Speculative growth has been the strongest theme into the end of the year.

But interestingly, we're noticing a major divergence between U.S. growth and E.M. growth. While the former is at the top of the rankings, E.M. growth has transitioned to red.

We need to see the Emerging Market Internet ETF $EMQQ reclaim this breakout level if we want to have a more positive stance on this theme.

We’ve noticed a significant shift in both Large Cap Technology ($XLK) and Equal Weight Technology ($RSPT), as they transition from red to deeper shades of green, as illustrated below.

This suggests a resurgence of growth leadership heading into 2025.

From a technical perspective, the breakout of the Large Cap Technology ETF ($XLK) from a six-month base further supports this trend.

With this setup, there’s considerable potential for technology to push higher as we move into the new year.

We're seeing a stronger performance in larger stocks and those within the growth factor, with more of them in the green compared to smaller and value stocks.

This is especially clear in the Small Cap ETF ($IWM), which recently failed at a key level of resistance.The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF ($VGK) breaking down to fresh lows is particularly concerning. A swift recovery here is essential to shift the narrative.

Typically, after a rejection like this, we tend to see a period of sideways movement as the market absorbs overhead supply before the next move higher.

One striking observation is the widespread underperformance of European ETFs, which are predominantly in the red.

Visualize this: a map of Europe shaded with the same colors as the table. With few exceptions, the dominance of red over green is hard to miss.

The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF ($VGK) breaking down to fresh lows is particularly concerning. A swift recovery here is essential to shift the narrative.

While value stocks have been beaten down in December, what remains unchanged is the weakness out of energy.

Just look at how much red is in all the energy industry groups.

The broader sector has been in a straight line lower this month, eroding any YTD gains it had. There's no sign that this weakness is changing.

Speculative growth has been a strong area of leadership since the election.

You can see how the flagship Innovation ETF $ARKK has transitioned from deep red to deep green, along with the other funds.

While we've seen ARKK sell-off following the FOMC, the longer-term picture is crystal clear.

This is an area of the market that has undergone a structural trend reversal, which is clearly bullish looking out into 2025.

I've noticed that the technology sector ETFs have turned from red (or light green) to a darker shade of green.

This makes sense with growth picking up steam while value has cooled off.

All technology sector ETFs look prime to break to new highs. While larger technology companies have outperformed, it's positive for the sector to see all three at their highest level they've been all year.

This is the weekly post that aggregates all the charts we put together throughout the week and organizes them all into one, easy to flip through deck.

It's a new year and the market is looking forward. 

It doesn't matter what happened last year, as far as our decisions are concerned. But let's not forget that humans are irrational, and they will certainly let the past year or two impact their decision making.

They can't help themselves. So it's up to us as traders and investors to extract those dollars for our own selfish reasons. 

We're here to make money. Period. Taking advantage of human flaws is a great way to do that, as I've been showing you here every day for over a decade. 

Yesterday we discussed the irrational behavior we're seeing from investors in the middle of a bull market. They're running scared, just as market breadth is improving to the upside, across multiple timeframes.

What...

The Retail Investors are scared to death. And that's a good thing.

We don't want individual investors too optimistic. That's when stocks sell off. It's when they're pessimistic and worried that you see the best forward returns.

Go back and see for yourself. It's all public information. These are the people we want to fade. This is the "Dumb" money, so to speak.

Dig this. The first sentiment data for the year just came out from the American Association of Individual Investors with the fewest number of bulls since April of last year.

In the middle of the bull market, they're crazy scared. 

Good.

Now keep in mind, this is specifically what they're saying. 

But what are they doing?

Well, the Put/Call Ratio just hit new 4-month highs. This means investors are buying insurance (Put options) at a much faster rate than they're betting on higher stock prices (Call options). 

That's also evidence that they're scared. Why else would you be buying insurance at such a fast rate?

Now, what else are they doing?

Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) have on the least amount of long exposure since...

Did you know China outperformed the United States stock market in 2024? We have the data.

We think this relative strength will persist, and if that's the case, don't forget about copper!

We discussed the long-term positive correlation between Chinese equities and copper futures a few months ago. 

Why does this relationship exist?

China is the world's largest consumer of refined copper and accounts for over 50% of global consumption. 

If one is going to work, so will the other.

More importantly, copper futures are testing a key level of interest:

Copper futures are potentially carving out the right shoulder of a multi-year inverted head and shoulders pattern.

This consolidation is happening in a primary uptrend: from 2020 to 2021, copper futures rallied nearly...

The market seems ripe for a good short squeeze. Don't you think?

Despite many market participants questioning the robustness of the current bull market, the worst stocks in the world keep outperforming. 

These stocks will get blasted and dramatically underperform in a true bear market environment.

We're seeing the opposite.

So we've gone through our Freshly Squeezed universe, and one name stands out.

Eos Energy Enterprises $EOSE, a $1.2B battery stock.

It's sporting a 27% short interest and a 7x days-to-cover ratio.

When the short sellers overstay their welcome (as they have in this instance), we look for opportunities to take the other side. 

Why? The risk versus reward is skewed in our favor.

Today's trade is in a stock who's price action is mimicking what their products delivers for its customers -- it's going vertical! How's that for kizmet?

That trade might classify as a "hard trade," but I'll be doing what I can to increase the odds of success in my favor.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for today's Hot Corner Insider Weekly Strategy Session.

Our International Hall of Famers list is composed of the 100 largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs.

We've also sprinkled in some of the largest ADRs from countries that did not make the market cap cut. 

These stocks range from some well-known mega-cap multinationals such as Toyota Motor and Royal Dutch Shell to some large-cap global disruptors such as Sea Ltd and Shopify.

It's got all the big names and more–but only those that are based outside the US. You can find all the largest US stocks on our original Hall of Famers list.

The beauty of these scans is really in their simplicity.

We take the largest names each week and then apply technical filters in a way that the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

Based on the market environment, we can also flip the scan on its head and filter for weakness.

Let's dive in and take a look at some of the most important stocks from around the world.

Here's this week's list:

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

1. No new positions today.
2. Adjustment to XLB position.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Today’s most notable transaction comes via a Form 4 filing by EcoR1 Capital LLC, a biotech-focused hedge fund known for its expertise in high-growth life sciences investments.

The fund revealed a purchase of 363,369 shares of Zymeworks Inc $ZYME, equivalent to $5,321,175. EcoR1’s ownership stake in ZYME is now 22.04%.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 2, 2024:

But it doesn't end there. EcoR1 Capital also stepped in for a purchase of AnaptysBio $ANAB shares with a total value of $1,099,642. ANAB is now the largest holding in EcoR1’s portfolio.