali and get yahoo calls.. ? Chuck (@Cjgross78) May. 6 at 05:51 PM Yahoo! rose about 1% in after hours trading to $36.49-per-share as Alibaba's SEC registration circulated the Web. The company disclosed key information in the filing. Highlights include: $248 billion in merchandise sold on Alibaba?s retail sites last year.
$231 million ?active? buyers visit Alibaba each year. On average, active buyers order merchandise 49 times each per year.
136 million mobile annual users $37 billion in merchandise ordered via mobile devices last year
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup will underwrite the offering. What wasn't in the filing was the IPO price or a real number of how much Alibaba will raise. In the registration document, Alibaba says it plans to raise a maximum of $1 billion, though most investors say that is a placeholder number that is up to 20X less than Alibaba actually intends to raise. $YHOO $1 billion figure is a placeholder & likely 2 change once bankers start to gauge investor appetite. The deal could reach >$20 billion ? Catalystinvestor (@Catalystinvestor) May. 6 at 05:40 PM Without an IPO price, investors can't pinpoint a valuation for Alibaba. But, based on the valuations of other e-commerce sites such as Amazon  (AMZN) analysts estimate Alibaba?s worth between $115 and $245 billion. Amazon has a market cap of $136.84 billion and made $74.45 billion in 2013. Unlike Alibaba and eBay  (EBAY) Amazon does not report the value of all merchandise sold on its site. But trade publication Internet Retailer estimated Amazon's gross merchandise volume to be around $92 billion in 2012. That number undoubtedly grew in 2013 given that Amazon's net sales climbed 22%. The midpoint of Alibaba's value range would peg the company at $180 billion. That would make Yahoo!'s stake worth $43.2 billion. Yahoo!'s market cap, as of Tuesday?s close, was $37.64 billion. Some investors on StockTwits anticipate that Yahoo! will skyrocket tomorrow on the Alibaba valuation alone. $YHOO Preview is $195 billion, yahoo mkt cap is $38billion and the own 24%... Should be 50bil just on AliBaba ? Michael (@Mrbergmann47) May. 6 at 05:51 PM $YHOO This will be well above 40 by the time of the ipo. Should be 40 by EOW ? alex miller (@leemiller23) May. 6 at 05:35 PM simple math. assume $YHOO 's $30B cap is worthless. it owns 24% of 200B of alibaba. thats $48B + its $4B cash = $52B. undervalued ? Sickled Systems (@sickledsystems) May. 6 at 05:30 PM Others, however, say the Alibaba IPO is overhyped and could prove less valuable than most think. Amazon, as part direct seller, part marketplace, arguably takes in more profits than a marketplace alone. And Amazon often struggles with profitability. $YHOO Aliababa will ipo at $ 100 billion only and Yahoo will crash. ? Barry Bye (@BarryBye) May. 6 at 05:13 PM But most StockTwits' investors on bullish on Alibaba and Yahoo!'s stake. Sentiment on Yahoo! is 90% bullish, according to StockTwits' analytics. At the time of publication the author held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. This article represents the opinion of a contributor and not necessarily that of TheStreet or its editorial staff.

Stock quotes in this article: YHOO, AMZN, EBAY