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Stocks are recovering so far this week after a big selloff on Friday.

The sweet summer market that had consistently set new highs got a cold slap in the face last week. But trading so far this week indicates it might not be a game-changer.

The market was looking good a week ago. The huge trade deal with Europe alleviated much uncertainty about tariffs. Second-quarter GDP came in at a much stronger-than-expected 3%. Tariff uncertainty was fading away, and the economy was stronger than expected. But then news of a much worse-than-expected job number for July, along with significant downward revisions for the prior two months, combined with increasing tariff threats to China, India, and Canada and shattered the positive narrative.

It’s another new high! The market continues to forge slowly higher.

There was positive tariff news over the weekend. President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to the framework of a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on European imports and an agreement by the EU to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over three years. Although the deal so far is considered highly advantageous to the U.S., it’s only a broad outline with many details to be worked out.

The market has leveled off since the huge recovery from the tariff Armageddon fears. And now, who knows.

The sticky issue to start the week is increasing trade tensions with China. A war of words is escalating between the two governments and threats are being made by both sides. It is being reported that President Trump will speak with Chinese President Xi today or later this week. Hopefully the two leaders will bring down the temperature.

The market is still right near the high. But the dog days of summer are setting in.

Stocks are resilient. News regarding tariffs and the economy got better and then got worse. The market is taking it in stride and meandering near the high. Now we are at that time of year when investors focus on squeezing in the last bit of summer fun.

After bouncing around for a few weeks, the S&P is moving higher again. The index is now just about 2% below the high and may rally this month.

The tariff story continues to play out. The market made a huge recovery after the initial fears in April as investors wrote off a disaster scenario. Now, talks are dragging on, and the market still can’t move completely past the issue. But good economic news was a pleasant surprise.

What shutdown? What tariffs? The market couldn’t care less. It just keeps moving higher.

After making a series of new highs throughout the summer, the S&P had a great September. October looks good so far, too. Stocks are being driven higher by technology and the artificial intelligence trade. The technology sector is up 9% over the past month.

Things are certainly looking up in the market. The S&P 500 had an epic nine-day run of positive gains, the longest such streak in more than twenty years. The index rose over 10% during the streak. What’s going on?

The rally began after President Trump indicated a de-escalation of the trade war with China. There are ongoing negotiations with the other trading partners during the 90-day pause initiated on April 9^th. A perception is building that the worst of the tariff uncertainty is behind. Stocks also got a boost from earnings and economic news.

After a strong start to the year, February was a down month for the S&P 500. The index is just a little over 1% higher YTD. But the news is better than it may seem.

Sure, the market has been struggling. But it’s only because of technology, which is down over 5% YTD. Nine of the other ten sectors in the S&P are positive for the year. Some sectors are having very good years as Health Care is up over 8% and Consumer Staples and Financials are up over 7% YTD.

Last week was another up week for the S&P 500. The index has made up all the losses since April and is now in positive territory for the year.

After a multi-month barrage of relentlessly negative headlines, the S&P is within 3% of the all-time high. Seven of the eleven market sectors are higher YTD, and two of the negative sectors are down less than 1% for the year so far.

Selling accelerated this week after last week was the worst since September. The S&P is down 4% YTD and at its lowest level in more than five months. The Nasdaq index is in correction territory, down more than 10% from the high.

The big issue seems to be tariffs. Tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico are escalating. The new Canadian Prime Minister also appears to be taking a hard line, and it looks like the trade issues won’t be resolved for a while. But it’s also the fact that tariffs are hitting the economy at a vulnerable point as fears of a slowing economy are growing.

The market sobered up in December after a big post-election rally in November. The S&P fell 2.5% in the last month of the year. But January has started out with stocks up 2.2% already.

Technology is driving the market higher. The sector is taking off after Nvidia (NVDA) issued bullish statements about demand for its artificial intelligence chips. AI is a huge growth catalyst for the market’s largest sector and has proven it can drive the indexes higher all by itself. In fact, technology has been the primary catalyst for the S&P over most of this bull market. But things might be changing.

AI is the catalyst driving the technology sector, which is driving the market higher. Over the last month, the tech sector is up 10.42% while the S&P is up 2.95%. Seven of the 11 sectors are negative for the past month.

But technology stocks may be running out of gas. Without the heavy lifting from technology, it’s easy to see the overall market trending sideways or down, at least for a while.

Income is king in markets like this. The register still rings when the market stumbles. There’s also an opportunity right now. With the S&P and many stocks near their 52-week highs, it’s a good time to get high call premiums. Also, you can lock in strong total returns from these stocks if they are called.

Even the best bull markets have ups and downs. We can play the increased likelihood of a flat or down market by priming the income pump to pay us through the rough patch. In this issue, I target another covered call that will enhance the already exquisite income of a monthly dividend stock.

The Fed’s moment has finally arrived.

The Fed raised the Fed Funds rate at the steepest pace since the 1980s in 2022 and 2023, from 0% to 5.5% over just an 18-month span. The Fed Funds rate has remained at a multi-decade high of 5.50% for more than a year. The Fed is expected to begin cutting the rate this week and will likely continue to do so for the next two years.

AbbVie’s (ABBV) earnings failed to impress last week, the stock is stuck in a trading range with a slight downward bias, and the biotech rally has failed—or at least been delayed—once again.

All eyes are on the Fed. Sure, there’s inflation and Omicron and some other stuff. But Wall Street types mostly care about the Fed.

September lived up to its bad reputation. The S&P 500 fell 4.8% for the month. But September is over. Now it’s October, which is historically only the second-worst month of the year. What now?

Over the summer, the strong economy prevailed over concerns about the virus. And the market drifted higher. We’ll see if the scales get tipped the other way in this historically tough month for the market.

It’s another week of more of the same. The three major indexes are very near the all-time highs, but still not really going anywhere.

Cyclical stocks are getting creamed today. Energy is down the most. But industrials, materials, and financials are getting hit too.