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There’s no doubt the market continues to keep investors on their toes, and some further discomfort in the short term is certainly possible after the recent run. It’s also a decent bet that earnings season, which is now ramping up, will present a few potholes. But those are the trees—if you look at the forest, all of the bullish factors are still in place, whether it’s the uptrend in the major indexes, the solid action among most leading stocks, the sluggishness of defensive stocks and, more recently, the strength of the broad market (including five straight days of 2-to-1 NYSE breadth). We remain bullish and expect higher prices—we’ll leave our Market Monitor at a level 8.

This week’s list has a very broad mix of names, including everything from giant blue chips to more speculative small caps. Our Top Pick is in the right area (big-cap growth) and is trying to emerge from a tight consolidation. Earnings are out in a couple of weeks, so start small and build if the breakout works.

The new bull market went into hyperdrive last week, fueled by lower-than-expected inflation and an encouraging start to earnings season. With another interest rate hike and weak Q2 earnings expectations looming in the back half of this month and beyond, there could be some speed bumps ahead. But for now, the good times are rolling, and that means taking more big swings. This week, we do so in a small-cap, Canada-based rare earths producer that is a brand new recommendation from Cabot Explorer Chief Analyst Carl Delfeld.

The market surged higher yet again last week, and traders are beginning to wonder if a run at new highs is in the cards in 2023. While there is a way to go until we reach those peaks, last week’s gains of 2.4% for the S&P 500, 2.3% for the Dow, and 3.32% for the Nasdaq gives the bulls hope.

The market surged higher yet again last week, and traders are beginning to wonder if a run at new highs is in the cards in 2023. While there is a way to go until we reach those peaks, last week’s gains of 2.4% for the S&P 500, 2.3% for the Dow, and 3.32% for the Nasdaq gives the bulls hope.

Cannabis-friendly states are showing strong sales growth while legalization progresses and states tamp down on the illicit markets.

Ahead of the long holiday weekend the market had yet another good week. The S&P 500 gained 1.75%, the Dow rallied 1.5%, and the Nasdaq rose another 1.9%.

This week in an attempt to diversify the portfolio we are adding an energy play.

These are confusing times in the market. It looks like a soft landing for the economy is more likely. But that’s no guarantee. We could still have a recession next year. The bull market could rage on or pull back. Instead of betting on the economic cycle, it’s a time to focus on individual stocks.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) exploded onto the market scene in a huge way in May when semiconductor company Nvidia (NVDA) blew away earnings expectations citing much higher demand for AI chips than anyone expected. It added another leg to the bull market as AI-related stocks soared.

This week Chris and Brad talk about the latest Chinese GDP numbers and whether it’s safe to invest in China, Tesla’s earnings release, and what they’re seeing with Regional banks now that they’re reporting. After that, they break down FAANG stocks, their popular ascent as market shorthand, and whether Microsoft is “sexy” enough to sit at the cool kids’ table.

What can we say? It’s been another impressive week for the market, with pullbacks limited to a few hours before buyers pile in. Coming into Friday, the big-cap indexes were up 3% to 4%, while broader indexes were generally up in the 1% to 2.5% range. The action keeps the intermediate-term trend pointed up, and the broad market remains in generally good health, with few stocks hitting new lows and more names joining the upside parade.

In this week’s video, Mike Cintolo talks about the market’s under-the-surface improvement that he’s seeing; no indicators have changed, which will need to happen for him to extend his line in a big way, but there’s no question most stuff has seen improvement and more stocks are beginning to act properly. Mike did a little buying this week and is hoping to add more should the market be able to build on the recent action.

The big news this week was, of course, that the FOMC decided to pause and not hike interest rates at the June meeting. But as expected they suggested that a couple more 25-basis point hikes are in the cards throughout the rest of the year.


It feels like this “we want to keep you guessing” messaging is partly due to wanting to see how more data comes in and partly to keep investor expectations in check. The latter seems especially relevant given the S&P 500 just moved into a new bull market and AI enthusiasm has pushed a number of the MegaCap stocks to new highs.

This past week, none of our companies reported earnings and there were no ratings changes. Shares of ESAB Corp (ESAB) are approaching our 68 price target, so we continue our review of this recommendation. The next earnings report is from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), scheduled for June 27.

Nio’s (NIO) stock is down 90% from its all-time high, does the current valuation make it a compelling buy for forward-looking investors?

A big move may be coming for cannabis stocks, which could be an opportunity for short-term profit on the path to long-term sector growth.

Small caps are off about one percentage point over the last week while the S&P 500 is almost dead flat.

All things considered, that feels like a win to me – largely because the Fed signaled potential for two more rate hikes throughout the year. The Fed’s rate hike program has been the market’s bogeyman for over a year. The message the market is sending now is that, yeah, you might keep us on our toes, bogeyman, but we’re not scared any more. You can be dealt with.

The good times for the bulls continued as the S&P 500 rose for a fifth consecutive week, its longest such streak since November 2021, and it was also the best week for the S&P 500 since March.

The good times for the bulls continued as the S&P 500 rose for a fifth consecutive week, its longest such streak since November 2021, and it was also the best week for the S&P 500 since March.