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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.barrons.com/articles/dow-picks-up-35-points-because-beggars-cant-be-choosers-1537895232\nIntraday Update\nDow Picks Up 35 Points Because Beggars Can’t Be Choosers\nCrystal Kim\nSept. 25, 2018 1:07 pm ET\nMichael Haddad\nWeak Rally. Stocks pulled off a turnaround on Tuesday after trade concerns dragged down the Dow on Monday. But the rally lacks oomph. Short-term thrusts up have helped the S&P 500 log new highs, but whether the market has enough fuel to lock in those gains remains to be seen. The good news: Consumer confidence remains at an 18-year high. The bad news: It can’t get much higher. The Fed’s statement is on tap for Wednesday. In today’s Intraday Update, we…\n•…find value and safety in high-quality stocks;\n•…expect this week to be the weakest week for the S&P;\n•…observe that burger chain Sonic is a tasty morsel for Inspire Brands, the parent company Arby’s.\nBuy High (Quality), Sell Low\nTrade concerns can’t keep this market down, for now. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points or 0.1% to 26,592.91, the S&P 500 got a 0.1% lift to 2921.79, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 8009.57.\nS&P 500 at 3000 looks imminent, but who cares. Look beyond the surface-level numbers and dig into the fundamentals.\nU.S. stocks now trade at a record premium compared to the rest of the world on book value. Earnings revisions are being cut everywhere but the U.S., noted BofA Merrill Lynch equity and quant strategist Savita Subramanian as she raised earnings-per-share estimates on the S&P 500 for 2018 and 2019 to $162 and $172, respectively, from $159 and $170. Yes that’s an upward near-term revision, but note how long-term growth is lower.\nAs we head into the third-quarter earnings preview season, Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, highlighted this series of numbers–25, 19, 17, 7, and 7–earnings growth rates from the second quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2019. See the decline? “If you are tempted to complete the series with lower numbers, those would be Q3 and Q4 2019,” Colas said.\nGrowth is slowing, valuations are high relative to the rest of the world, but there are still places to put money to work. One interesting opportunity lies in the best hedge against volatility: quality.\nHigh quality usually comes with a high price tag, but not at the moment. “Investors should pay up for safety and be compensated for risk, but the opposite has been the case for 20 years…The gap has finally closed: high quality trades in line with low quality for the first time since ’99,” writes Subramanian. What’s that mean? Buy high and sell low, quality that is.\nQuality stocks stand to trade at a premium to their levered, more cyclical counterparts (low quality) assuming the Fed and central banks put upward pressure on the cost of capital as they move to quantitative tightening. Quality can act as a hedge against volatility and the yield curve appears to be predicting more volatility. A flattening yield curve usually reflects decreasing growth expectations and building risk-aversion, which has historically amplified volatility.\nThis might be the week to make a move if history rhymes. Since the 1960s, the week that comes after the third Friday in September has “produced the most bearish results of any week,” according to Rob Hanna founder of research firm Quantifiable Edges. There are some exceptions. In 2001 and 2017 the S&P 500 did not close below its entry price at any point during the week. “The 9/11 attacks certainly made for unusual circumstances in 2001, and 2017 did not see a decline, but only rose 2 points, so it was not much of a victory for the bulls,” says Hanna.\nA weak week for the S&P 500 and quality stocks are trading at low-quality prices—sounds like a great week for opportunists.\nMidday Movers\nAnalog Devices (ADI) is down 2.5% to $92.65 after Raymond James downgraded it to Neutral.\nBarrick Gold (ABX) is up 1.9% to $11.25 after Citigroup upgraded it to Buy.\nConcho Resources (CXO) is up 1.8% to $149.74 after SunTrust upgraded it to Buy.\nSonic (SONC) is up 18.2% to $43.27 after agreeing to be acquired by Inspire Brands in a $2.3 billion deal.\nTesaro (TSRO) is up 3.4% to $37.68 after Leerink initiated coverage with an Outperform rating.\n—Teresa Rivas\nWeak Rally."