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Stocks trend higher over time. And history clearly illustrates that bear markets are ideal times to invest ahead of the next bull market. The average bear market is about 15 months long. And this one is already almost a year old. There is a high-percentage chance that a rally ignites in 2023 that will lead us out of this bear market and into the next bull market.

Cryptocurrencies have lost two-thirds of their value in the last year; it’s not the first time that has happened and may not be the last. If you’re looking for a long-term play, consider this LEAPS options trade.

Enovix (ENVX) management hosted a two-hour-long presentation from their Fremont, CA factory yesterday afternoon that went deep into the company’s outlook for battery production, sales projections and customer interest. The team also talked about new senior management hires.

A new year brings renewed optimism, and boy do we as investors need it after one of the worst years for stocks in recent memory – the fourth-worst in the history of the S&P 500, to be exact. So today, as we enter what is likely to be (though not assured, of course) a better year for stocks – perhaps much better – we try and strike an optimistic tone by adding a promising mid-cap growth stock to the Cabot Stock of the Week portfolio. It’s a brand-new recommendation from Cabot Early Opportunities Chief Analyst Tyler Laundon.

2022 went out with a whimper for the market as the indexes posted one of their worst years on record.

In a weak market it pays to identify pockets of strength, and these are the 5 strongest sectors heading into the new year.

A terrible year in the market just ended and it is highly likely that this year will be much better. That’s good news. The bad news is that the first part of 2023 may be just like 2022.

The results are in. The indexes returned the following for 2022; S&P 500 (-19.4%), Dow Jones (-9%), and the Nasdaq (-33%). It was the worst year for stocks since the financial crisis year of 2008. Plus, many individual stocks were down far more than the indexes.

It was a relatively quiet day on Wall Street, with the major indexes staying mostly range bound. At day’s end, the Dow up 19 points and the Nasdaq up 27 points

Some bad news surrounding many chip firms had the market down decently today, though the buyers did support stocks as the day wore on. At the close, the Dow was up 146 points, though the Nasdaq still finished lower by 31 points.

The market has closed lower for three straight weeks and declined about 9% from the August high as we head into September. Where do we go from here?

The market is having trouble deciding. It’s still unclear what the primary threat or driver will be. Is the main problem inflation or recession? It remains to be seen if inflation has indeed peaked and if it’s headed lower. The state of the economy is also unclear. Is this a recession after two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction? It is also an open question if the economy remains buoyant or is declining from here.

Is this a bear market rally or a new bull market?

That’s the question investors are grappling with. Is this the end of the crummy market or is this 17% rally off the lows just a head fake? Let’s examine each possibility.

Three straight weeks of market declines have moved the S&P 500 down 8.9% from the mid-August high. The selling is continuing this first day after Labor Day, so far.

It’s our old friends inflation and recession causing trouble. The market increasingly fears recession as the hawkish Fed raises rates to tame inflation and investors anticipate a hard landing. The weakness may continue in the weeks ahead, as September is historically the worst month of the year for the market.

It’s starting to feel like a bull market. But let’s not bank on it just yet.

Inflation is moderating, and many see an end to the Fed tightening cycle by early next year. The Fed part is probably true. The Central Bank will likely raise the Fed Funds rate to around 3.5% and then stop. Higher than that would probably plunge the country and the world into a deeper recession. I doubt this Fed will have the belly to do that.

The broad market pulled back 7% in the week after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech and small caps did a little worse, drifting as much as 10% lower as of Tuesday’s close. But the last couple of days have been better, setting up what could be a little relief rally next week.

Of course, the CPI numbers (to be released next Wednesday) will likely dictate broad market movement in the back half of the week (they should show continued moderating inflation).

It’s all about the Fed today. The woefully behind-the-curve Central Bank will announce another Fed Funds rate hike today. The increase is widely expected to be another 0.75%. But some worry it could be 1.00%.

The market’s hopes were dashed when August inflation was worse than expected. That means the Fed will have to continue to be hawkish and for a while longer. Plus, after four rate hikes so far, two straight quarters of GDP contraction, and a bear market; inflation isn’t budging yet.

As of 2 pm EST, The market was mostly lower, though modestly so, with the Dow up 33 points, but the Nasdaq down 85 points and most growth stocks in the red.

Stocks are having another terrible day today, with investor fears building that the Fed will push the economy into a deep recession. As of 2:10 pm, the Dow is off 656 points and the Nasdaq is plunging 409 points.

For our recommended stocks, earnings season starts next week, led off by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) on Thursday, October 13 and Wells Fargo (WFC) on Friday, October 14. The following week Mattel (MAT) and Nokia (NOK) report earnings. The earnings deluge for our companies starts the following week on October 24.

Earnings season is over, although it starts again on October 13 with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). Today’s note includes a summary of the podcast.

Well, the market got exactly what it expected yesterday when the Fed hiked by 75bps (the odds were over 80% that’s what they’d do). Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s messaging was consistent with what he said back in August in Jackson Hole.