The most underrated element of technical analysis has to be relative strength.

It's impossible to outperform your benchmark if you own assets that are underperforming.

Much of this work is grounded in the overarching notion that asset prices trend while volatility mean-reverts.

But humans behave as if it's the opposite.

Relative strength is merely denominating prices in a different asset than the native currency. Like price trends, relative strength also exhibits a tendency to trend, rather than mean-revert.

So, what does that mean?

The most significant insider transaction on today's Hot List is a Form 4 filing by Mark J. Erceg, the CFO of Newell Brands Inc $NWL.

Erceg reported a purchase of $999,833 in NWL.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

As I write this note, the only reason the market is up is because of $NVDA’s earnings.

We have GDP today, and that might change the tune. Hopefully, we continue to hold $SPY 400.

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.

From the Desk of Willie Delwiche

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

$SPY struggled all day to stay above the 400 level.

Now we have support at 396.76. If we break that, we can see 393.20.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Challenging conditions prevail across currency markets. 

It’s victory at sea! 

But that’s not stopping the dollar from cutting through the chop.

Does that mean it’ll go on a run, applying downside pressure on risk assets?

It’s tough to say.

Nevertheless, I have one chart for you that provides clarity as the dollar begins to make its move.

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

At the top, we have six pairs dominated by the euro. I’ve been vocal about the significance of the euro trading below 1.08. It’s basic math.

Slippery markets make for rising options premiums. And one sector ETF is currently rising head and shoulders above the rest, offering some juicy premiums for us to sell into along with a wide risk management band for us to dance in.

So let's take advantage of the rising fear in this sector for an opportunistic trade and potentially quick profits.

Equities had their worst session of the year yesterday, as the S&P 500 retraced 2% during the day.

This comes as rates and the US dollar push higher, with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note making fresh three-month highs.

Surprisingly, Bitcoin seems to be bucking this recent selling pressure, and the short-term correlations between stocks and Bitcoin have flipped negative for the first time since the FTX fiasco.

During that period, Bitcoin crashed to its cycle lows of 16,000, while equity markets were hammering out their most recent bottom.

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

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

We've got FOMC minutes coming today, so let's be on our toes.

We still run the risk that the $SPX can head down to 3,950.

The largest insider transaction on today’s list is a Form 4 filing by Abdiel Capital Advisors.

Abdiel revealed a purchase of $4.5 million in Appian Corporation $APPN.