From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Alfonso Depablos @AlfCharts
Our Hall of Famers list is composed of the 150 largest US-based stocks.
These stocks range from the mega-cap growth behemoths like Apple and Microsoft – with market caps in excess of $2T – to some of the new-age large-cap disruptors such as Moderna, Square, and Snap.
It has all the big names and more.
It doesn’t include ADRs or any stock not domiciled in the US. But don’t worry; we developed a separate universe for that. Click here to check it out.
The Hall of Famers is simple.
We take our list of 150 names and then apply our technical filters so the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.
Let’s dive right in and check out what these big boys are up to.
Live cattle posted a new all-time high last month. Precious metals are gearing up for a potential rip-roaring rally, as gold retested all-time highs yesterday. And sugar futures refuse to quit.
But when I review my commodity charts, I notice more topping formations underway than bottoming patterns.
Crude oil is front and center as the energy space – commodities and stocks – remains one of the weakest areas of the market.
That’s why yesterday’s action in crude has my full attention…
Options premiums have risen a little bit in recent days due to the fed, earnings, government data, and trader indecision, and [insert your favorite scary story].
Whatever the reason, this feels like a good time and opportunity to add some delta-neutral positions to my portfolio.
The insider “run” on regional bank shares continues, with Form 4s from nine more directors and executives from boardrooms and C-suites in that troubled sector leading today’s Hot List:
And not much has changed. Rates churn sideways as bonds carve out tradeable lows.
The market is simply playing a new verse of the same old song.
But the tempo picks up as another antagonist enters the scene – regional banks!
Banks are the market’s weakest link, especially the smaller regional banks. They simply can’t stop falling.
To be clear: This isn’t about possible contagion risks or the next leg lower in the S&P 500. I’m more interested in the implications for interest rates.
The banking sector has captured every investor’s full attention. And regional banks have hinted at underlying problems with the rising rate environment for more than a year.
Check out the dual-pane chart of the Regional Bank ETF $KRE versus the REITs ETF $IYR ratio and the US 10-year yield $TNX:
You might have seen some of my tweets about an impressive trader I met earlier this week. I felt the encounter was too good to keep to myself – so here’s the full story…
I had a truly profound experience at the traders meetup I hosted in Denver on Tuesday night, where I met a new trader who completely blew me away.
Despite only having about a year of experience trading real money, this young man in his early 30s had a depth of knowledge and understanding that was truly remarkable. He carried with him a notebook filled with detailed market observations, trading strategies, post-mortems on trades, and more. No detail was left unnoticed, and his passion for trading was evident in everything he said.
What was even more impressive was his humility. He was incredibly smart, but he didn't flaunt his intelligence or try to impress anyone with his knowledge. Instead, he was genuinely curious about trading and had a thirst for knowledge that was inspiring to see.
Another day goes by and another bank that doesn't matter disappears.
This is a big deal.
In theory, investors should care about a handful of these regional banks no longer in existence.
But they don't.
In theory, there should be systemic implications to all of this, and the selling in little regional banks should spill into other, more important, parts of the market.
But it hasn't.
In theory, the inverted yield curve should precede a recession and all the money printing should ultimately cause a collapse.
