Contrary to popular belief, we're not just Americans. We're earthlings.

I think that gets forgotten, especially after the United States stock market outperformed practically everything else for so long.

You have a combination of home country bias and you have the recency bias layered on top of that.

So when U.S. Technology is an underperformer, as it has been since last summer, many investors with too much exposure in those areas are blinded by their losing, to see all the winning that's going on around them.

China, for example, just closed the week out at new 4-month highs. The CSI 300 is basically the S&P500 of China, and just closed at the highest levels since early November.

Meanwhile, you're seeing the German DAX this morning working on the highest weekly close in the country's history.

Whether it does or doesn't, the relative strength in Germany has been off the charts, despite any selling pressure you've seen in the U.S.

Keep in mind that outside of the American Indexes (S&P500, Dow & Nasdaq), I would put Germany right at the top of the most important markets list.

This is a very big deal, especially when...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Adjustment to XLP position.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Adobe $ADBE just reported a double beat and got destroyed for it. The reaction was nasty!

Shares slid 13.85% during Thursday's market session and closed near the low.

The company reported revenues of $5.71B versus the estimated $5.66B and reported earnings per share of $5.08 versus the estimated $4.97.

Their AI-related business contributed $125M in ARR, and they expect that number to double this year.

The growth is off the charts, but the market has already priced it into the stock. 

The management team thinks the stock is cheap. They've repurchased $11.4B in stock over the last 12 months, equivalent to 7% of the market capitalization. They're authorized to repurchase an additional $14.4B.

ADBE is a share cannibal as it's aggressively eating its shares. This is a sweet tailwind for long-term investors.

Next week, the company is hosting the Adobe Summit 2025 in Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see if this successfully pumps the stock or worsens things.

Stay tuned...

*click the image to enlarge it

As you can see, Dollar...

More top decision-makers are buying their own companies’ stock.

📌 Today's most significant insider move comes from LendingTree $TREE Chief Operating Officer Peyree Scott, who purchased $1.3 million worth of shares. 

As COO, Scott has direct oversight of the company’s operations and execution. His buy suggests confidence in LendingTree’s business model and future growth. 

When a top operator puts their own money on the line, it’s worth paying attention.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from March 13, 2025:

Click the table to enlarge it.

📌 In energy, Marathon Petroleum $MPC Chief Commercial Officer backed his company with a $269,000 buy. 

As CCO, his focus is on revenue generation and market expansion. His purchase could signal optimism in the oil & gas sector.

📌 Meanwhile...

Today's number is... 10%

The S&P 500 has now experienced a 10% correction.

Here’s the chart:

Let's break down what the chart shows:

• The blue line in the top panel is the S&P 500 index price.
• The gray bars in the second panel are the number of days prior to the start of a 5% correction.
• The yellow bars in the third panel are the number of days prior to the start of a 10% correction.
• The red bars in the fourth panel are the number of days prior to the start of a 20% correction.

The Takeaway: “Not every crack becomes a gorge; not every gorge becomes a chasm. However, every chasm starts from a crack.” - Willie Delwiche

It was only last week I wrote a daily number note that the S&P 500 had a...

Here's the replay and chartbook from the March 13 Weekly Strategy Session.

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

The selling in US Growth stocks continues. 

But why have European stocks and China done so well? 

They don't have any US Growth stocks in their indexes.

While the selling pressure in these stocks has accelerated recently, the underperformance has been there since last summer. We've been pointing out that High Beta never broke out relative to Low Volatility stocks while the major indexes were making new highs.

And now they're making new lows. Look at the underperformance from Tech along with the underperformance in High Beta:

And I'll be the first to tell you that it affects me too. Remember, that on a personal level, my wife and I have retirement accounts and we have 3 kids with college funds. I'm not immune to the selling in US Growth stocks.

I'm right in there with you guys, regardless of what I do for my day job.

Now, this is a great example of why we don't want to limit ourselves to a long only strategy in U.S. stocks.

I've already got plenty of that stuff. Too much, if you ask me. So I need to go out of my way to find additional sources of income and returns. 

This is strictly on a personal level,...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. New position in XLB.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

It's been a rough tape for U.S. equities these days.

When you look around, nothing is working.

There are fewer and fewer stocks in uptrends, Staples are outperforming, and the big boys are failing to hold the line.

There are times to be aggressive and times to be cautious. Right now, it's about protecting capital.

However, there are always pockets of strength that we can lean on. 

Metals continue to stand out.

Nobody is talking about them.

Gold just hit 3,000 for the first time in history.

Silver is ...

While the U.S. equity markets have been under pressure, we've been hunting for pockets of relative strength.

These are the areas that will perform best once the selling subsides.

If a stock can buck the trend now, imagine how well it can do once the bulls regain control of the tape.

On Wednesday, we heard from the $2.4B customer experience management (CXM) solutions company, Sprinklr $CXM.

For the 2nd consecutive quarter, the company reported a double beat and rallied. 

The company increased its number of $1M customers by 18% year-over-year. This growth in high-value customers underscores the platform's value and potential for future revenue expansion.

As a cherry on top, the management team believes this growth will continue. They issued much better-than-expected forward guidance.

The market loved everything about this report, and the stock was rewarded for it.

This was the stock's 3rd best earnings reaction ever. We tend to see big earnings reactions before big trends in the stock price.

Sprinklr is on the cusp of resolving a textbook...

When CEOs put their own money on the line, it’s worth paying attention. Insiders sell for all kinds of reasons—taxes, diversification, personal expenses. 

But there’s only one reason to buy: They think the stock is going higher.

Today’s standout moves come from top executives making sizable bets on their own companies.

New Fortress Energy $NFE CEO Wes Edens just bought 100,000 shares.

First Citizens $FCNCA Chairman and CEO Frank Holding reported an $824,000 buy.

Funko $FNKO CEO Cynthia Williams filed a Form 4 revealing the purchase of $106,877 worth of shares—small in size but still a bullish statement from leadership.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from March 12, 2025:

Click the table to enlarge it.

Outside of direct CEO buys, Victoria’s Secret $VSCO saw BBRC International PTE LTD...

Today's number is... 100%

Whether you're looking at short, intermediate, or long-term trends, 100% of the major indices are currently trading below their key moving averages.

Here’s the table:

Let's break down what the table shows:

The first column of the table lists several major indexes. Each subsequent column represents a different moving average, ranging from the 5-day average to the 200-day average. A green box indicates that the index price is above the particular moving average, and a red box shows that the index price is below that moving average.

The Takeaway: The way I learned it was not to fight the trend… Also, nothing good happens when price is below moving averages.

And right now, all I can see is red... Every major index is below its 5-day moving average all the way to its 200-day moving average.

When prices fall below their moving averages, they are not in uptrends. They may not necessarily be in downtrends, but they certainly are not trending higher.

If stocks continue to decline, uptrends cannot persist....

When I look at what’s working in this market, precious metals—specifically gold—stand out.

Gold isn’t just a few dollars off all-time highs—it’s breaking out of a base relative to stocks.

And when I see this, I can’t help but wonder… When does silver get its turn?

History tells us how this usually plays out. Gold moves first, then silver comes to life.

Right now, silver is sitting where gold was last year, just before it started an epic run.

If there’s a moment and place for a catch-up trade, this is it.

And with silver’s higher beta, when it moves, it really moves.

I think we’re heading back to 50.

The miners are already on the move, setting up nicely.

Sellers have dominated the tape for the past several weeks.

Any bid for stocks since we rolled over in February has been weak and short-lived.

At the same time, we are more than due for a serious bounce.

Some sentiment metrics are at wash-out levels. 

Put volume is at record highs.

US stock indexes are deeply oversold. 

In the case of Nasdaq 100 futures, this is worse than the pandemic lows from 2020. 

But oversold can always get more oversold.

And when it comes to sentiment data, there is simply no signal without confirmation from price.

So, I just gotta see it at this point. 

A rebound rally is surely coming, but how much selling will happen first? And how good will it be?

There definitely won’t be a meaningful bounce until we string together some consecutive up days. We haven’t seen back-to-back green candles in the S&P since its peak in February. 

Literally, zero bullish follow-through in almost a month. That needs to change for markets to make a...

There’s no sugar-coating it—recent weeks have been rough in my account.

Call it a pullback, a correction, or a bear market—whatever label you prefer, the selloff in U.S. growth stocks hasn’t spared me. And let’s be honest: Watching account equity shrink isn’t fun. Not even a little.

But one thing that helps me stay grounded through market swings—both up and down—is tracking my Closed Trades Performance. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple spreadsheet with four columns:

• Date Closed

• Ticker

• Net Gain/Loss

• Running Total

That last column, “Running Total,” continuously adds up my net dollar gains and losses as I close trades.

The key benefit? It shifts my focus away from open equity swings in positions I haven’t closed yet. Any old-school futures trend follower will tell you: open profits aren’t yours until you close the trade. I learned this trick from my friend Peter Brandt, and it has been invaluable for my mindset.

Why This Helps My Trading Psychology

By focusing only on closed trades, two...

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