Traveling is one of life's greatest joys—getting to know new places, cultures, and food never gets old.
I've been lucky to visit some incredible spots like the UK, the south of France, Chicago, San Diego, Madrid, Rome and my all-time favorite: New York City. As a 27-year-old Venezuelan, I feel that place is just electric.
But travel isn't just fun—it's also a hot theme in the market right now.
Travel stocks have been some of the biggest winners since the market bottomed this summer, showing how strong the consumer economy is.
These are the kinds of stocks that thrive when the economy and markets are doing well.
The Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF $CRUZ does a great job of illustrating the recent strength in this area.
The ETF has been ripping in a near-vertical line in recent months, breaking out of a massive base to fresh all-time highs.
Apple $AAPL, the world’s largest company, has just smashed through its six-month consolidation range with authority, breaking out to new all-time highs.
The stock is kicking off a fresh up-leg, and I think this puts it firmly on track for a jaw-dropping $5 trillion market cap.
Think about that—It only needs to climb a little under 40% to get there.
And let’s be real, this stock can do that with ease. It rallied over 40% in a little over two months from the April lows to July highs earlier this year.
Apple is a juggernaut and appears to be reclaiming its leadership role in the tech sector.
The largest and most important stock in the world breaking out to new all-time highs could set the stage for the rest of the mega-cap complex to follow.
Just take a look at Meta Platforms, which is showing...
Participation continues to expand across the board as more sectors and industries break out to new cycle highs.
The SPDR S&P Retail ETF $XRT is the latest example of this theme.
Here’s a look at XRT completing a textbook bearish-to-bullish reversal.
After spending nearly three years in the base-building process, buyers are finally taking control and kicking off a new uptrend.
This is the same bullish pattern we’ve seen so many times in this bull market. We’ve watched these formations take shape and resolve higher one after the next over the past few years. We don’t expect the retail index will be any different from those that came before it.
The path of least resistance is now higher for XRT.
Retail stocks deserve a spot on our radar, and it’s time to identify the best opportunities in this space.
When it comes to relative strength, building and construction stocks are back toward the top of our scans.
How these stocks perform offers a glimpse into economic health and, more importantly, reveals how much risk investors are willing to embrace.
And right now, it’s a green light from these stocks, with new highs on both an absolute and relative basis this week.
Here’s a look at the Invesco Building & Construction ETF $PKB breaking out relative to the S&P 500 $SPY.
After almost 18 years of consolidation and base-building, the PKB/SPY ratio is resolving higher with authority.
The index is composed in large part by industrials and consumer discretionary, which together account for 70% of the assets, with greater exposure to mid-cap companies compared to other similar funds such as the Homebuilders ETF $XHB.
I found some fantastic setups when looking through the components....
In this market, it’s becoming clear that some of the best opportunities are coming from the underdogs—those lagging groups finally starting to turn things around.
One name that stands out to me is Lovesac $LOVE.
The stock is setting up nicely, breaking out of a textbook inverted head-and-shoulders pattern.
The price didn’t just break out of the range—it also reclaimed the anchored VWAP from its all-time high in 2021. I love how these levels of interest coincide, adding conviction to this pattern resolution.
This kind of price action tells us buyers are stepping in and taking control of the primary trend for the first time in three years, suggesting the path of least resistance is now higher.
What makes this setup even juicier is the 29% short interest paired with a 14x days-to-cover ratio. This scenario bodes well for a short squeeze, fueling the rally and creating a tailwind for even higher prices in the future.
The big theme this week is textbook retests. We’re seeing this kind of price action across the board right now.
One that stands out is the large cap healthcare index.
The healthcare sector is finding its footing after experiencing significant downside pressure in recent weeks.
Price is currently testing a critical level of former resistance marked by a shelf of prior cycle highs.
With so much price memory here, this area represents a logical level for XLV to catch a bid.
And so far it is. The bulls are digging in and flipping this old resistance zone into support.
The line in the sand is $140. As long as XLV holds above this level, I’ll give the bulls the benefit of the doubt. This area offers a great place for a defined risk entry for a potential bounce.
I’m also watching how the smallest and most volatile stocks,...