Five Things to Start Your Day

Good morning. Our Alpha Portfolio is +6.47% YTD. Leading the gains is Silver at +24.5%. On the other hand, Dorian LPG is down by -13.2%.

These returns could have been boosted to 9.8% YTD. But we are not penny pinchers aiming for every uptick. We want long-term growth and not compromise it by taking on more risk than we need. We are holding 36% of our portfolio in cash due to the indicators signalling ‘extremely overbought‘ conditions; this is a cautiously optimistic view of markets.

Market Snapshot

The US markets are experiencing mixed movements, reflecting varied investor sentiment across different sectors. Notable tech companies are seeing some bullishness, with companies like NVIDIA (NVDA) showing resilience despite the 10/1 stock split.

• The S&P 500 rose 1.3% last week, led by technology and health care, although the Roaring Kitty hoopla sapped most of the attention.

• Nasdaq is up a solid 12.1% on the year.

The financial sector is under pressure, with banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) slightly down.

The healthcare sector shows some strength, driven by gains in companies like UnitedHealth Group (UNH).

Across the World

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) surged 8.53%, driving positive sentiment in Taiwan.

In Europe, ASML rose 7.90%, bolstering the Dutch tech landscape.

Conversely, financials in India faced pressure, with HDFC Bank (HDB) down 3.50% and ICICI Bank (IBN) dropping 5.79%.

Japan’s auto sector struggled as Toyota (TM) slid 1.96%.

Energy stocks are mixed, with Brazil's Petrobras (PBR) down 5.50% amidst a broader decline in South American markets.

Europe sees far-right surge

The euro fell to its lowest in a month after a jump in support for the far right in European Parliamentary elections prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap legislative ballot with the potential to throw the country into political chaos.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats also saw a crushing defeat amid gains for conservatives and far-right parties. European equities and French bonds also suffered losses.

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Apple’s AI push

Though Apple was an early pioneer in AI, it’s now seen as a laggard — especially since ChatGPT and other cutting-edge technology hit the scene in the past two years. The company says the platform, called “Apple Intelligence,” will help summarise text, create original images and retrieve the most relevant data when users need it. The tech giant also unveiled new versions of operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Newsworthy

This is what’s caught our eye over the past week.

• Elon’s unhappy. He’s banning Apple devices with OpenAI in their OS.

• Europe’s one-time crisis economies are now outperformers.

• Vladimir Putin is asking for help from old friends.

• Dubai takes on Abu Dhabi in a race for supremacy in family offices.

• Trump billionaires have a selective memory.

Ali is the Founder & Editor of The Insider Memo, Follow him on X @ASAInsights

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