Iran Breakthrough?
The markets appeared to make a U-turn for the better on Thursday on potential progress with Tehran. Also, where’s the beef with the China summit?
Anatomy of a Bond Market Selloff
Let’s break down what’s happening with bonds and how things unfolded Wednesday. Plus, two items from the ‘What the Heck’ department.
Financials Flounder
Big banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase slid on Tuesday as did financial services ETFs. Let’s see what’s going on.
Tech Leads In A Narrow Market
Tech stocks did the heavy lifting as rising yields and the first factory-output drop of the year keep the rest of the market on its heels
Will the World’s Most Successful Stock List U.S. Shares?
This Japanese chipmaker, which has produced world-leading stock performance since its debut in late 2024, would be following the example of Hynix in seeking a U.S. listing.
Stocks Snap Four-Day Skid Despite Hot CPI, Attention Turns to the FOMC
US equities see broad gains led by megacaps despite markets locking in a September rate hike with at least two more priced over the next year.
Economic Pain Planned for Iran, Sandisk Slips, Charting a Bit of Bearishness
Let’s take a deep dive into the U.S.’ latest strategy for the war on Iran, check the semiconductor action and chart the market.
No Time to Let Your Guard Down
As tensions with Iran escalate, major domestic equity market indexes trade close to all-time highs, and oil rises, you best be ready.
That’s a Wrap!
The major equity indices closed modestly lower on Friday, one day after the S&P 500 notched a fresh record high close. The S&P 500 gave up 0.1% on the session while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%. Six of the 11 S&P sector SPDR ETFs finished higher, led by Energy ($XLE). Healthcare ($XLV) was the weakest of these funds.
Treasury yields shifted higher as bond traders made sales. The U.S. 10-year note paid 4.69% (+4 BPS) by day’s end while the two-year note paid 4.17% (+2 BPS). Stocks started out the day on strength after July U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% month-over-month to $763.6 billion. This was considerably softer than expected and marked the largest one months drop for the series in more than a year.
Sandisk ($SNDK) was the star of the S&P 500, gaining 7.4% on continued strength one day after the firm’s investor day, where management outlined strong long-term growth and margin targets for the business. Applied Materials ($AMAT) at -5.1% for the day was a laggard, but Broadcom ($AVGO) led the way lower at -5.9%.
OK, gang. It’s Friday night. I need a break. I bet you do, too. With a little luck and the blessings of a merciful God, Dougie should be back at the helm on Monday. May all of you have a safe and enjoyable weekend. Sarge out.
Positions: Long SNDK equity.
We Have a Runner!
Sandisk ($SNDK) is running wild in response to the firm’s investor day on Thursday.
While unhappy that we sold most of our long position here at the Sarge-folio, we can take solace in the fact that at least we did not sell it all and that we did add an odd lot to the odd lot that we had left going into the event. Do we even have a round lot in inventory? Rather not talk about it.
For a stock that we had traded masterfully through the spring, we sure have managed to turn a grand slam into a triple. Still, we could have missed the memory/storage trade of 2026 and we did not. That said, we have a broken pattern.
Readers will see that our head-and-shoulders pattern has gone the way of the dinosaur, the blacksmith and the NYSE floor trader. The shares took back their 21-day SMA on Thursday and are trying to take back their 50-day SMA this morning. Should this happen, as the swing crowd is already on board, the pros will have no choice but to increase long side exposure further. That blue line is the pivot. Both relative strength and the daily MACD are wearing their rally cpas as well. Take that blur line and a target price of $2,155 is very realistic.
Positions: Long SNDK equity.