Below are highlights from the NDW Morning Update Video for the morning of 07/09. Access the the video on the NDW Morning Update Video page. 

• Crude Oil (CL/) was up 4.37% through yesterday's close. Although still up almost 30% year-to-date, the contract has down well below its all-time highs from earlier this year.
• Emerging markets also ticked higher over the past day. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) sits on six consecutive buy signals and is up over 20% YTD.
• Since the healthcare sector moved to overweight territory two weeks ago in our DALI sector rankings, the sector has continued to tick higher, gaining 9 signals this month alone. Consumer staples have also gained 9 signals this month, as more defensive areas of the market continue to show strength.
• The percent positive for the healthcare sector (^PTECHEALTH) also crossed back up above 30% in its chart level for the second time since late 2021, highlighting an increase in long-term strength for the sector as a larger percentage of stocks are now contributing to the upside.
• Fed funds futures imply a 64.1% chance of a rate hike at the September 16, 2026 FOMC meeting, suggesting that market participants increasingly expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates.

Breadth in the fixed income market remains narrow as most US core groups now sit near the bottom of the Asset Class Group Scores fixed income rankings. Even non-core groups, like high yield bonds, which had formerly been areas of strength, now sit in the red zone with average scores below 2.5. With that in mind, we thought this would be an opportune time to update our check-a-month strategy. The check-a-month strategy involves buying a group of high-yielding, quarterly-dividend-paying stocks with dividend payment dates spread across the quarter so that the client receives a dividend check(s) each month.

When building a check-a-month portfolio, it is essential to select not only high-yielding stocks but also stocks with a healthy technical picture to better stack the odds of future outperformance in your favor. After all, your client won't be impressed with their 3% yield if the market value of their portfolio drops by 15%. Looking only at dividend yield, we found that there are 104 stocks in the S&P 500 with a dividend yield of 3% or higher. However, when we narrow our search using a technical overlay, we are left with 26 stocks. A list of all the criteria we input in the Security Screener tool is below:

S&P 500 Universe

Price = >$10

Trend = Positive

Technical Attributes = 3+ 

Dividend Yield > 3%

You will find all 26 names in the table below categorized into three groups based on their usual dividend payment schedule. We've highlighted a couple of our favorites below the table. 

Early Quarter Dividend Payout (January, April, July, October)

Mid-Quarter Dividend Payout (February, May, August, November)

Late Quarter Dividend Payout (March, June, September, December)

MO Altria Group Inc. ($72.06) - Food Beverages/Soap – MO is a 4 for 5’er that ranks in the top quintile of the food beverages/soap sector matrix. At 6.1%, MO is one of the highest yielding stocks on our list. On its default chart, MO has given three consecutive buy signals and sits one box away from completing a fourth with a spread triple top break at $75. Year-to-date (through 7/8) MO has gained 26.27% on a price return basis.

SPG Simon Property Group, Inc. ($221.01) - Real Estate – SPG is a 5 for 5’er that ranks in the top quintile of the real estate sector matrix. SPG’s 4.1% yield is roughly in-line with the 4.2% average yield for our list. But, SPG has shown durable relative strength as it has been on peer and market RS buy signals since 2021. After giving three consecutive sell signals between March and April, SPG returned to a buy signal when it completed a bearish signal reversal at $194. The stock has continued straight up a single column of Xs since then and currently sits at an all-time high at $228. While it shows no nearby support on its default chart, SPG has found support at $210 and $200 on its $2-per-box chart. Year-to-date, SPG has gained 18.36% on a price return basis.

Comments include: TLN

The option suggestions featured here are pulled from the NDW Options Ideas tool. These are just a sample of the ideas that can be found there. The Options Idea tool contains numerous additional income and speculative plays. It also offers relative strength-based screens targeting the highest (and lowest) relative strength stocks and ETFs that have recently moved counter to their longer-term trend. To access or subscribe to the Options Ideas tool, click here.

Call

Morgan Stanley (MS) Oct 16 $220 Call

Put

CoreWeave, Inc. Class A (CRWV) Oct 16 $92.50 Put

Income (Short Put)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Aug 21 $315 Short Put