Nvidia just reported its third consecutive earnings report without a significant market reaction.
The stock didn’t do much when they reported back in August and November of last year. And it’s not doing much again today, trading down by less than 1% after-hours.
As for the technical outlook, nothing changes. Nvidia is still stuck in the same range it has been trading in since last summer.
JC and the guys did a live event to discuss the earnings numbers and the stock’s reaction after the bell today. You can rewatch it here.
We only hold these events when there is something big to discuss, and the truth about NVDA is that it is far and away the most important stock for the overall market.
And it’s less about anything specific to do with AI or Nvidia’s business, and more to do with the stock's massive weighting in the major averages and indexes.
Semiconductors are the most critically-important industry group in the market. If we lose the semis, and we lose NVDA...
I’ve been thinking a lot about if this could be the end…
On the Morning Show today we talked about whether the bull market for stocks could continue if we lost Bitcoin.
The answer is it definitely could. But, wouldn’t it be strange?
Crypto and stocks have danced together for a long time.
However, I think it’s less about crypto and more about the overall risk appetite of the market.
Bitcoin is just one part of it. When I think about risk on corners of the market and the kind of things that should be working during a healthy bull cycle I’m thinking of homebuilders, semiconductors, and banks… to name a few groups.
But I’m also looking into the relationships between groups. In particular, I’m analyzing the performance of offensive stocks versus defensive stocks. The best ratio for this has always been discretionary vs staples.
XLY/XLP ranks second to none when it comes to the assessment of risk appetite.
Stocks are under pressure in the US. Today marks the worst performance of the year for the S&P 500.
But, here’s the thing. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. US stocks haven’t been the leaders for a while.
The US major averages have been stuck sideways for about three months while equities around the world have been moving higher.
Outside of India and Taiwan, you won’t find a worse-performing country than America this year. We’re literally at the bottom of the leaderboard.
It’s almost crazy to think at this point… but after 15 years of US outperformance, could the rest of the world be taking the driver's seat?
First, let’s talk about the technical outlook. There is a growing list of individual countries that have already been outperforming the US. But, that’s not what we’re looking to find out. We want to know if it is finally time for ex-US equities, broadly speaking, to assume a leadership role.
We’ve heard it all about speculative growth stocks over the past few years.
Cathie Wood and the entire ARK Invest strategy has been lambasted by the media.
You’ve seen the cover stories. They tried to destroy her.
But Cathie’s ARK didn’t wreck. It survived the storm.
And I think it’s bigger than that. I think the most speculative, highest risk, longest duration equities are about to have their time in the sun again.
Everything I’m seeing suggests we are entering that part of the cycle where the worst stocks become the best stocks.
It was a busy week for stocks, but the most important price action was elsewhere.
The US Dollar is getting rocked as risk-on currencies catch big bids.
And it’s all happening at a critical level, that if violated, could mark a major shift in the intermarket landscape.
The one big question all investors should be asking themselves right now is simple…
“What is the best trade if this is a failed breakout in the dollar?”
In other words, what goes up the most if the dollar gets slammed back into the box?
Or even, what will be the best trends if the dollar heads back to the lower bounds of its range?
And I have some thoughts on this. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.
I was expecting the dollar to become a tailwind last year. It didn’t happen. A falling dollar was the one thing missing during the post-election rally. But I think it’s coming now.
When I think about a weak dollar, I think about international equities. The most offensive areas of the global stock market should fare well with a falling dollar. Emerging...
Even the iShares China Large Cap Index has rallied 20% off its January lows.
You get the point. China is red hot.
With price action like this, you might start to wonder, “where is all the money coming from!?”
And the answer is probably a lot of places. Who knows.
But one area that has definitely become a source of funds for new China bulls… is India.
This is a ratio chart of Chinese stocks vs Indian stocks, and it is flashing a textbook trend reversal in favor of China.
The relationship had been skewed toward India in a big way up until last year. In fact, Indian stocks have been outperforming China aggressively for almost a decade now. This all began back in 2016, so...
All the Euro STOXX Indexes are at new all-time highs.
The DAX is at new all-time highs.
Germany is about to break out of a massive base in USD terms.
Spain and Greece are completing multi-decade bases.
European equities are on absolute fire right now and participation is broad.
Meanwhile, they are still talking about the recession in the Eurozone.
It’s a perfect setup. In fact, the bull thesis here is a lot like China in a sense that many of these countries check all three boxes… sentiment, technicals, and valuation.
Some of these European countries like Poland and Austria are even cheaper than China with CAPE ratios around 10x.
They also come with plenty of beta. For example, the MSCI Poland ETF EPOL is already up about 150% off its 2022 cycle low.
This kind of action says a lot about risk appetite, too. This is true for some areas of Europe more than others.
I used to watch Jim Cramer with my father when I was in high school. He knew I had an interest in the market so gave me a bit of money to experiment with.
I took one of Jim’s calls and bought Build Your Dreams. Part of his bullish thesis was that Buffett was in. This was almost 20-years ago. I paid the $50 international fee and got long.
They call it BYD Co. now. But, it’s the Tesla of China. These guys have been making EVs and batteries longer than anyone. They are an industry leader, and no one ever talks about them.
Mobility is a monster trend and it is just picking up steam.
China is also a monster trend right now. I think it’s the fattest pitch in the market. It’s the kind of trade setup we wait years for.
And BYDDF is one of the secular leaders in the region.
Much unlike Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu – the other mega-tech bellwethers – BYD Co is breaking out to new all-time highs.
The bottom line is it is one of the best-looking charts in...
Every now and then I come across a chart that I feel the need to send over to our friends at the CMT association.
The curriculum covers all sorts of pattern recognition and analysis. While things don’t always work out the way the textbook teaches… sometimes, they do. And it’s just so lovely to see.
It’s happening now with the recent action in Bank OZK. Both of these flag pattern breakouts are picture perfect.
Let’s use this chart as an example to discuss the classic continuation pattern.
Price was coiling in a bear flag coming into the year.
The only difference between the first flag and the second flag is the trend that preceded them. When the trend that leads into the coil is down, it is a bear flag. When it is up, like it is now, it is a bull flag.
Another difference between the two formations is the way that they resolved. The bear flag resolution is actually considered a failed pattern as it resolved in the opposite direction of the downtrend that preceded it.
Failed patterns are some of the best patterns though. As...
The monthly strategy session has always been one of my favorite things we do here at All Star Charts. I’ve been watching these calls for like ten years now. Since long before I worked here.
They are a huge part of my process.
So, when I got the call from JC on Monday, I was pumped. It’s always an honor.
Not to mention, there’s so much to talk about right now… from some major intermarket developments to the expansion in participation for global equities and commodities. We covered it all.