Daily Rundown - November 2

CHRIS VERSACE: Good morning, "Action Alerts Plus" members. Let's kick off today's rundown with a look at the market following yesterday's Fed decision, which, as expected, left interest rates unchanged. While the market is breathing a sigh of relief today, our view is that unless we see marked improvement in inflation data between now and the Fed's mid-December policy meeting, we are going to see the question over another rate hike return.

I say this because even though Powell's tone was less hawkish than many expected-- myself included-- he clearly left the door open for another potential rate hike. Several times during his press conference he shared that the Fed continues to debate the question over whether its policy is restrictive enough to bring inflation down to its 2% target. As I see it, this means that the data we're going to get tomorrow, especially the October Services PMI and October Employment Report, are ones that we must watch carefully.

Now given the potential for surprises that we've been seeing in the data and the market mood that is simply punishing stocks for just a near miss in earnings, we are going to keep our ETF positions part of the playbook ahead of tomorrow's data. With that, let's turn to some stocks and begin with Qualcomm. The chip company delivered a beat and raise quarter last night. And yes, the shares are moving nicely higher.

What Qualcomm said inside its earnings report, though, confirmed our decision to add to the position last week. And yes, the company sees the smartphone rebound that we've been talking about unfolding. It's that strength in the smartphone market that is behind Qualcomm's sequentially stronger revenue forecast.

Now, I have to admit, that is quite a turn from what we've seen over the last few quarters. As you know, we've been watching the smartphone market like a hawk because of our position in Qualcomm. And that market was mired in excess inventory in the first half of the year, started to burn off, and now it's poised to return to growth in the current quarter. We're also seeing others across Wall Street tune into this. And that's leading them to boost their price targets closer towards our 150 price target shares, again, for Qualcomm.

We're going to have more in-depth comments on Qualcomm's earnings report. So please members, be sure to check your email today. We also had inline earnings from Trinity Capital. And the company's investment income soared 20% in the September quarter, confirming the reason why we added the shares to the portfolio earlier this year. Exiting the September quarter, Trinity has ample firepower to continue to selectively take advantage of tighter credit conditions as companies continue to look for capital.

Members, the key with Trinity is to remember this-- it is a business development company, which means it has to pay out at least 90% of its income to shareholders, like us, in the form of dividends. As its investment portfolio continues to grow, as it puts that capital to work, its investment income should continue to rise further. My view is that means the prospects for further dividend increases, well, it looks pretty darn good.

For now, our price target on Trinity of $16 remains above the consensus. And we're going to want to revisit that price target based on what we see in the coming quarters for further dividend growth. I will say on the heels of that earnings report, Trinity shares sure had a nice pop yesterday. But we would rather be buyers closer to $14 given our $16 price target.

And members, before we leave it for today, as we've been telling you all week, Apple will report its quarterly results after today's closing bell. Given our position in the shares, as well as Apple's overall impact on both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite, remember, it's one of the very top positions in both of those market indices. Please be sure to check your inbox for our analysis on its quarter and our commentary.

The same, members, is going to be true for tomorrow's October Services PMI and October Jobs Report data. That's today's rundown. Bob Lang will be back tomorrow with JD Durkin to talk a little bit more about the Fed, as well as dig into all that data we'll be getting tomorrow morning. Thanks for watching.