While 2017 was one of the least volatile years ever for the market, 2018 has seen volatility return—with a vengeance! Early February brought the greatest point decline in history for the Dow, while yesterday brought the biggest one-day advance since August 2015 for the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Today, my recommendation is outside the U.S., and outside China, too! In fact, my recommendation is in Brazil, where a young airline is enjoying rapid growth and the chart is positive.

Current Market Outlook


The month-long rebound that began in early February clearly cracked last week, with the major indexes falling below key support and with some indexes (like the S&P 500 and NYSE Composite) retesting their February closing lows. There are still many stocks holding up well, including most of the growth-oriented names that exploded higher on big volume in February; however, as we saw last week, good stocks can go down in a hurry when the market hits the skids. Overall, we’re shifting our Market Monitor back down to neutral, and the onus is on the bulls to change that—a few strong days could make all the difference, but this downturn may continue until enough investors have thrown in the towel after the market’s huge run last year. We still advise holding strong, profitable stocks, but new buying should be limited and holding a good-sized chunk of cash on the sideline makes sense.

This week’s list still has a lot of good stories and solid charts, and includes a few newer names. Our Top Pick is ServiceNow (NOW), which remains exceptionally resilient. Just remember to keep new buys small given the market.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Chegg (CHGG)	74.21	21-22	19-19.5
Continental Resources (CLR)	66.19	56.5-58.5	52-54
Floor & Décor (FND)	68.03	49-51	45.5-47
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT)	137.53	51.5-54	47.5-49
HealthEquity, Inc. (HQY)	70.70	61.5-63.5	55.5-56.5
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)	423.92	307-322	280-285
PagSeguro Digital (PAGS)	35.09	35-37	31-33
Penumbra Inc. (PEN)	173.25	116-120	106-108
Red Hat (RHT)	0.00	146-153	135-139
ServiceNow (NOW)	341.86	167-172	155-158

The possibility of a trade war between the U.S. and China has dealt a blow to many Chinese stocks. Most of the damage is being done by withdrawals from China exchange-traded funds and broader emerging-market or ex-U.S. funds. But whatever the source, the reality is that we have a new warning signal from the Cabot Emerging Markets Timer.

Volatility is the theme in the 2018 markets. And while the markets have bounced about since our last issue, at least the momentum has been upward, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining almost 600 points.

The economy continues to grow at a healthy pace, with job openings increasing, unemployment steady and consumer sentiment rising.

Market sentiment, as you’ll see in our Advisor Sentiment Barometer and our Market Views remains bullish, although some of our contributors are expressing caution in the long run.

Current Market Outlook


The market had a brutal day today, with the major indexes (especially the Nasdaq, which had been the strongest index) plunging on big volume. (The reason, Facebook’s naughtiness, doesn’t matter much to us.) Today’s dramatic move calls into question the market’s recent rally—most indexes we track are still hovering above key support, but net-net, there hasn’t been any progress for the past eight to 10 weeks, which isn’t ideal. As for leading growth stocks, they did get hit today, though most remain in good shape on their charts. All in all, we’re still in favor of holding your strong, profitable stocks and giving them a chance to consolidate. But with the market evidently still not out of the woods, it’s best to go slow on the buy side and make sure you honor your stops and loss limits while we watch to see how the market reacts to this selling wave.

This week’s list is more full of what we’d term secondary leaders—still great potential, but not the liquid leaders we’ve seen pop up in recent weeks. One exception: Nutanix (NTNX), which looks like an emerging blue chip of sorts, is our Top Pick—pullbacks would be very tempting after its super-powerful breakout.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
AAXN (AAXN)	87.11	36-38	32.5-34
Baozun (BZUN)	44.24	45.5-48.5	41.5-43.5
HCA Healthcare (HCA)	137.60	100-104	94-96
Insulet (PODD)	175.69	82-84.5	75-77
Loxo Oncology (LOXO)	186.59	115-120	104-107
MKS Instruments (MKSI)	109.43	117.5-122.5	107-110
Nutanix (NTNX)	55.91	49-52	44-46
Pegasystems (PEGA)	0.00	59-61	55-56
PTC Therapeutics (PTCT)	0.00	27.5-29.5	25-26.5
Vipshop Holdings (VIPS)	14.25	17-18.5	15-16

The charts and the fundamentals of leading growth are likely pointing toward a new sustained advance. With 22% cash, we’re building our Watch List and looking to put more money to work, ideally on dips or shakeouts.

The markets have been bouncing around lately, but as our contributors note in our Market Views section, “volatility can be your friend.” The dips can provide some great opportunities to pick up temporarily undervalued companies. And with the economy continuing to perform well, all signals for a longer bull run say go.

For value-focused investors, this year’s prologue has been a welcome change from the turmoil experienced in early 2025.

In just the past few weeks, some of last year’s most ignored or underappreciated laggards have posted outsized gains, with rallies that have made even momentum-driven tech stock traders envious. Even more remarkable is the fact that much of that strength has been concentrated in ultra-defensive areas of the market like consumer staples, utilities and healthcare.

The market rotation continues to be the main story out there this week, though rumblings of a potential strike on Iran, an update from the January FOMC meeting, and a slew of earnings reports and economic data releases have been giving investors plenty to think about.

In terms of the rotation, the equal‑weight S&P 500 ETF (RSP) is up 5.5% so far this year, illustrating that leadership is broadening beyond the narrow group of mega‑cap stocks that drove much of last year’s performance.

Year to date, the S&P 600 SmallCap Index is up 8.3% and the S&P 400 Mid‑Cap Index is up 7.9%. Both are comfortably outperforming the S&P 500, which is up just 0.1%, and the Nasdaq, which is down 2.1%.

Happy Chinese New Year! The year of the horse is upon us.

China is expecting an incredible 9.5 billion trips to be made during the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period. Chinese automakers are also on the move as the country’s numerous brands sold nearly 200,000 vehicles in Britain last year, doubling their market share to almost 10%.

As U.S. investors have shifted from risk-on to risk-off mode in recent months, a clear disparity between the “haves” and the “have-nots” has materialized.

Let’s start with the “have-nots.” Financials have fared the worst so far this year (-4.7%), followed by technology (-3.1%), communication services and consumer discretionary (-2.8% each). The downturn in the two tech-related sectors in particular is a stark departure from recent years, when technology led the charge of the current bull market.

Cyclical stocks are soaring and technology is floundering in the transformed market.

The bull market is turned upside down. For most of the first three years, technology, and particularly AI stocks, soared while most other stocks did very little. Now, previously meandering stocks are killing it while technology sinks.

Strong fourth-quarter earnings are confirming what the market was already doing.

Current estimates based on earnings reported so far are for 13.2% overall S&P earnings growth for the quarter. It’s a solid quarter and the fifth straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth. In terms of sector performance, cyclical companies are killing it, and technology is floundering, just like before earnings.

Like many coffee aficionados, I have something of a love/hate relationship with Starbucks (SBUX). My main gripe is that the company’s food and beverage offerings have always been pricey compared to the fare served in most fast-food restaurants and run-of-the-mill coffee houses.

The outperformance of small caps continues.

Through Tuesday’s close, the S&P 600 is up 10% year to date versus just 1.6% for the S&P 500.

All but three small-cap sectors are outperforming their large-cap counterpart. The strongest small-cap sectors are materials (+20%), energy (+23%), industrials (+17%), and tech (+11.4%).

Let’s talk about the power of staying invested.

Sure, when the market turns south – and I’m not even sure last week’s mini-dip qualifies – it makes sense to pare back on your weakest stocks and put a larger portion of your portfolio in cash. But taking your ball and going home – selling out of all of your stocks when times are tough – is not a winning strategy. Here’s why.

NOTE: We’re sending this a day early as I’m soon to embark on a trip with the kiddos over the next week. I will be working a good amount from the road, though, and will have updates if need be. Also, next week’s issue will be published as scheduled.

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WHAT TO DO NOW: The market remains very mixed, with growth measures still generally pointed sideways to down, while the broad market remains in solid shape. What’s interesting, though, is that we’re seeing more growth stocks kick into gear, along with some huge buying action in a few “cyclical growth” names. Tonight we’re making one move—adding a half-sized stake in Macom Tech (MTSI)—but are keeping our eyes open for a broader character change among growth stocks. Our cash position will be around 53%.

Today could be a big day for cannabis stocks.

The reason: We may get an important update on the rescheduling timeline.

Cannabis investors will be watching closely today to see whether Attorney General Pam Bondi offers a rescheduling update when she appears before the House Judiciary Committee. Upbeat comments could spark a sharp cannabis sector rally. The hearing starts at 10 a.m. EST.

I’m excited to share a couple of enhancements to Cabot Early Opportunities —improvements designed to sharpen our focus and better help you stay on top of the stocks we own.

Fourteen analysts have increased their 2017 earnings forecasts for this energy company.

ADP reported strong first-quarter EPS but slightly weaker-than-expected revenue yesterday, and the stock has declined over 5%.

Updates on four of our stocks—all rated Strong Buy.

Although this equipment maker posted a loss of $0.14 per share for its first quarter, the company’s results did beat Wall Streets’ forecasts of a $0.16 per share loss.

Here are updates on four or our stocks that reported earnings, please updates on two other stocks that have shown strong price action.

Last month, this European airline began offering its customers flight-to-flight connection, lifting it from its original ‘no-frills’ strategy.

This publishing company’s financials are improving across the board—debt to equity, profit margins and return on equity.

Two analysts have increased their EPS forecasts for this financial company in the past 30 days.

Today’s Special Bulletin focuses on quarterly earnings reports from five of our stocks. There are no rating changes.

The top three sectors in this 5-star-rated fund are Industrials (22%), Consumer Cyclical (17%), and Financial Services (14%).

Updates on four of our holdings, including one rating change.

Eight analysts have increased their forecasts for this year and next for this Chinese quick-service company.

Our Cabot Top Ten Trader’s market timing system consists of two parts—one based on the action of three select, growth-oriented market indexes, and the other based on the action of the fast-moving stocks Cabot Top Ten features.