July Trades

This past month saw the DOW rise from 25812 to 26428. This is the level we were at back in October 2019. This, despite the fact that the US is adding an average of 60,000 new cases and 1000 deaths from COVID per day. When I leave the safety of my home, I see a lot of people outside, and it looks like traffic has returned to normal. The parking lot at the casino near my home is near capacity on weekdays late into the evening hours. I suspect people are gambling to make up for lost time or they feel like if they get the virus the money is just going to go to waste. This month I bought 100 shares of Metlife (MET). This insurance provider currently has a 4.9% yield. I’m down over 8% on Gilead (GILD) in the last month because they missed estimated earnings. I believe they will recover and will hold for now. In my IRA account I sold Intel (INTC) before they reported their 7nm product transition delay and put that money into First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF (FTXL). I like their focus on large US based semiconductor companies. They report having a 5% stake in Intel, but the impact was much less. I’m up 4.7% instead of being down 17% if I would have held Intel. Other than that, I increased positions in the Fidelity real estate ETF (FREL) and Eaton Vance Tax Managed Div CEF (ETY). As of July 31 market close, my account balance is about the same as it was before the pandemic started. As usual, any stimulus payment coming my way is already spent. The upcoming election could have a big impact on investments. Trump or Biden? Neither one looks good to me right now.