We're almost half way through the 3rd quarter already!

Boy does time fly when you're having fun.

Have you noticed how much different the 2nd half of the year looks compared to the first half?

We're thrilled to see it.

Owning Tech stocks stuck below overhead supply is no way to go through life.

Here is the Market-cap Weighted Technology Index failing miserably to break out above its former cycle peak.

And, of course, the Equally-weighted Technology Index failing altogether to even retest its former highs:

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Alfonso Depablos @AlfCharts

Welcome to The Junior International Hall of Famers.

With the goal of finding more bullish setups, we have decided to expand one of our favorite scans and broaden our regular coverage of the largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs.

This scan is composed of the next 100 largest stocks by market cap, those that come after the top 100 and are thus covered by the International Hall of Famers universe.

Many of these names will someday graduate and join our original International Hall Of Famers list. The idea here is to catch these big trends as early on as possible.

Let’s dive right in and check out what these future big boys are up to.

This is our Junior International Hall of Famers list:

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Are investors really buying bonds, betting on a squeeze higher?

Perhaps it’s just my Twitter feed. (Or are we calling it "X" now?)

I’m perplexed by the growing chatter around picking the bottom in bonds.

Warning: Picking bottoms is never a good look.

It’s unbecoming, especially when there are zero signs of a reversal. (The same applies to tops.)

I understand the Nasdaq 100 had its best first half – like, ever.

But what does that have to do with yield charts?

Rates continue to rise worldwide.

Here’s a look at Germany, France, Portugal, and US benchmark rates:

All are steadily grinding higher following explosive advances last year. Yet none have decisively resolved to the upside from their respective multi-month ranges. 

The European yields posted year-to-date highs in early March, while the 10-year US Treasury yield reached its year-to-date peak last week.

I continue to monitor...

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The rally we had this morning completely faded.

We're still stuck under major resistance.

The more time we spend below can send us lower.

The next new position in our Paid-to-Play portfolio is:

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

When investing in the stock market, we always want to approach it as "a market of stocks."

Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks showing leadership and trending higher.

We may have to look harder to identify them depending on current market conditions. But there are always stocks that are going up.

The same can be said for weak stocks. Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks that are going down, too. 

We already have multiple scans focusing on stocks making all-time highs, such as Hall of Famers, Minor Leaguers, and the 2 to 100 Club.

We filter these universes for stocks that are exhibiting the best momentum and relative strength characteristics. 

Clearly, we spend a lot of time identifying and writing about leading stocks every week, via multiple reports.

Now, we're also highlighting lagging stocks on a recurring basis.

Welcome to the Short Report.

We...

The largest insider transaction on today’s list comes in a Form 4 filed by HF Direct Investments Pool, LLC.

The investment unit of the direct response marketing firm reported a purchase of $50 million in Westrock Coffee Company $WEST, increasing its ownership stake to 17.15%.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The indices had a dead-cat bounce yesterday afternoon, then rolled back over.

We have CPI data for July coming out at 8:30 a.m. ET.

I'll wait till after the print to see how things look. 

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The US Dollar Index $DXY is the most important chart in the world, again.

But, honestly, when is it not?

There’s no hiding from King Dollar.

It’s true: Currencies are not considered one of the three major asset classes (bonds, stocks, and commodities).

Nevertheless, fluctuations in the US dollar impact every asset worldwide – especially stocks and commodities. 

And the probability of renewed headwinds for risk assets is increasing as the failed breakdown in the dollar could have legs…

Check out the triple-pane chart of the DXY, our G-10 currency index, and the US dollar advance-decline line:

Our US dollar A-D line went from failing to confirm the DXY breakdown last month to posting new multi-year highs this week.

To be clear, the...

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

This morning I mentioned in the Live Trading Room that if we fill the gap on $QQQ down to 368.63 we can potentially have a bounce trade.

That's what happened, and $SPY bounced as well.

I alerted the room at 12:35 p.m. ET that both indices can rally at least a point.

I was slow on entering short trades, as the market was moving slowly.

We've got CPI tomorrow morning.

Today on the Morning Show, JC was talking about bitcoin and how if you want to underperform the next leg higher in crypto, then own bitcoin. But if you really want to get some juice for the next crypto rally, the crypto mining stocks are how to participate!

In particular, both JC and Strazza like Riot Platforms $RIOT and Marathon Digital Holdings $MARA.

And specifically, we all like what could have been a recent "oops" or fakeout-breakdown that may have just shaken out all the weak hands, clearing a path for the next move to new cycle highs:

With $MARA flirting with breaking back above $16.00 per share today and implied volatility in the options near yearly lows, it feels like high time to catch the whipsaw back to highs.

Here's the Play:

We've adjusted a position in the Paid-to-Play portfolio today: