[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] While everyone and their mother was waiting for Nvidia’s quarterly earnings, the Fed Open Markets Committee meeting minutes hit the street. Oooh boy… The report wasn’t good at all. Seems plenty of folks at the central bank are feeling really hawkish. Forget about that weak “higher for longer” song ‘n dance we usually get… …because some of these Fedheads are saying they’re willing to raise rates again. So immediately the S&P 500 dropped 8%, trading was halted, the oceans boiled… dogs and cats living together… Oh, wait – no. That didn’t actually happen. Nothing much happened, in fact. A small sell-off… and a rally right back. Now, I don’t necessarily believe the Fed is going to raise rates – the really “yikes!” thing is that the market cares more about… AI… than it does about the central bank. And while

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] The tape doesn’t lie: The bullish thesis I’ve developed over the past few weeks has been vindicated. Ever since late April, I’ve been pounding the table about it. The way higher is wide open. Although, I’m a bit concerned as we move deeper into summer. What is it that makes me uneasy? Utilities, and the high degree of relative strength they’re exhibiting right now. We’ll talk about exactly why in just a minute. But in general, there’s a lot to like right now. I’m particularly excited by what I see happening in the crypto space as we speak… I think it could be an excellent way to generate alpha even in the late stages of this bull market. Here’s why…

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] The S&P 500 finished barely in the green and was led by the technology sector ahead of a pivotal earnings announcement from $NVDA on Wednesday after the close. With an $82 expected move for this week, expect some significant volatility! Aside from NVDA lifting the market today, it was gold, silver and Bitcoin miners seeing significant call activity today. Their role as the anti-dollar is pivotal during a melt-up and is a potential signal that the market isn’t healthy.

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] –nothing but CPI –NVDA a defining moment for the AI trade –gold and silver –bond markets –cocktail for volatility –do not be a vol starved animal SPX Expected Move — –last week — 67.29 (5–day expected move) –next week– (5–day expected move)

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] All three major indexes closed at all-time highs… but the way I see it, today’s breakout is a little questionable. I’ll show you why in a second. But the fact is, the S&P 500 is moving higher; some sectors are getting weaker, others are getting stronger. The next session or two will really tell the tale about whether the breakout will fail… or stocks will power on to even higher levels from here. Today, I want to look at where those strengths and weaknesses are because we can capitalize on them both. Let’s get going…

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] The SPX was up around $58 just before the close today. The market loved the CPI numbers (I don’t see what there is to love about them; they came in as expected but 3.4% is still high) and took us right to the upper edge of the expected move. Now, if you remember, last week we actually breached the expected move – mildly – to the upside. I think we’re dealing with something similar right now. The upper edge of the expected move is the market’s happy place, and if we punch through it, we can expect the market’s big players to take us higher with their hedging. You read that right – I’ll explain how it works and how to get ready for it right now.

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] Everything old is new again. GameStop (GME) and AMC Theaters (AMC) the two quintessential tickers from the 2021 meme-stock craze – are soaring again on the “strength” of… Internet buzz. Nevermind the fact that neither of these stocks are anywhere near their 2021 highs – this is a distraction, pure and simple. Know what isn’t a distraction? All of the inflation data hitting the street this week. Inflation is very much a force to be reckoned with. Bonds have more or less held up today after the PPI releases, but tomorrow, when the latest CPI readout arrives, could be a different story. With all of that said, I’m seeing some strong setups in this market and none of them have anything to do with meme stocks. Don’t let that distract you from all the solid risk-reward opportunities out there. We’ll

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] The S&P 500 faded today ahead of a looming raft of inflation data we’ll see over the next few days. In my view, given the recent strength of the market, traders seem to have bought the rumor… and are now poised to sell the news. The result, for the moment, is a flat market. That said, one area of potential strength right now is in high short-interest stocks that are seeing bullish unusual option activity. GME – no stranger to a squeeze – is seeing this kind of activity right now. We’ll look at how to find the next gamma squeeze, and we’ll look in on tickers like RH, PBI, BBAI, BB, MPW, FYBR, and KODK. Let’s get started…

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] If you love it when stocks don’t move and nothing makes sense, you probably had a blast this week… For everyone else, yours truly included, the markets were just… terrible. I mean, they sucked. Or worse. As a trader, you want to see two-sided trades, action. We did not get that. Instead we’re straight up, straight down – a glimmer of sweet, sweet volatility – and then straight up. We’d been experiencing some volatility lately, but this week was a volatility vacuum. Complacency is the name of the game… and I don’t like it. We’re going to talk about that. We’re going to talk about the way-too-low expected moves. We’ll talk about why the market is stuck in a “bad news is good news groove” and what it’ll take to break free. Let’s get started…

[video_player type=”embed” style=”1″ dimensions=”640×360″ width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ ipad_color=”black”][/video_player] The money supply is on the move, that’s for sure… but not into consumers’ pockets. Industrials, as tracked by the SPDR XLI ETF are up more than 24% over the past six months. Aerospace and defense, as tracked by the iShares ITA ETF are up nearly 20% in the same six-month timeframe. That’s growth. Those consumers I mentioned, on the other hand, are living paycheck to paycheck – roughly three in four Americans, as reckoned by a Payroll.org survey. I expect that means trouble for the retail sector, as tracked by, say, the XRT ETF. It’s seen growth this year, too, but as the number of strapped Americans creeps… and then rockets… higher, it’s ripe for a fall. And I see several juicy setups out there to play this decline…