McKesson Corp is one of three leading pharmaceutical wholesalers in the US engaged in sourcing and distributing branded, generic, and specialty pharmaceutical products to pharmacies (retail chains, independent, and mail order), hospitals networks, and healthcare providers. Along with Cencora and Cardinal Health, the three account for over 90% of the US pharmaceutical wholesale industry. Outside the US market, McKesson engages in pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution in Canada. Additionally, the company supplies medical-surgical products and equipment to healthcare facilities and provides a variety of technology solutions for pharmacies.

The stock market was smacked yet again on Monday -- but were it not for some late buying, things could have been a lot worse. The S&P 500 (SPX), S&P 100 (OEX), Nasdaq, and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) all approached their closing lows from April 8 and bounced. Not surprisingly, all four indices retraced about 61.8% of their recent rallies before they popped. The SPX and OEX lost 2.4%, while the Nasdaq and QQQ both gave up 2.5%. NYSE market breadth was weak again, with 2,174 more decliners than advancers. That almost matches April 4 and April 10, which were the worst breadth days in the past couple of weeks. The NYSE advances/total issues reading was 15%, not as bad as the recent 9% and 11%. NYSE advancing volume/total volume was 24%, also not as weak as the four recent days between 7% and 14%. Bullishly, new NYSE 52-week lows plunged from over 1,000 (or 37% of issues traded) to just 40 (and only 1% of issues traded). The optimal setup for the market would be for the indices to make a new closing low for a day or two, lead everyone to assume that another down leg was in play, and then reverse higher, catching many off guard again. A new low most likely would set up a number of bullish momentum divergences on a daily and weekly basis, as well as a handful of bullish breadth divergences. For the SPX, we would need a close under 4,983; for the OEX, 2,406; for the Nasdaq, 15,268; and for the QQQ, 416. A new closing low is not necessary to put in at least an intermediate-term bottom, but it helps. For a rally, we need to see strong breath, which typically kicks in after corrections and bear markets. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

As the Trump administration executes its plan to impose tariffs on certain countries and specific industries and goods, financial markets have responded with volatility. Among the uncertainty, and with other factors also impacting stock indices, the S&P 500 is down 4% year to date. The longer-term impact on corporate America, consumers, and the overall economy is not yet clear. Markets have proven over time that they don't like uncertainty. Companies reporting at the end of the current earnings cycle have had more time to assess the potential impact of tariffs, and some have added line items to account for possible related pressure on profits. As we see it, one investing strategy is to avoid the whole headwind by turning to industries that we think are relatively immune to trade-talk risk. These include groups that are more focused on domestic markets, such as certain utilities, regional banks, restaurants, retailers, and stock exchanges (which should benefit from increased trading activity). Up on the sector level, we believe that Healthcare companies are well shielded. For this week's list, we highlight Healthcare companies that should feel little or no impact from tariffs and likely are safe havens from the potential imposition of tariffs on imports. These businesses focus primarily on the U.S. market and have solid growth profiles and strong balance sheets, enabling them to invest for future growth. They also benefit from the demographics of an aging population that engages in higher utilization of healthcare, driving up volumes of prescription drugs and diagnostic tests and increasing the need to manage healthcare benefits. They also have outperformed the broader market year-to-date. Here are some Argus BUY-rated Healthcare stocks that we feel offer a safe haven from tariffs.

Here Comes Nvidia AI giant Nvidia reports this week. Wall Street will also take in another key inflation gauge and new data on GDP. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq lost 2.5%. So far, in 2025, the Dow and the S&P 500 are both up 2%, while the Nasdaq has gained 1%. The earnings train continues. Highlights this week include Zoom Communications on Monday; Home Depot, Intuit, and Keurig Dr. Pepper on Tuesday; Nvidia, Saleforce.com, Lowe's, and TJX on Wednesday; and HP and Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday. Some 425 (85%) of the S&P 500 companies have reported so far, and earnings for 4Q show a strong growth rate of about 16% over the prior-year quarter. That compares to 9% growth in 3Q. Communication Services, up 33%, and Financial, up 30%, are the best-performing sectors, while Energy is the worst, down 30%, according to Refinitiv. We forecast 12% EPS growth for 2025 and 11% EPS growth for 2026. On the economic calendar, the most-important indicator coming is a measure of inflation, namely the Personal Consumer Expenditures Index (PCE, due on Friday). This week also includes the Case-Shiller Home Price Index on Tuesday; New Home Sales on Wednesday; GDP and Durable Goods Orders on Thursday; and Personal Income and Personal Spending on Friday. PCE is the Economic Call of the Week from Argus' Chief Economist Chris Graja, CFA, who offers the following. 'We expect PCE to ease slightly for January. We see the headline number at 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. That would be a tick lower than 2.6% in December, but still above the Fed's 2% target. We expect Core PCE, excluding food and energy, to be up 2.7% versus 2.8% in December. The PCE report follows the release of the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index. Both CPI and PPI came in hot, but we are hopeful that this Friday's release will show progress has been made on inflation because some components of PPI which flow into the PCE looked encouraging.' Last week, mortgage rates dipped 2 basis points (bps), with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.85%, according to FreddieMac. Gas prices rose two cents to an average of $3.15 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow indicator is forecasting for 1Q and calls for expansion of 2.3%. For 2025, our GDP estimate is for 2.1% growth. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast is forecasting a 2.82% rate for CPI for February, higher than last week due to the surprise bump last week in the January rate. We expect pricing pressures to ease as the housing market cools due to high mortgage rates, supplies of new vehicles are replenished, and the price of oil stays below $90 per barrel. Looking ahead, the next Fed rate decision is on March 19, with odds at just 6% for a rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch rate tool. After that, the next meeting is on May 7, and odds are at 32% for a cut.