Five Things to Start Your Week

Good afternoon. Our Alpha Portfolio is at +6.89% YTD.

• Leading: Turning Point Brands at +23.4%

• Lagging: Dorian LPG at -16.5%

Two major indexes (Russell and Dow Jones Transport) have not participated in the all-time high movement in the past month. If this trend persists, it is a concerning sign that this upward movement is running out of fuel.

Market Snapshot

US markets exhibited a mixed performance as investors weighed economic data and sector-specific developments. The S&P 500 faced pressure from the tech sector, with notable declines such as Shopify (SHOP) down 6.01%.

However, the financial sector showed resilience, with Bank of America (BAC) rising 1.14% and Wells Fargo (WFC) also up.

Energy stocks like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) experienced mixed returns, reflecting the fluctuating oil prices and broader economic concerns.

Across the World

In Asia, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) saw a decline of 2.77%, affecting Taiwan's tech-heavy market sentiment.

Conversely, India’s financial sector surged with HDFC Bank (HDB) up 5.83% and ICICI Bank (IBN) gaining 7.16%, indicating strong domestic growth prospects.

Japan's Toyota (TM) edged up 0.77%, while Pinduoduo (PDD) in China fell 5.03% amid broader tech sector weakness.

European markets were mixed; the UK's BP climbed 3.75% on strong oil performance, while France’s TotalEnergies (TTE) rose 2.01%.

In South America, Brazil's Petrobras (PBR) increased by 0.24%, showing resilience despite regional economic challenges.

Crypto Declines

The selloff in crypto markets that resulted in the second worst week of the year is continuing. A gauge of the 100 largest digital assets fell by around 5% in the week through to Sunday and remains in the red, with Bitcoin falling by around another 2% to slip below $62,000. The drop is being driven by uncertainty about monetary policy and by cooling demand for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

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Peak Gains

The gains for the S&P 500 this year have likely peaked, with investors growing increasingly nervous about rich valuations in the stock market, according to the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey. One of the driving forces of the rally, Nvidia, is the most expensive stock in the index now. However, analysts and executives are struggling to quantify what its sales will be given the AI boom, making it hard to calculate whether the shares are pricey or not.

Newsworthy

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

• Trump says he knows who his running mate will be.

• How the empire of Jeff Yass was pulled into the spotlight.

• The second bout of turmoil for Norinchukin came after a clear warning.

• Adidas rode the craze for Sambas after the Ye debacle.

• The hedge fund lures retail investors into high-risk debt.

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

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