
- Moving the market
Following yesterday’s pullback, the major indexes regained some stability and edged higher after the market opened. The Nasdaq led the rebound, while the Dow lagged, but all three indexes managed to close in the green.
China’s latest tariff response included imposing 15% duties on U.S. imports of coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% on crude oil, farm equipment, and selected cars, effective February 10.
In recent negotiations, the U.S. agreed to pause tariffs on Mexico and Canada, as both countries committed to taking firm action to curb the massive inflow of drugs and immigrants.
On the economic front, job openings unexpectedly plummeted by more than 550,000, a stark contrast to last month’s surge of 273,000. Factory orders also declined overall in 2025, but neither development seemed to impact the direction of equities.
Records were broken today, with gold reaching a new all-time high and Meta achieving its 12th consecutive day of gains, setting a record streak.
The mega-cap sector surged at the opening but flattened out towards the end of the session. This upward momentum was bolstered by the most shorted stocks continuing their upward trajectory from yesterday.
Bond yields slipped, the dollar dipped, crude oil stumbled, and Bitcoin hovered aimlessly around the $100,000 mark.
As Trump’s Bitcoin reserve idea is being evaluated, traders are eagerly awaiting the outcome. If the evaluation is positive, we could see Bitcoin follow gold’s lead and surge into record territory.
2. Current “Buy” Cycles (effective 11/21/2023)
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) have both crossed their trend lines with enough strength to trigger new “Buy” signals. That means, Tuesday, 11/21/2023, was the official date for these signals.
If you want to follow our strategy, you should first decide how much you want to invest based on your risk tolerance (percentage of allocation). Then, you should check my Thursday StatSheet and Saturday’s “ETFs on the Cutline” report for suitable ETFs to buy.
3. Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)
In the early moments of trading, the major indexes quickly gained upward momentum, setting the stage for a positive close.
Although the Dow initially lagged, it eventually managed to climb above its unchanged line, securing a modest gain by the end of the session.
Similarly, our TTIs experienced a gradual rise, with the international TTI demonstrating greater strength compared to its domestic counterpart.
This is how we closed 02/04/2025:
Domestic TTI: +4.13% above its M/A (prior close +4.00%)—Buy signal effective 11/21/2023.
International TTI: +4.42% above its M/A (prior close +3.73%)—Buy signal effective 11/21/2023.
All linked charts above are courtesy of Bloomberg via ZeroHedge.
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