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Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows how the S&P 500 has moved on “Fed days” since March 2022. Yesterday’s market movement was par for the course. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped nearly 3%, as expected. But even though the Fed’s message seems “clear,” most traders are forgetting one critical thing right now. I explain in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's year-to-date chart compares the Nasdaq 100 with the small-cap Russell 2000. Large-cap tech stocks have pulled back dramatically, erasing almost half their gains this year. Meanwhile, the lagging Russell 2000 has accelerated and overtaken them. And this seems to be only the beginning. Are you ready for the new market leaders?

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. The top part of today's chart shows the Nasdaq, while the bottom part highlights stocks making new highs (green bars) versus new lows (red bars). The first white rectangle marks the April pullback, where the Nasdaq fell 7% and new lows dominated. Now, in the second white rectangle, the Nasdaq has dropped more than 7%, but new highs outnumber new lows. There's still strength lurking beneath the surface. With Powell speaking tomorrow, this is an opportunity we can exploit. I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows how the small-cap Russell 2000 index has been performing relative to the large-cap S&P 500 for the past three years. The steady decline in the chart shows that small-caps have been lagging their large-cap counterparts for years. But the current rotation appears to have reversed that trend. In fact, this rotation seems to have broken past the declining trend line, suggesting it will likely continue. There are no guarantees, but the odds are in our favor. This is an opportunity we shouldn’t miss. I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows the S&P 500 index with all the days where it closed at least 2% lower marked in blue. For every one of those -2% closes, it shows how many stocks in the index closed higher despite the lower overall close. Yesterday, 165 stocks – 33% of the index – closed higher even though the index fell by 2.3%. This was the highest number by far in the past 10 years. What does this mean? I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows the S&P 500 index with all the days where it closed at least 2% lower marked in blue. For every one of those -2% closes, it shows how many stocks in the index closed higher despite the lower overall close. Yesterday, 165 stocks – 33% of the index – closed higher even though the index fell by 2.3%. This was the highest number by far in the past 10 years. What does this mean? I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows the Volatility Index (VIX). You can see it spiking during the April pullback and then coming back down in May as the market recovered. It spiked again in the second half of last week as the market retreated slightly. We’ll have to see if the VIX goes back down this week. If it doesn’t, we could be in for another shallow pullback. If you’ve followed this newsletter for any length of time, you’ll recognize it for what it is. I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows the Volatility Index (VIX). You can see it spiking during the April pullback and then coming back down in May as the market recovered. It spiked again in the second half of last week as the market retreated slightly. We’ll have to see if the VIX goes back down this week. If it doesn’t, we could be in for another shallow pullback. If you’ve followed this newsletter for any length of time, you’ll recognize it for what it is. I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Today's chart shows the Volatility Index (VIX). You can see it spiking during the April pullback and then coming back down in May as the market recovered. It spiked again in the second half of last week as the market retreated slightly. We’ll have to see if the VIX goes back down this week. If it doesn’t, we could be in for another shallow pullback. If you’ve followed this newsletter for any length of time, you’ll recognize it for what it is. I explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. Here's the percentage of stocks trading above their 200-day moving average over the past year. Here’s the percentage of stocks trading above their 50-day moving averages. Since the beginning of this month, the percentages of stocks trading above their 200 and 50-day moving averages have spiked. This means participation in this bull market has been sharply increasing – we’re no longer in a narrow bull market. This expanding base will provide the foundation for the bull market to keep chugging on. But what’s causing this expansion in breadth? And how can we take advantage of it? I’ll explain more in the Insight of the Day.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. The five major Wall Street banks made nearly $15 billion in stock trading profits in the second quarter – 18% higher than last year. As a former VP at one of these banks, this doesn't surprise me. They have the capital to move markets with their trades, leveraging not just their own money but also influencing their top clients' trades. It's not an even playing field, but knowing how the game is played can work to our advantage.

Hey, it's Ross Givens here with the Chart of the Day. As of last week, markets were pricing in two 0.25% rate cuts by the Fed by year-end. Now, they’re expecting nearly three. Since the Fed moves rates by at least 0.25%, this means the market anticipates either a 0.50% or 0.75% cut. This expectation of higher rate cuts is a good sign. But as I explain in the Insight of the Day, you don’t want to wait for the rate cuts to happen.