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This is a big week for financial markets, with the Fed holding interest rates steady, $11 trillion worth of tech companies reporting earnings, a key jobs report, and a tariff deadline with China and India looming. The market pulled back as Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the Fed may not be ready to cut interest rates as expected.

But 7,392 miles from the canyons of Wall Street, an AI global governance plan was released at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, which called for establishing an international open-source community through which AI models can freely be available. About 800 Chinese and international companies attended the summit.

After a multi-week bottoming process, the buyers showed up last week in a big way, producing a rare show of strength that, historically, has always preceded great gains when looking out six to 12 months. That said, the next few weeks are more of a toss-up, as the intermediate-term trends of most indexes and stocks are still iffy and news-driven action (like today’s commodity move) is still the norm. We’re bumping up our Market Monitor a notch and think it’s OK to extend your line a bit, but we still think it’s best to start small, aim for pullbacks and to go slow.

The major indexes are up to new highs, though they again have become very dependent on the Magnificent Seven in the last month after stocks of virtually all sizes and sectors rallied in November and December. Outside the Mag Seven, most stocks have been stagnant so far in 2024. Not so in the Stock of the Week portfolio, where we have multiple stocks hitting new highs, none of which belong to the Mag Seven, and TWO stocks that have doubled in the last year! We try and keep the hot streak going by adding a familiar, big-name growth stock that was beaten to a pulp during the bear market of 2022 and 2023 but has demonstrated some real momentum in the last three months. It’s a recent recommendation from Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld.

Global citizens are beginning to witness a relatively unprecedented situation in which a communicable virus that originated in China is now traveling around the globe.

A bullet was dodged, and the bull market forges on.

It looks like the Fed is going to play ball. There was much worry among investors that the Fed would abandon the three-rate-hike goal for this year amid higher-than-expected inflation. But they didn’t. The Fed reiterated its intention for three cuts this year. The odds of a first cut in June increased to 70%.

The election is over. Earnings season is largely behind us. And the Fed matched investor expectations by cutting rates by another 25 basis points. The result? A market at fresh all-time highs and with newfound momentum on the heels of a sluggish October. And the Stock of the Week portfolio is performing even better, with no fewer than 10 stocks (!) trading at new all-time or 52-week highs as of this writing.

So, let’s lean into the growth environment while it lasts by adding a mid-cap fintech software stock that Tyler Laundon introduced to his Cabot Early Opportunities readers last month.

Details inside.

WHAT TO DO NOW: We think the strong action from the mini-panic low in early August is a good sign the next big move is up—but the timing of that move is less certain, possibly getting going soon, but it could also take more time to set up. Our market timing indicators are improving, and so we’ll do a little more buying tonight, but we’re OK going slow here to see how the rally progresses from here. In the Model Portfolio, we’re adding a half-sized stake in Shift4 Payments (FOUR) and putting On Holding (ONON) back on Buy—though we’re also holding on to a cash position of around 32% and want to see further upside soon before putting more cash to work.

Stocks are finally showing signs of life. After a miserable six-week stretch, stocks – with an assist from cooler inflation numbers – appear to be getting in gear. How long the new rally will last may depend on things like Q4 earnings, the early days of Donald Trump’s second term, and what Jerome Powell says next week. But for now, let’s strike while the iron is hot, or at least warm, and add a growth stock whose name you might recognize since so many people use their platform these days. It’s a new recommendation from Cabot Early Opportunities Chief Analyst Tyler Laundon.

Details inside.

Current Market Outlook


Given the strong October run-up, we weren’t surprised to see the market retreat last week. However, the severity of the dip in both indexes and individual stocks was a yellow flag—many indexes dipped below their 50-day lines, lots of lagging stocks were crushed and even the leaders came under pressure on Friday and today. The action isn’t necessarily a death knell for the rally, but it does put it back on the fence; we’re switching our Market Monitor back into the neutral zone. It’s vital to get rid of losers, honor your stops and remember to book some partial profits in your winners. And as for new buying, it’s prudent to keep new positions small until we see the rally perk up again.

This week’s list has a broad mix of stocks and sectors—no unifying theme but a bunch of good charts and stories. Our Top Pick is Fleetmatics (FLTX), a unique software company with steady growth and a huge opportunity. Try to buy on dips.

Stock Name	Price	Buy Range	Loss Limit
Tyler Technologies (TYL)	0.00	164-170	148-150
Charles Schwab (SCHW)	0.00	31.5-33	29-29.5
NetEase, Inc. (NTES)	0.00	141-147	128-130
Kite Pharma (KITE)	0.00	75-78	66-68
Global Payments Inc. (GPN)	0.00	67-69	61-62
Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL)	0.00	730-750	680-690
Fleetmatics Group PLC (FLTX)	0.00	55.5-58.5	51.5-52
New Oriental Education (EDU)	113.97	26-27.5	23-23.5
A.O. SMITH (AOS)	0.00	74-76	70-70.5
Alkermes (ALKS)	0.00	69.5-72	64-65

Two options trading strategies can help any investor create yield that far exceeds traditional avenues: Covered Calls and Writing Puts.

Nippon Steel is still pushing to acquire U.S. Steel, but politicians oppose it while executives and labor unions support it. With shareholders caught in the middle, should you be buying U.S. Steel now?

Fears and evidence of rising inflation hammered Wall Street this week so today we are selling two lagging positions and adding a blue-chip inflation hedge. The Fed may begin pulling back on monetary stimulus and increasing interest rates. It is possible that all of this is being overdone and that inflation will be only transitory, in which case market bulls will swoop in to buy stocks at some point. We need to stay in the middle. Avoid panic selling and buy conservative quality.

The market has gotten a lot bumpier in November, though the major indexes haven’t given up much ground. That’s because even as the air comes out of the (perhaps overinflated) artificial intelligence balloon of late, investors are instead rotating into the many under-loved names in other sectors. Today, we add a stock in one of those underappreciated sectors. It’s an educational company that Carl Delfeld recommended to his Cabot Explorer audience last month. And the stock is having a solid year.

Details inside.

Despite the self-induced recession, the stay-at-home economy is booming thanks to companies that are letting employees work from home—and even after things go back to normal, it’s likely some of this new workplace flexibility will be here to stay.