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Stocks Break September Curse as Rates Fall and AI Boom Spreads
by David Russell | Oct 1, 2024
Stocks had their first positive September in five years thanks to lower rates, AI and Chinese stimulus. The S&P 500 rose 2 percent between Friday, August 30, and Monday, September 30. It was the ninth gain in the last 10 months, with the index closing above 5,700...
Semiconductors Led Tech Higher in May as Earnings Beat and Inflation Slowed
by David Russell | Jun 1, 2023
Stocks rose for a third month in May, fueled by an explosive rally in chipmakers and artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 briefly dipped below its April low but quickly rebounded to end the month up 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq-100 surged 8 percent, its third monthly...
Stocks Fight Higher as Nvidia Drives Artificial Intelligence Rally on the Nasdaq
by David Russell | May 30, 2023
Stocks keep rising as artificial intelligence revives interest in technology and growth stocks. Last week's big mover was AI leader Nvidia. The semiconductor giant jumped 25 percent after forecasting revenue far above consensus estimates. It closed at a record high...
Stocks Challenge Highs as Bulls Wait for Debt Ceiling Progress
by David Russell | May 22, 2023
Stocks are challenging their highs for the year as investors wait for Congress to raise the national debt limit. The S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent between Friday, May 12, and Friday, May 19. It was the biggest gain in the last seven weeks as the index reached its...
Growth Stocks Are Leading Again as Inflation Worries Fade
by David Russell | May 15, 2023
Growth stocks like Alphabet are leading again as inflation continues to fade. The S&P 500 slid 0.3 percent between Friday, May 5 and Friday, May 12, while the Nasdaq-100 rose 0.6 percent. It was the third consecutive week that the technology-heavy Nasdaq...
Attention Fed Watchers: 4 Reasons Why April’s Inflation Report Could Be Good News
by David Russell | May 11, 2023
Consumer prices rose 4.9 percent in April, which could be good news for investors worried about inflation and the Federal Reserve. The reading was below 5.25 percent, the top of the central bank's target range. This represents the first drop below the Fed funds rate...
Options Alert: Call Volume Grows as Salesforce.com Nears Highs
by David Russell | May 9, 2023
Major technology stocks like Apple and Microsoft jumped on quarterly results. Will peer Saleforce.com make a similar move? Marc Benioff's provider of cloud-based marketing software is up 49 percent this year after a sharp selloff in 2022. It has paused over the last...
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Technology & Communication
Chart of the Day: Nvidia and the Midcap Breakout
by David Russell | Mar 11, 2024
Megacap growth stocks like Nvidia have outperformed for years. But traders looking for the trend to change may see more evidence of a shift. Today’s idea considers three charts. The first shows how NVDA rallied 93 percent this year above its previous record high. It...
Technical Analysis: Is It Showtime for AMC Entertainment?
by David Russell | Nov 2, 2021
AMC Entertainment had a dramatic short squeeze in May and June. Now it may be ready to move again following months of consolidation. The price level around $35 is the first noteworthy pattern on the chart of the movie-theater operator. That was a peak in 2015 and...
Stocks Just Had Their Best Month in a Year as Strong Earnings Drive Away the Bears
by David Russell | Nov 1, 2021
Stocks just finished their best month in a year as strong quarterly results melted a bubble of extreme negativity. The S&P 500 finished October up 6.9 percent at a new all-time high. It was the biggest monthly gain since November 2020, with over three-quarters of...
Facebook, Amazon.com Miss, Apple Struggles with Supply Chain, Microsoft Jumps: Earnings This Week
by David Russell | Oct 29, 2021
Quarterly results from Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook came up short this week, but Microsoft and Alphabet jumped to new highs. It was the busiest period of earnings season, with five of the market's six biggest companies issuing numbers. (Tesla was last week.) Most...
Technical Analysis: This Data Storage Company Is Breaking Its Downtrend
by David Russell | Oct 25, 2021
Seagate Technology has spent the last five months pulling back. But now it may be turning around. The main pattern on today's chart is the descending trendline that started in May and ran along the peaks of August and September. Notice how STX closed above that line...