Are you happy the market is a mess? Or do you find it frustrating?
Keep in mind, the S&P500 is still at the same price it was 2 months ago.
Both the Nasdaq100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are still at the same prices they were back in February.
We're almost half way through May.
The Technology Index, which is the largest component of the S&P500 (30%) and has the largest weighting in the Nasdaq100 (50%), is still where it was back in January.
Again we're half way through May!
Meanwhile, don't forget about the Small-cap Russell2000 that's hilariously still stuck below where it was way back in December.
The Consumer Discretionary Index and Dow Jones Transportation Average are also down for the year.
That's the market we're in.
Some people keep pretending that this year is just like last year.
But I cheated. I actually looked at the data. So I know better.
I'm used to a market where stocks struggle when the US Dollar are US rates are rising. And that's what we've seen all year.
And while the data certainly points to a market of stocks that have been grinding mostly sideways over the past few months, stocks haven't done nearly as bad as you'd think, considering just how strong the Dollar has been and how much rates have risen.
So the question for me is whether these consolidations are going to resolve higher or lower?
And what the implications might be....
A lower resolution here could be a massive tailwind for stocks.
Remember, during Election years, the market tends to bottom in May ahead of a very strong summer, particularly when there is an incumbent candidate.
If these resolutions are, in fact, to the downside, then that's exactly what I would expect to see happen:
Markets are a mess. They've been a mess. And this year is very different than last year.
Look at the Equally-weighted S&P500 and Nasdaq100.
While these are certainly good overall gauges for the health of the US Stock market, always, in this particular environment they are even more representative of what's going on out there.
I know I've already said it a lot over the past few months, but for those people in the back who may not be able to hear so well...
THIS YEAR IS NOT ANYTHING LIKE LAST YEAR.
The strategies that worked so well throughout 2023 are not the ones working this year.
Last year's leaders are some of the worst stocks in 2024.
The leaders in 2024, in many cases, were some of the worst sectors in 2023.
It's not bad or good. Better or worse. It's just different.
The better you get at adapting to the current environment, the fewer headaches you're going to have.
I'm 42 years old. I've been doing this for over 2 decades.
I have 3 kids.
Do you think I need more headaches at this point in my life? Or fewer?
And so that's why we've adapted our strategies to the current market, instead of trying to go to the beach in the winter, or wear a raincoat on a beautiful sunny day, like many investors like to do because they haven't bothered to check the weather.