​HARP Rockets 109.62% Due To Merck's Acquisition | Momentum Investing

This week, total CPI was up 0.3% month-over-month in December (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) following an unrevised 0.1% increase in November. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was also up 0.3% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%). The shelter index jumped 0.5% and accounted for over half of the monthly increase in total CPI.

With these December changes, total CPI was up 3.4% year-over-year, versus 3.1% in November, and core CPI was up 3.9% year-over-year, versus 4.0% in November.

The key takeaway from the report is that inflation, while improved, has lost some of its downward momentum. Therefore, the Fed isn't likely to be in a rush to cut interest rates -- at least not yet based on this latest CPI reading.

Momentum Investing

On paper, momentum investing seems less like an investing strategy and more like a knee-jerk reaction to market information. The idea of selling losers and buying winners is seductive, but it flies in the face of the tried and true Wall Street adage, buy low, sell high.

Momentum investing is a trading strategy in which investors buy securities that are rising and sell them when they look to have peaked.The goal is to work with volatility by finding buying opportunities in short-term uptrends and then sell when the securities start to lose momentum.Then, the investor takes the cash and looks for the next short-term uptrend, or buying opportunity, and repeats the process.Skilled traders understand when to enter into a position, how long to hold it for, and when to exit; they can also react to short-term, news-driven spikes or selloffs.

Risks of momentum trading include moving into a position too early, closing out too late, and getting distracted and missing key trends and technical deviations.

Top Gainers of This Week

Explore the market movers and top stock gainers in the US stock market, capturing notable surges in stock prices. Stay informed about these movers, leveraging real-time data and historical trends to make informed investment decisions.

Merck & Co. has agreed to acquire cancer drugmaker Harpoon Therapeutics Inc. for $680 million as it seeks to solidify its leadership position in the profitable oncology space.

Harpoon is developing drugs that harness the power of the body's immune system to treat patients suffering from cancer and other diseases. It reported positive data for its lung cancer treatment in early-to-mid stage trial in October.