It was a busy week for stocks, but the most important price action was elsewhere.
The US Dollar is getting rocked as risk-on currencies catch big bids.
And it’s all happening at a critical level, that if violated, could mark a major shift in the intermarket landscape.
The one big question all investors should be asking themselves right now is simple…
“What is the best trade if this is a failed breakout in the dollar?”
In other words, what goes up the most if the dollar gets slammed back into the box?
Or even, what will be the best trends if the dollar heads back to the lower bounds of its range?
And I have some thoughts on this. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.
I was expecting the dollar to become a tailwind last year. It didn’t happen. A falling dollar was the one thing missing during the post-election rally. But I think it’s coming now.
When I think about a weak dollar, I think about international equities. The most offensive areas of the global stock market should fare well with a falling dollar. Emerging...
All it took was one "earnings trade" in $APP to get the vertical spreads scoreboard in the green YTD for 2025:
We never know which trade will be the one that delivers big gains. That's why it is so important to have a process for sizing our positions, allocating risk equally among ideas, and sticking to it. When we do this, the handful of big winners make up for all the small losers.
Here's a look at the six vertical spreads we've closed in All Star Options so far this year:
Prior to yesterday's exit, we were 0-for-5 on closed long vertical spreads. But now with one +320% win, the average return for every vertical spread we've exited in 2025 is $186 per $1000 invested, with an average hold time of 57 days. Not bad considering the 17% win rate!
At the risk of jinxing it, we've got another long vertical spread in $NET that is currently deep in the money and will likely add to the win total and increase our average gain per trade.
It isn't easy losing more times than we win. But sticking to the process and...
Our International Hall of Famers list is composed of the 100 largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs.
We've also sprinkled in some of the largest ADRs from countries that did not make the market cap cut.
These stocks range from some well-known mega-cap multinationals such as Toyota Motor and Royal Dutch Shell to some large-cap global disruptors such as Sea Ltd and Shopify.
It's got all the big names and more–but only those that are based outside the US. You can find all the largest US stocks on our original Hall of Famers list.
The beauty of these scans is really in their simplicity.
We take the largest names each week and then apply technical filters in a way that the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.
Based on the market environment, we can also flip the scan on its head and filter for weakness.
Let's dive in and take a look at some of the most important stocks from around the world.
Point72 Asset Management filed a 13G, reporting an increase in its stake in Tower Semiconductor $TSEM from 2.80% to 5.05%.
This represents a nearly 100% increase in its existing position, which is noteworthy.
Founded by Steve Cohen, the hedge fund is known for aggressive trading and deep research, managing tens of billions in assets.
Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from February 13, 2025:
A director at SLM Corp $SLM filed a Form 4 disclosing a significant purchase of company stock, an acquisition of shares worth $289,032 that signals confidence in the business.
Finally, Orbimed Advisors filed an original 13D reporting an 8.40% position in the newly issued Sionna Therapeutics $SION, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company researching medicines for cystic fibrosis.
Yesterday we saw the Nasdaq100 close at new all-time highs, on an equally-weighted basis!
I keep being told that market breadth is weakening, mostly from people who haven't even bothered to count.
So let me ask you...
Is the equally-weighted Nasdaq100 closing at the highest level in its entire history evidence of broadening strength, or a weakening market?
I'm old enough to remember when they were telling me that this was all just a "bear market rally" and that we shouldn't be buying stocks.
Then it was, "Only 6 stocks going up", so we shouldn't be buying stocks.
Now they're telling me that market breadth is weakening, when it's actually broadening, and that we shouldn't be buying stocks.
You know what we've been doing this entire bull market? We've been buying stocks, and laughing about it along the way.
You've had a front row seat to it all.
And this was just while it was mostly U.S. stocks doing well. Now we're seeing broadening participation all over the world, with areas like Latin America hitting new multi-month highs, Europe hitting all-time highs, and now Southeast Asia really getting going
Notice how green the top section of the thematics table has been.
The same themes continue to dominate; crypto stocks, speculative tech, gaming etc. China growth is also beginning to appear on this list of predominant themes.
While a large portion of Ark's funds are ranking green on our table, one notable exception is Ark's Genomic ETF $ARKG. Interestingly, it's beginning to transition to a lighter shade of red.
Volatility in the ETF is trading at multi-year lows, which could suggest an explosive move is around the corner.
This is an ETF that's on our radar, especially if it breaks to new highs.
Again, we keep pointing to how many different sectors there are showing relative strength and inhabiting the top area of our sector power rankings.
This points to a wide set of sectors participating, which is positive to see.
Noticeably, Large Cap Communications $XLC looks fantastic, breaking to new all time highs. So long as XLC is above the prior highs near 102, the bias is to the upside.
The relative ratio of Home Construction vs S&P 500 has fallen to its lowest level in 22 months.
Here’s the chart:
Let's break down what the chart shows:
The blue line shows the relative ratio of the Home Construction Index $ITB vs S&P 500 $SPY
The Takeaway: One group that has been under selling pressure lately has been Home Construction, and we can highlight this weakness in a relative ratio versus the broader market.
Home Construction is one of the most crucial industry groups in America, as these stocks are highly cyclical. They act as an excellent gauge for growth and often act as a leading indicator for the broader market.
Typically, when home construction stocks are trending higher, it's happening in an environment conducive to risk-seeking behavior. Right now, that is not the case, as this relative ratio is at its lowest level in 22 months.
This does not bode well for risk assets, and if we're really in an environment where risk assets are trending higher and bulls are in control,...
Even the iShares China Large Cap Index has rallied 20% off its January lows.
You get the point. China is red hot.
With price action like this, you might start to wonder, “where is all the money coming from!?”
And the answer is probably a lot of places. Who knows.
But one area that has definitely become a source of funds for new China bulls… is India.
This is a ratio chart of Chinese stocks vs Indian stocks, and it is flashing a textbook trend reversal in favor of China.
The relationship had been skewed toward India in a big way up until last year. In fact, Indian stocks have been outperforming China aggressively for almost a decade now. This all began back in 2016, so...