Last week, I joined my friend Michael Batnick on “What Are Your Thoughts.”

The guys over at Ritholtz Wealth and the Compound are the absolute best at what they do. For that reason, doing their shows is always an honor. 

But, it’s also a blast. They make talking markets fun.

We talked about a number of topics from breadth, to short-sellers, and even Nancy Pelosi’s latest trades.

Make sure to check out the replay if you missed it.

Anyways, it is on my mind because Batnick brought up the Dollar Tree chart and I’ve been watching it ever since. We both really like the setup. 

Today, I’m pulling the trigger as it looks to be finishing the right shoulder of this inverse head and...

I'm at the All Star Charts Portfolio Accelerator event in New York City. 

One topic I discussed this morning with everyone is a volatility-triggered setup I'm seeing in the iShares Bitcoin ETF $IBIT. We have a short history to work with, but this bears attention.

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

1. New position in XLY.
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!

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The 2 to 100 Club.

In this scan, we look to identify the strongest growth stocks as they climb the market-cap ladder from small- to mid- to large- and, ultimately, to mega cap status (over $200B).

Once they graduate from small-cap to mid-cap status (over $2B), they come on our radar. Likewise, when they surpass the roughly $30B mark, they roll off our list.

But the scan doesn't just end there.

We only want to look at the strongest growth industries in the market, as that is typically where these potential 50-baggers come from.

Some of the best performers in recent decades – stocks like Priceline, Amazon, Netflix, Salesforce, and myriad others – would have been on this list at some point during their journey to becoming the market behemoths they are today.

When you look at the stocks in our table, you'll notice we're only focused on Technology and Growth industry groups such as Software, Semiconductors, Online...

Today’s standout insider transaction comes from Robert W. Stallings, director of Texas Capital Bancshares $TCBI.

Stallings just made a bold move, scooping up 7,676 TCBI shares for a total of $146,705.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 28, 2025:

Meanwhile, institutions are making waves too.

Victory Capital Management just increased its stake in Genpact Limited $G, filing a 13G that reveals a bump from 4.72% to 5.19%.

Today's number is... 22

My Fear or Strength Model was in a bearish mode for the last 22 trading days. However, as of Monday, the model has switched to bullish mode.

Here’s the chart:

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

Let's break down what the chart shows:

• The black line in the top panel is the S&P 500 index price.
• The green shading highlights the model is in bullish mode.
• The red shading highlights the model is in bearish mode.
• The black line in the middle panel is the 10-day average of the NYSE+NASDAQ net new high advance-decline line - The model's “strength” component. The gray shading represents the AD line is rising.
• The black line in the bottom panel is the Volatility index, which is the model's “fear” component. The gray shading represents the VIX reading above 28.5.

The Takeaway: For the past 22 days...

Growth sold off yesterday on headlines following the release of the new Chinese artificial system, DeepSeek.

But in spite of this weakness, many key growth names still closed the day positive and at new highs.

Large Cap Growth $IWF is still solidly green; nothing has changed here.

We're all in New York City for another regular of our Portfolio Accelerator events, and tomorrow we'll all be at the NYSE.

It's a fantastic event with an intimate gathering of our team and Portfolio Accelerator members.
If you want to apply, you can click here.

Europe has come a really long way in just a short while

The Euro STOXX 50, an index of the largest blue-chip companies in the Eurozone, is up about 10% in less than a month. 

I remember a time not long ago when I was worrying about the potential tops that had formed in Europe.

They never completed. Instead, we hooked higher like we’ve seen so many times before.

This is what the STOXX 50 $FEZ chart looked like coming into the year (in USD).

What a nasty distribution pattern, right?

But here's what it looks like today.

Buyers showed up and defended this key support zone again in December. 

For now this top is nothing like the top from the prior cycle. It's likely just another continuation pattern. It completes on a breakout above 54.

So what is next for Europe?

Considering the messy, rangebound action for...

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

1. New position in SMH.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. Exited IGV at Profit Target.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Today’s standout insider transaction comes from Russ Hutchinson, chief financial officer of Ally Financial Inc $ALLY.

Hutchinson made a significant purchase of 19,100 ALLY shares, totaling $753,473.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 27, 2025:

CFOs are often the secret sauce of insider trading.

They have unparalleled insight into the company’s financial health and future prospects—they know the numbers better than anyone else.

When a CFO puts their own money on the line, it can signal strong confidence in the stock.

Today's number is... 351

On Monday, the S&P 500 closed down by 1.46%. However, if you look deeper, you will actually see that 351 (69%) S&P 500 stocks advanced while only 152 declined for the day.

Here's the data:

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

Let's break down what the table shows:

The first row represents the advancing stocks of the S&P 500, while the second row shows the declining stocks. Each column corresponds to a trading day, starting with the current day on the left and moving to the right through the past ten days.

The Takeaway: The breadth of the S&P 500 has improved over the past two weeks. In 9 of the last 11 trading days, more stocks have advanced than declined. Even on days when the index showed weakness, breadth continued to improve. 

But let's take a closer look at yesterday's scenario: When the S&P 500 index drops by over 1% and more than half of the stocks (over 50%) advance.

I found that this scenario hasn't happened too often. In fact, this has only happened twice in...

Just landed in NYC for our Portfolio Accelerator event, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Every few months, the whole All Star Charts crew gets together with program members and some of our closest friends in the industry for an exclusive gathering of the brightest minds in finance.

It’s the perfect opportunity to connect with incredible people and dive deep into what’s working in the markets right now.

Last year was amazing, but I already know this one’s going to take it to another level.

It’s my third time in the city, and I feel so fortunate to be part of something like this.

Being around some of the sharpest traders, portfolio managers, and technicians isn’t just inspiring—it’s a massive chance to learn and grow.

Everyone’s here—JC, Sean, Sam, Patrick. These are my people. And every time we come...

Participation has been expanding in the commodities markets.

We've nailed trades in natural gas, crude oil, copper, and more. 

But one continues to shine brighter than the rest... Gold!

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The Minor Leaguers.

We've had some great trades come out of this small-cap-focused column since we launched it back in 2020 and started rotating it with our flagship bottom-up scan, Under the Hood.

For the first year or so, we focused only on Russell 2000 stocks with a market cap between $1 and $2B.

That was fun, but we wanted to branch out a bit and allow some new stocks to find their way onto our list.

We expanded our universe to include some mid-caps.

Nowadays, to make the cut for our Minor Leaguers list, a company must have a market cap between $1 and $4B.

And it doesn't have to be a Russell component — it can be any US-listed equity. With participation expanding around the globe, we want all those ADRs in our universe.

The same price and liquidity filters are applied. Then, as always, we sort by proximity to new...

News over the weekend seems to have spooked investors this morning, particularly in the tech sector. And the effects are spilling out all across the market.

Are investors being a little overly dramatic here? 

The bet we're making is YES.

Today's trade is not in a tech stock, just a boring old bank that has been trending higher for over a year now.

I keep hearing that today’s FOMC announcement and press conference will be a snoozefest.

I couldn’t disagree more.

I think a major development is riding on the market's expectation for future rate cuts.

In recent weeks, the expectations for the next rate cut have moved forward.

During this time, Trump has put pressure on the Fed, and the latest CPI report showed inflation cooling.

But, the reason doesn’t matter as much as the fact that the bond market is buying the story.

The US 10-yr has fallen from about 4.8% to 4.55% in the last two weeks.

More importantly, it’s taking the US Dollar with it.

DXY is the most critical chart in the world right now and it is moving with the bond market and investors’ expectations for interest rates.

If Powell gives any indication that they are moving lower sooner today, it could be the catalyst needed to fail this breakout and send DXY back into its old range.

If the dollar rolls over here or even falls back into a sideways trend, the impact could be massive for risk assets.

And I don’t just mean US equities. I think international stocks stand to win more than...

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

1. New position in XLC.
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!

This morning is just a friendly reminder to turn off the TV.

There's nothing on there to help you. It's not their job to help you make better and more informed investing decisions.

In fact, it's quite the opposite. Their only job is to convince you that you need to come back and keep watching.

That's it. That's literally their only job.

Some people are too weak to overcome their tricks, and instead fall for the old trap of, "I need to watch so I can stay informed".

 implications, however, are NOT that you'll be more informed. In fact, you're actually going to be a lot more misinformed.

Again, their job is NOT to inform you, or even to help you. That's never been their job, not matter how much they pretend that it is.

So don't fall for the trap of traditional media. If they've proven anything over the years, it's that they cannot be trusted.

Turn it off. And put on some music instead.

I'll let you know when I'm on tv, and you can turn it on for a few minutes. Or better yet, I'll just send you the video replay.

But everything you need to know you'll see right here first. 

Now, with that in mind,...

First up, Control Empresarial de Capitales S.A., the Mexican investment firm known for its deep pockets and strategic plays, just scooped up 100,000 shares of PBF Energy Inc $PBF.

That’s a $2.9 million bet on the refiner, and it raises eyebrows as energy stocks continue their promising climb into the first weeks of 2025.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 24, 2025:

Meanwhile, John C. Malone has added to his stake in The Liberty Braves Group $BATRA.

Malone grabbed 33,600 shares, reinforcing his commitment to the company behind the Atlanta Braves franchise.