This is a weekly market update (I post daily to TikTok). I publish these once a week (beta phase), as well as single stock pieces (1-3x a month) and macro deep-dives. I also publish on TikTok, Youtube, and Twitter!
Youtube linked here :)
What Happened in the Stock Market this week?
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The Stock Market
The crypto selloff seemed to cast a shadow over the hype and fervor of the market. The market ended the week green, but the week ended in a selloff across the Nasdaq and S&P, with only the almighty DJIA in the green to cap the week off.
Tech ended the week stronger - after a bit of weakness at the beginning of this week, a carryover from last week, we saw the bigger names get a boost this week.
But value continues to outperform, as cyclicals and utilities gain
VIX is still above 20, but has compressed from the Wednesday high of 25
Lots of talk about inflation and the market was spooked by the crypto selloff (speculative flows dried up *everywhere*)
Market Movers
SNAP is doing a lot of interesting things - wouldn’t be surprised to see if they step up to compete with Facebook and Apple in the AR/VR space. This will be the begininng of the evolution of social networks - just like Facebook, I could see SNAP positioning themselves along the “computing platform” path
AMC Short squeeze - the Redditors are at it again!
Walmart, Home Depot, and Macy’s all had great Q1 earnings (HD catching that lumber bid)
Home Depot will also raise their wages/benefits of employees at a cost of $1bn. As we watch a labor shortage unfold, I’d imagine that many more corporations are going to follow suit.
The best stocks YTD - These are names that you wouldnt necessarily expect - L Brands (never bet against luxury), the Gap, and a lot of oil companies topping out the top performers
Economic Data
The Citi U.S. Economic Surprise Index went negative for the first time
Philadelphia Fed Survey - like Home Depot, many firms are expecting to 1) charge higher prices and 2) boost worker pay
Pretty big print in the PMI as firms figure all the current (and upcoming) cost burdens
Everyone is talking about inflation - my most recent piece addresses the narrative of inflation (the power of words in the public mind) and the inflation perpetuation cycle. The more we talk about it, the more we manifest it.
Blackrock goes up against gold - stating that it would no longer work as a hedge. Quite an interesting stance to take
Home prices are up ~20% Y/Y which could explain the recent contraction in home sales - “-2.7% vs. +1% est. & -3.7% in prior month; 3rd straight decline & level now at lowest since last summer”
Supply and demand going head and head here.
Also, mortgage rates hit 3% for the first time since April
Economic Policy
The Fed is talking about CBDCs! After saying that they had virtually no interest, they have changed their tune- their white paper will come out this summer
They also plan to be a “leader” in establishing standards for CBDCs internationally, which will be very interesting
A lot of states have begun to pullback their unemployment benefits - which will be an interesting test of the labor market
Crypto
Bitcoin is currently in freefall as China reiterates that they are cracking down
Coinbase potentially buying Osprey Funds - which would be their foray into asset management
Osprey already has their bitcoin fund, which competes with Grayscale
The IRS is coming after crypto transfers > $10k - Biden is doing a LOT of work in the taxation space
A lot of nations that have a large population of unbanked people use crypto. Despite the selloff, it’s important that we recognize the application that crypto can have
Next Week
Earnings
NVDA: NVIDIA
AZO: Autozone
Retailers: URBN, JWN, and AEO
SNOW: Snowflake
BBY: Best Buy
ULTA
DG: Dollar General and DLTR: Dollar Tree - This will be interesting!
COST: Costco
CRM: Salesforce
Economic data!!
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.