From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Hall of Famers list is composed of the 150 largest US-based stocks.

These stocks range from the mega-cap growth behemoths like Apple and Microsoft – with market caps in excess of $2T – to some of the new-age large-cap disruptors such as Moderna, Square, and Snap.

It has all the big names and more.

It doesn’t include ADRs or any stock not domiciled in the US. But don’t worry; we developed a separate universe for that. Click here to check it out.

The Hall of Famers is simple.

We take our list of 150 names and then apply our technical filters so the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

Let’s dive right in and check out what these big boys are up to.

Here’s this week’s list:

*Click table to enlarge view

We filter out any laggards that are down -5% or more relative to the S&P 500 over the trailing month.

Then, we...

Today's number is... 0.64%

The First Five Days indicator for 2025 showed a positive return of 0.64%. 

Here’s the table:

Here’s a bonus table highlighting all the positive years:

The Takeaway: Since 1950, this indicator has been positive 48 times. When it is positive, it has an average yearly gain of 15.6%, which is above the average yearly return of the S&P 500. Of the 48 years with a positive First Five Days, 83% have concluded the year on a positive note.

Not bad if you ask me.

But next on the list from Stock Trader's Almanac is the January Barometer (January Percentage Change), which is considered the most important of the January Trifecta (Santa Claus Rally, First Five Days & January Barometer) and I can confirm that if the January Barometer is positive, it returns on average a massive 18.1% yearly gain. Of...

Last week we discussed how Retail $XRT is transitioning from red to green and this bullish development is still intact.
 

With the Retail ETF $XRT retesting this level of support, it would be a logical place for buyers to step back in.

The next few weeks are the most critical time of year for investors in retail and consumer stocks, as companies report their results from the 2024 holiday season and set expectations for 2025.

Find out which retail stocks are best positioned right now in this free report from long-time retail analyst Jeff Macke. 

Get the report here. 

There's no notable changes across our thematic universe, except for emerging/China technology, which has transitioned to red.

This is pictured below.
 

The China Technology ETF $CQQQ has broken below a key level of support.

We want to see this theme transition back to green and for this support to get reclaimed before getting overly bullish.

Take a look at Large Cap Technology $XLK—it’s made a bold move, flipping from red to green as it chews through that overhead supply at former resistance.
 

The tape’s telling us the breakout might take its sweet time, but when it happens, expect tech to light up in full-on green mode.

To become better investors and traders, it’s natural for our minds to gravitate toward the mechanics of investing. We reach for the best research, systems, chart patterns, risk management strategies, and indicators—the list is endless.

And rightly so. These elements form the backbone of trading. I provide research every day with the intention of offering a valuable filter to help people focus on the most critical aspects of trading and ignore the noise.

But as essential as these tools and strategies are, there’s something even more fundamental—a foundation beneath the foundation.

Well-being.

This might not come as a revelation, given the growing cultural recognition of self-care, but consider this post a gentle reminder to pause and check in with yourself.

Are you attending to the things in your life that truly require your attention

• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Are your dietary habits supporting your energy and focus?
• Are you moving your body regularly, even if just a little each day?
• Are you nurturing meaningful relationships or spending time in way that recharge you?

Here’s why this is so...

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

We love our bottoms-up scans here at All Star Charts. We tend to get really creative when making new universes as we want to be sure they will deliver us the best opportunities the market has to offer.

However, when it comes to this one, it couldn't be any simpler!

With the goal of finding more bullish setups, we have decided to expand one of our favorite scans and broaden our regular coverage of the largest US stocks.

Welcome to The Junior Hall of Famers.

This scan is composed of the next 150 largest stocks by market cap, those that come after the top 150 and are thus covered by the Hall of Famers universe. Many of these names will someday graduate and join our original Hall Of Famers list. The idea here is to catch these big trends as early on as possible.

There is no need to overcomplicate things. Market cap is a quality filter at the end of the day. It only grows if price is rising. That's good enough for us.

The bottom line is it is a bull market. We...

While the uptrends in the major indexes are holding up well, it's been a tale of mixed signals beneath the surface.

Some sectors and groups are showing strength, while others continue to lag behind.

Banks, for that matter, are an important piece of the puzzle. They are the backbone of the financial sector. They are some of the most important businesses for the US and global economy. 

How bank stocks perform gives us a good read on where the broader market is headed.

The SPDR S&P Banks ETF $KBE took a shot at breaking out of this monster base following November’s election. This marks the second attempt at reclaiming its pre-GFC highs in the past few years.

But here we are today...

Thanks to everyone who joined us for today's Hot Corner Insider Weekly Strategy Session.

Here's the recording and the chartbook from the second Breakout Multiplier Mastermind class, where we break down our tactical options strategy based on momentum.

Here's the replay and chartbook from the January 9 Weekly Strategy Session.

Be sure to join us on Thursdays at 11 am ET and maximize your return potential.

Just a quick programming note. The US Markets are closed today for a national day of mourning, after the passing former US President Jimmy Carter.

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow and every weekday after that. Make sure to save this link as a favorite to join us 8:30-10AM ET daily on The Best Morning Show in Finance.

The S&P500 is less than 3% away from making new all-time highs, but investors are losing their minds. 

You notice how everyone is now a "breadth expert"? One by one, they're all out there mansplaining breadth deterioration to anyone who will listen.

The odd thing about these johnny-come-lately breadth "experts", is that none of them include sector rotation into their weak attempts at describing the current market breadth. 

...

Today's standout insider transaction comes from John W. Dietrich, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of FedEx Corporation $FDX.

Dietrich revealed a purchase of 1,000 FDX shares, equivalent to $273,980.

CFOs’ insider purchases are especially meaningful for investors because of their deep financial knowledge. Their expressions of confidence in the underlying business are particularly notable for this reason alone.

And FDX has been carving out a multi-year base:

If and when it breaks above 320, the bias will switch higher.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 8, 2025:

In another Form 4 filing, former Executive Chairman James W. Ayers acquired 2,000 shares of FB Financial Corporation $FBK.

Today's number is... 1.60%

The S&P 500 under the hood is bifurcated!

The average stock in the S&P 500 is only 1.60% above its 200-day moving average.

Here’s the chart:

(right-click and open image in new tab to zoom in)

Let's break down what the chart shows:

The blue bars represent the percentage from the 200-day moving average of each S&P 500 stock.

The yellow bar indicates the average S&P 500 stock percentage from the 200-day moving average.

The red bar represents the S&P 500 index percentage from its 200-day moving average.

The Takeaway: The 200-day moving average is a great indicator for determining the stock's longer-term trend.

Simply put, an uptrend is when the price is above the 200-day moving average, while a downtrend is when it is below.

Currently, 266 stocks, or 53%, are trading above their 200-day average, while 234 stocks, or 47%, have dropped below it.

Market leadership is becoming increasingly narrower. 

The data supports...

In a healthy bull market, you want to see offensive groups performing well. When these groups lack strength, it often signals problems ahead for the broader market.

Homebuilders, one of the most cyclical subsectors within the Consumer Discretionary space, come to mind when discussing this theme. 

They are a reliable gauge of global growth and investor risk appetite.

Historically, when these stocks trend higher, it reflects an environment conducive to risk-seeking behavior. On the flip side, sustained selling pressure on them tends to indicate a more cautious market stance.

When we overlay the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF $XHB with the S&P 500 $SPY, they typically follow the same path.

Homebuilders often act as a leading indicator for the broader market. The chart highlights multiple...

Nicotine pouches are so trendy right now. 

Tucker Carlson even has his own brand of them. Here's a video (that we found rather humorous) of him explaining why he started the business venture.

The cowboys aren't chewing tobacco anymore, and it's no longer socially acceptable for saloons to have spittoons. 

It's all about being discrete now. Instead of smoking cigarettes, folks are vaping, and instead of chewing tobacco, folks are using nicotine pouches.

Philip Morris is completely dominating this brand-new market.

In 2022, they acquired Swedish Match, the inventor of ZYN, for $16B. This was one of the iconic company's largest acquisitions ever.

Last quarter, they sold nearly 150M cans of ZYN in the U.S., which is about 73% of the total market. 

We think this trend is just beginning.

Philip Morris has rallied after 3 consecutive earnings events. 

What's more, the price is holding above a shelf of former highs from 2017.

In other words, the risk versus...

Today's trade offers a nice opportunity to add some diversification to my mostly long book.

It's no secret that there has been a lot of weakness that has been masked by the performance of the broader indexes. 

We've got a well-diversified business that is showing signs of completing a pretty large top, so it might offer us some alpha on the downside if weakness spreads.