If you’ve been following me this year, you know I’m a big fan of using ratios to get a real read on market health and figure out what kind of environment we’re in.

It’s been one of the most consistent tools in my toolbox, and it’s worked all year.

One ratio I always come back to is staples versus the S&P 500. And I’m not alone — JC made it one of the key themes in his latest mid-month call with ASC Premium members.

It’s such a clean way to gauge risk appetite.

When investors are feeling good and leaning into risk, staples underperform, and the ratio moves lower. 

But when things get dicey, that line ticks higher as money rotates into safer, more defensive names.

The inverse relationship between stocks and staples-relatives has played out again and again across cycles.

Right now, this ratio is sitting on a key support level.

I can’t think of anything more bullish for equities...

The Singapore Dollar is roaring higher. 

After more than a decade of basing, the SGD/USD is finally punching through a key breakout level—the 61.8% retracement of its 2011–2020 decline.

This isn’t just another FX pair catching a bid. Singapore is one of the most critical currencies in global trade. The city-state controls the Strait of Malacca—a vital artery for global shipping. 

When the Singapore Dollar is strong, it's usually saying something about global trade flows, risk appetite, and Asia's relative strength on a global stage.

Singapore, plainly put, is the financial hub of Southeast Asia.

So it makes sense to see it break out as we continue to see rotation into EM, and Asia in particular– as well as weakness in the US Dollar.

Zooming out, this is a textbook rounding bottom. The long base. The range-bound price action. The upside resolution. This is classic trend reversal stuff.

And it’s not just the currency flashing a regime change.

Here are Singaporean equities overlaid with SGD:

EWS, the...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The 2 to 100 Club.

In this scan, we look to identify the strongest growth stocks as they climb the market-cap ladder from small- to mid- to large- and, ultimately, to mega cap status (over $200B).

Once they graduate from small-cap to mid-cap status (over $2B), they come on our radar. Likewise, when they surpass the roughly $30B mark, they roll off our list.

But the scan doesn't just end there.

We only want to look at the strongest growth industries in the market, as that is typically where these potential 50-baggers come from.

Some of the best performers in recent decades – stocks like Priceline, Amazon, Netflix, Salesforce, and myriad others – would have been on this list at some point during their journey to becoming the market behemoths they are today.

When you look at the stocks in our table, you'll notice we're only focused on Technology and Growth industry groups such as Software, Semiconductors, Online...

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the June 18 Hot Corner Insider Weekly Strategy Session.

Lennar $LEN just reported mixed results and suffered its 7th consecutive negative earnings reaction.

This is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States.

The company operates across 26 states, with significant exposure to high-growth Sun Belt markets. Florida, Texas, and California are among its most important regions.

Their business model is simple: build quality homes, control costs, and manage supply carefully. 

But that model is being tested...

Affordability challenges are weighing on buyers. 

High mortgage rates, rising costs, and weak pricing power are all cutting margins.

This is still a heavyweight in housing. 

However, until the market feels better about margins and demand, investors aren’t giving it the benefit of the doubt.

So what else did we learn from yesterday's earnings reactions? Let’s dive into the details.

*Click the image to enlarge it

Jabil $JBL had the best reaction...

Today I closed out a trade in $CRK that I opened back in mid-March — a September 22/30 Bull Call Spread I bought for $1.85.

The most that spread could have been worth on expiration day is $8.00. I closed it today for $5.40:

So naturally, the question is:

Why didn’t I hold out for more?

Simple: Time and risk.

There are still 93 days left until expiration. Yes, the stock is trading above my short strike, and yes, in theory this spread could still work its way up to full value.

But holding for that last $2.60 of potential upside means I’d be risking the $5.40 it’s worth today — a healthy open profit — for a maybe.

That’s not a tradeoff I like.

I know, I know — once both strikes are in the money, a debit spread becomes a positive theta position. Every day the stock stays above the short strike, a little more value seeps into the trade. I get that. But the key word is “a little.” Theta drip is slow and steady. The risk of a sharp reversal, especially after the run $CRK has just had, feels much more significant to me.

In other words:

I’d be risking...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. New position in IBB.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Last night, JC jumped on the mic for the ASC Premium mid-month conference call — one of the two big ones he hosts each month.

He walked us through over 150 charts, diving into everything from sentiment and sector rotation to risk appetite. Classic top-down work, with plenty of actionable insights along the way.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

Sentiment is still a mess. The headlines are loud, dramatic, and overwhelmingly bearish. 

Journalists dressed up as economists are out there warning that this won’t end well.

Just take a look at some of the recent The Economist covers.

We’ve seen this movie before. There’s always a reason to sell,...

The title for this post was too easy.

Today's trade is in a $29B ultra-processed packaged foods giant that has been struggling since 2023 and feels like its hanging on the precipice of a deeper fall.

Whether or not that comes to pass, this stock feels like a good place to put on a slightly bearish bet to give my bullish portfolio a bit of diversification in case the broader market stalls here.

Every day, we sift through the filings to spot where the real conviction lies – cutting through the noise to highlight the most meaningful insider moves.

Here's what stood out today:

📌 Robinhood Markets $HOOD – Board member Christopher Payne – who joined in December – filed a $2 million buy, the first Form 4 we’ve seen in years.

When someone close to the company steps up like that, especially after such a long drought, it gets our attention.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from June 17, 2025:

Click the table to enlarge it.

📌 Mach Natural Resources $MNR – William W. McMullen just dropped $4.1 million into this oil and gas name. That’s a sizable buy, and it comes right as energy stocks have been catching a bid.

📌 ConocoPhillips $COP – Director Kirk Johnson revealed a purchase of 5,300...

Today's number is... 25

It’s taken 25 years for the Russell 1000 vs. Russell 2000 ratio to return to its 2000 peak.

Here’s the chart:

Let's break down what the chart shows: 

• The black line is the relative ratio of the Russell 1000 IWB versus the Russell 2000 IWM Index.

The Takeaway: 25 years in the making — this is a key test for market leadership.

The large-caps vs. small-caps chart has been carving out a massive base for a quarter century.

Now, it’s pressing up against resistance not seen since the dot-com era.

Why does it matter?

Because major leadership transitions often start with relative breakouts or rejections like this.

So what now?

If the ratio breaks out, large-caps tighten their grip.

Mega-caps extend their dominance, breadth stays narrow, and passive flows keep rewarding size.

In other words, the market keeps leaning into what’s already worked.

Or

If it rolls over, small-caps could finally take the lead.

That would hint at a risk-on rotation into underowned, overlooked parts of...

Yesterday we highlighted how the world is breaking out, even the most diversified fund on the planet, holding nearly 10,000 companies, just hit all-time highs.

Back in the U.S., the Nasdaq 100 ($QQQ) is flirting with fresh record highs of its own.

In environments like this, we want to be thinking about what to buy, not what to sell.

And this isn’t just a story about mega-cap tech dragging the index higher. With Apple ($AAPL) down 20% year-to-date, it’s clear the...

Energy’s been one of the most active areas of the market lately, with momentum building across the board.

It feels like this forgotten corner of the market is finally getting the attention it needed.

Crude’s squeezing, heating oil has gone vertical, and gasoline’s catching a bid.  

If this momentum sticks, I think Nat Gas is next in line.

Just look at the chart:

Natty gas been coiling right at the breakout level of a textbook bearish-to-bullish reversal for roughly three months.

But what really catches my eye is that price is setting up between two key VWAPs — one from the 2022...

There weren’t any S&P 500 earnings reactions yesterday…

But a major policy headline just rocked the solar industry, and we think it's worth noting.

Late last night, the Senate Finance Committee unveiled a surprise proposal to phase out clean energy tax credits by 2028.

This was well ahead of schedule.

Investors had been pricing in years of continued subsidy support. The abrupt shift caught the industry completely offside.

To make matters worse, a major Wall Street bank doubled down on its bearish view this morning. They're specifically targeting residential solar names like Sunrun $RUN, SolarEdge $SEDG, and Enphase $ENPH.

The market’s response? Carnage.

As you can see, it's very unusual for the Solar ETF to have a double-digit percentage move in a single day. 

However, today was extra violent. Before the market opened, the price had crashed by over 10%.

Every stock was getting smoked.

Many names are still down a lot as we're writing this intraday.

Sunrun, SolarEdge, and Enphase Energy are leading the way on the...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Rolling XLE to August options.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

If there’s one area of the market that still hasn’t woken up like it should, it’s small-caps.

Nobody wants them right now. The hate is real.

Bearish sentiment is building fast, and short interest in the Russell 2000 $IWM is at 18-month highs.

Investors are pressing their bets, leaning hard against these stocks. But when the crowd gets this aggressive, the unwind is rarely quiet.

Small-caps matter. They’re a real proxy for market breadth — covering everything from regional banks and biotechs to industrials and other under-the-radar names. And when they move, it usually means something bigger is brewing.

Look at the Russell 2000 vs. Russell 1000 ratio sitting right on long-term support.

If small-caps are about to enter a fresh period of outperformance, this would be a logical place for it to start.

Notice how every major bull run this century has seen small-caps leading — at least in the short term. 

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Ricardo Sarraf @nullcharts

When investing in the stock market, we always want to approach it as "a market of stocks."

Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks showing leadership and trending higher.

We may have to look harder to identify them depending on current market conditions. But there are always stocks that are going up.

The same can be said for weak stocks. Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks that are going down, too. 

We already have multiple scans focusing on stocks making all-time highs, such as Hall of Famers, Minor Leaguers, and the 2 to 100 Club.

We filter these universes for stocks that are exhibiting the best momentum and relative strength characteristics. 

Clearly, we spend a lot of time identifying and writing about leading stocks every week, via...

Every day, we sift through the filings to spot where the real conviction lies – cutting through the noise to highlight the most meaningful insider moves.

Here's what stood out today:

📌 Perpetua Resources $PPTA – Paulson & Co. just stepped in with a massive $100 million buy.

This isn’t just any fund – it's run by John Paulson, the billionaire who famously shorted the housing market during the 2008 crisis and made billions doing it. 

When a trader with that kind of track record makes a move this big, we pay attention.

📌 Sonos $SONO – Coliseum Capital is back at it with a $4.1 million purchase, adding to their already sizeable stake. 

This group has been steadily building a position for a while – a classic sign of high-conviction accumulation from a well-known activist firm.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from June 16,...