Search

The market was already struggling after the Fed’s “higher for longer” comment about interest rates. Now it’s getting hit with ugly headlines regarding the situation in Israel.

Geopolitical risks are always out there, and they act up occasionally. Hopefully, this new Middle East situation won’t expand into a wider conflict. There is also the Ukraine conflict. These are risks that could develop into a much bigger problem. Even if they don’t, there is still the interest rate and inflation situation.

Last week the stock market once again had some wild ups and downs, led mostly by volatile moves in the bond market. And while the start of the week was ugly, the action Friday was impressive – though the situation in the Middle East may throw those good vibes from Friday right out the window. By week’s end the S&P 500 had gained 0.5%, the Dow had fallen 0.3%, and the Nasdaq had risen by 1.6%.

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.

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.

Last week the stock market once again had some wild ups and downs, led mostly by volatile moves in the bond market. And while the start of the week was ugly, the action Friday was impressive – though the situation in the Middle East may throw those good vibes from Friday right out the window. By week’s end the S&P 500 had gained 0.5%, the Dow had fallen 0.3%, and the Nasdaq had risen by 1.6%.

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.

Bear call spreads are conservative, high-probability options trades that - if you string enough together - can deliver massive returns. Here’s how they work.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Remain cautious. The bounce starting last Friday does come from a nice setup and, encouragingly, has seen more than a few growth stocks perk up, including some to new highs. However, the weight of the evidence remains pointed to the downside, with our Cabot Tides and Two-Second Indicator clearly negative, the vast majority of stocks also in intermediate-term downtrends and interest rates still trending up. We’re taking it one day at a time, but right now, we’re sticking with a big cash position of around 65%—we have no changes in the Model Portfolio tonight.

Cannabis stocks have retreated from recent highs in the rally sparked by news that the government may reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

Retraces are perfectly normal after big moves. Many traders typically expect a 33% give-back.

The key question is whether the pullback is buyable. I say yes, for two reasons – one fundamental (catalysts, below) and one technical. Let’s start with the technical factor.

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.

You don’t have to wait for the next major leg up in the market to spot the new leading growth stocks. There are ways to identify them now. Here’s how.

It’s been an interesting week thus far—we’ve seen interest rates take a nice step backward (10-year note is down 16 basis points this week), which has helped the indexes build on last week’s show of support, albeit in a modest way (up 0.5% to 1.5%, in general).

WHAT TO DO NOW: In yesterday’s update we wrote that the market still had a lot to prove, and indeed, the market is down further today despite a dip in interest rates—and more important to us is that some of the resilient names are getting hit with the market. One of those is Uber (UBER), which is cracking support on no news. We’re not craving more cash, but we’ll respect the action and sell one-third of our stake in Uber (UBER) this afternoon and see how it goes from here. Our cash position will now be in the upper 60% range.

Things have been rough in the MedTech world lately.

The new class of weight loss drugs (GLP-1s) is shaking things up way more than expected. And rather than think things through it appears that larger investors have decided to take down their exposure to MedTech now and ask questions later.

Just take a look at the iShares Medical Device ETF (IHI). It has fallen from 58 in late July to under 46 today, a greater than 20% decline.

My kids are a) aware of “cool” trends well before I am, and b) getting interested in money and investing. We put both those factors to the test by giving them money to invest in these stocks.

It was another rough week for the bulls as the bond market and China worries continue to weigh on the indexes. By week’s end the S&P 500 and Dow had both lost 2.22%, while the Nasdaq declined by 2.6%.

When volatility is low, selling options becomes less profitable but buying them becomes more affordable. Here’s my favorite options strategy for that environment.