Today's American Stocks Pulse
Dow climbs nearly 200 points to record close as oil eases on Iran truce hopes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 200 points, closing at a fresh all‑time high. The rally was driven by a pullback in oil prices after optimism surrounding a potential Iran truce. Markets remained cautious amid mixed political signals.
53-Year-Old Home Depot Rival Closing Down, No Bankruptcy
Home Depot, Lowe’s and Amazon together captured 56% of the U.S. home‑improvement market in 2025, leaving independent hardware retailers struggling. Independent stores such as C&H Hardware and the 53‑year‑old Blossom True Value in Mountain View have shut down or announced closure due to falling sales, rising rents and tariffs. Blossom True Value lost roughly half its business after the pandemic and will close when its lease expires in summer 2026. The trend underscores the growing pressure from big‑box and online competitors on small‑format retailers.
Fed Minutes Omit 2% Inflation Target Date, Signaling Uncertainty
One more note on the Fed minutes: Sometimes it's interesting what they don't say. Last year at every meeting until December, the staff forecast called for inflation to return to 2% by 2027. In December, the forecast pushed this back to...
Robinhood’s Earnings Expose Risks for $HOOD Investors
If you’re a $HOOD investor, you’ve probably suffered a wild ride in recent months. The company just issued its latest earnings, which reminded the market of the dangers of Robinhood’s business model.
Drawing Lines in the Sand
The equal‑weighted S&P 500 continues a well‑defined uptrend, indicating intermediate‑term bullish momentum. In contrast, the broader, cap‑weighted U.S. equity averages remain confined to tight trading ranges, reflecting short‑term indecision. Meanwhile, the VVIX—volatility of the VIX—has stayed above the 100 threshold, underscoring...
Defensives Hit Dot‑Com Lows, Poised for Rally
Chart of the Week - Defensives With tech in trouble (+a number of macro risks lurking on the horizon), defensives are starting to look interesting… Defensives (i.e. an equal-weighted basket of: Utilities, Healthcare, Consumer Staples) are turning up vs the S&P500 —after...
Big Tech Lagged S&P; Past Winners Not Guaranteed
S&P 500 is up 77% over the last 5 years. These tech stocks didn't beat it: Amazon: +27% Netflix: +46% And these stocks got destroyed: Nike: -55% Disney: -42% PayPal: -86% Shopify: -18% Past winners aren't always future winners.
Nasdaq Leads a Rocky Risk-On Rally: Stock Market Today
The Nasdaq Composite posted the strongest advance among U.S. indexes, rising 0.8% as risk‑on sentiment persisted amid solid earnings and encouraging economic data. Federal Reserve officials remain divided on rates, while housing starts jumped 6.2% to a five‑month high and...
Long‑duration Assets Like Bitcoin, Growth Stocks Lose Favor
Bitcoin's drop has coincided with a decline in the Russell 1000's Pure Growth P/E. What do they have in common? Both are long-duration, and are being shunned during the underlying rotation into shorter-duration (cyclical) securities (think value, dividend payers, Energy...
Confirm Bearish RSI Divergences with Price Levels Before Acting
Bearish RSI divergences can hint at a major top — but only if price & key levels confirm. Momentum can fade while price still grinds higher. Patience & confirmation are essential. My latest article on @StockCharts: https://t.co/sDlIJ3WADG
🛞 Covered Call Trade Management
In this episode the host reviews a recent earnings event and observes that the stock is stabilizing, hinting at potential upward momentum. To capitalize on this, they outline a covered‑call strategy that generates upfront premium, reduces the effective cost basis,...
US Large‑Cap Valuations Still Overpriced, Risks Loom
Recent rotation has helped resolve some of U.S. large cap stocks’ valuation excesses, but risks remain to the downside for U.S. multiples. Large cap growth’s sales multiple is still near its all-time high, at about 6X, and growth’s earnings multiple may...
Software Stocks Face Fear‑Driven Selloff, Not Real Decline
Software is getting hit on fear of substitution more than evidence of structural deterioration in enterprise spending. When price action gets ahead of reality, the re-rating can be violent if the narrative cools.
Fed Minutes Suggest Willingness To Hike If Inflation Not Tamed
The Federal Reserve’s February 2026 FOMC minutes reveal that most participants remain uneasy about inflation, which is still above the central bank’s 2% target. The minutes signal a willingness to raise rates again if price pressures are not curbed, underscoring...
US Stock Premium at Risk as Tech Capex Rises
Although global markets have narrowed the gap with the US in recent weeks, US equities still trade at a roughly 40% valuation premium to the rest of the world. That premium could shrink further if big tech companies lose their...
Analyst's PANW Recommendation Misses, Stock Tanks
I was astonished that Bryn Talkington's feet were not held to the fire today after she recommended (confidentally) $PANW yesterday. Four hours later the company guided lower and the stock tanked. Does the network basically not give a shit (about their most...
‘No Landing’ Is Back In A Big Way
‘No landing’ has emerged as the prevailing global macro outlook, suggesting the economy will remain in a state of indefinite uncertainty rather than a clear recession or recovery. The author points to persistent inflation, aggressive AI investment, and AI‑induced job...
Retail Shorts Ahead as High‑Income Spending Slips
The show panelists (don't be shocked, they are bullish) love retail/consumer stocks - we shorted $COST and $WMT in the last 24 hours. We are looking for more consumer shorts. We believe lower home and stock prices will take away from the...
ETF Inflows Double Historic Pace in First Six Weeks
Here's ETF flows for the first six weeks of the year historically. This year is off to the best start almost by double. One reason is growing depth of cash vacuum cleaners. VOO, SPYM hoovering as always but there's already...
Dow Jones Industrial Average Gains 200 Points as Fed Minutes Loom and Nvidia Rallies on Meta Deal
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 300 points, or 0.65%, as investors returned to equities ahead of the Federal Reserve’s January minutes. Nvidia surged over 2% after Meta announced an expanded AI‑chip partnership worth tens of billions, reinforcing Nvidia’s...
Record Hedge Fund Bet on Magnificent 7 Risks Collapse
⚠️Almost everybody is piling into the SAME TRADE: Hedge fund net allocation to Magnificent 7 stocks is up to a RECORD 22%. This is more than DOUBLE the level seen in 2022. At the same time, these stocks remain among the most popular...
Fed Minutes Reveal Larger Faction Demanding Higher Cut Threshold
Minutes from the Fed's Jan. 27-28 meeting laid bare a lingering divide over where to set the bar for further rate cuts. In Fed speak, "some" is larger than "several" which means the group of "some" officials that includes those with...
US Stocks: Trump Adviser Hassett Suggests New York Fed Researchers Be Punished for Tariffs Argument
Kevin Hassett, former Trump economic adviser, blasted a New York Fed research paper that argued tariffs mainly hurt American consumers, calling it "shoddy scholarship" and the worst paper in Fed history. He urged that the authors be disciplined for their...
Micron Poised for Record Highs Amid Memory Shortage
Can Micron do it again? $MU heading back towards record territory as memory shortages continue.
Mega‑Cap Weakness Could Drag Entire S&P Down
The reason this is important (even though it’s only a few stocks) is that the Mag 7 is so big that if they should fall they could well take the S&P 500 (cap-weighted) index with it. History shows (below) that...
Morning Market Brief
In this Morning Market Brief, Lawrence Fuller notes that markets steadied after a sharp morning dip, buoyed by positive news on Iran nuclear negotiations, reducing geopolitical risk. He highlights the pervasive impact of AI-driven disruption across sectors, especially retail, where...
S&P Adds $500B, Gold Climbs; PCE Inflation Watch
WHAT A DAY, the S&P 500 has gained around $500 BILLION in market cap, up 0.8%. The index is now up 0.3% YTD 📈 Gold is also trading higher, back above $5,000/oz, as global tensions start to escalate 😳 Mark your calendars...
AI Spending and Consumer Surge Mask Weak Underlying Growth
Recent top and bottom line (as well as profit margins) have been disproportionately impacted by massive AI cap spending and high end consumer spending. The former has a half life to it. The later may not be sustained if home and stock...
Retail Traders Set Record Demand on Citadel Platform
Citadel on flows, via Bbrg: Retail traders spent a record amount snapping up software shares on Citadel Securities’ platform, according to Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at the firm, which began tracking the data in 2017: “Net notional...
Equities Up, Trend Flattens Amid 4% Yield, Rotation
As for the markets, last week the Dow briefly reached the 50k milestone while the S&P 500 continued to hang out just below 7,000. The 10-year yield has been flirting with 4% again and the terminal rate for the Fed’s...
Amazon Slides Below Key Support Amid CapEx Concerns
$AMZN - 210.00 was a key support...now sitting in dangerous territory. Market is still unhappy about the company's $200 billion CapEx.
Missing Top 10 Days Slashes Stock Returns
Last year, the S&P 500 gained 16.4%, but if you missed the best 10 days that dropped to minus 9.5%. Since '90, stocks have gained 7.7% a year, but if you missed the 10 best days each year? It goes down...
FOMC Minutes Reveal Split Views: Cut, Hold, or Hike
Key paragraph of the FOMC minutes from January. (I am honestly a bit confused by the 'minutes math.') The main takeaway is that there is considerable disagreement. Cut, hold, and (even possibly) hike all got a nod. https://t.co/eV9ldjldl1 https://t.co/K53g1yqKJ8
Four Real-Time Alerts Launched, All Timestamped Since
4 new Real-Time Alerts (2 Longs, 2 Shorts) fired off today Every. Single. One. #timestamped since 2008 https://t.co/alAFTYikLd
Mania Depression: Elites Stagnate, Borrowers Slip Further
FWIW - The sentiment data suggests its not a "boomcession" we're experiencing but a "maniapression." Those at the top can't put enough into the markets, while those at the bottom fall further and further behind on their loans.
Herbalife Stands Strong, Remains AI‑Proof Since November
Herbalife $HLF apparently is AI-proof Nice move since 11/20 when they came hard for calls and it continues https://t.co/G7vt2JRhuJ
Use Return Dispersion to Forecast Rotations and Outperform
Periods of high return dispersion are an opportunity for investors. As return performance gaps widen and valuation spreads develop, the ability to quantify the current rotation regime and anticipate the next one can deliver outperformance relative to...
Gold Rallies 13% as Tech Stocks Stumble
While the Magnificent Seven tech stocks have SUFFERED in 2026, GOLD IS UP over 13%. It's time to turn away from SILLY VALLEY. BUY GOLD, WEAR DIAMONDS. https://t.co/PZTIJFhPOp
Sector Rotation Timing Yields Asset‑rich Returns
The Great Rotation: From Growth to Asset Rich Value My job is timing sector rotation & picking the best stocks long/short within it. That & sizing up macro event risk & market structure support. That's how I could time the...
Markets Mirror Trump’s Shifting Policy Narratives
You just have to respect markets and the games they play Trump first term: Public is all about long Energy, short Solar.... Solar stocks go on an epic run Trump 2nd term: Tariffs going to crush International economies.... International stocks just thrashing...
Oversold Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, AI Stocks Poised for Rally
Quality infrastructure software, cybersecurity stocks and some AI names are now *very* oversold and due for a multi-month rally. The recent indiscriminate selling in SaaS has crushed these stocks but the sale won't last forever.
Equal‑Weighted S&P Nears Cap‑Weighted Levels Amid Broadening Market
The market has been broadening out nicely as of late, and since the April 2025 Tariff tantrum low, the equal-weighted S&P 500 index has almost caught up to the cap-weighted index (34% vs 38%). It has been good to see....
Industrial Earnings Surge 26% Against Negative Forecast
Earnings growth for industrials is up more than 26%. It was expected to be negative this time two months ago. That is simply incredible. https://t.co/MTxPkrvtdA
S&P 500 Hits Best Revenue Growth Since 2022, Yet Peaks
Good news and bad news? Best quarter for S&P 500 revenue growth since Q3 '22. But this quarter is likely the peak for revenue growth. https://t.co/Dp33tx0bca
S&P Advance/Decline New Highs Signal Continued Rally
More new highs in the S&P 500 advance/decline line suggests price will follow. They keep talking about Hindenburg, but this says continue to ignore them. https://t.co/o48OrEZF4o
Amazon's Historic Loss Streak Meets Surprising Stock Highs
If you'd have told me Amazon just had one of it's longest losing streaks in history, I probably wouldn't have expected stocks to be flirting with new highs. https://t.co/kXBq6SpLEA
Dow Poised for Rare 10-Month Winning Streak
The Dow would be up 10 months in a row if it is higher in February. Since 1900, that has only happened four other times. https://t.co/0AB887hP7Q
Our Portfolios Stay Calm as Rivals Tumble
CHART OF THE DAY: Our Portfolios Are Experiencing Lower Volatility While The Competitors Are Crashing https://t.co/8ToxLIPXph via @hedgeye
Dow Shuffle: Exxon's Rise, Salesforce's Decline
One August 31, 2020, Exxon Mobil was kicked out of the Dow. It was replaced by Salesforce. Exxon is up 271% and Salesforce is down 32%. https://t.co/euMlopjZdV
EW Tech Beats S&P 500 Amid Ongoing Rotation
Despite the YTD losses in the Tech sector, the EW Tech sector (the avg Tech stock) is outperforming the S&P 500 this year. Plenty of Tech names to own that remain in an uptrend as a market rotation continues to...
Quant Quakes: Critical Levels Highlight Vulnerable CTAs
Critical Levels For Quant Quakes 💫Historic Dispersion 💫CTAs are Vulnerable 💫Negative Gamma 💫The Week Ahead 💫Gamma Mechanics https://t.co/vAJSwKFzi4