S&P 500: A New York State of Mind

00:00 Speaker A
Ever notice how the S&P 500 is acting like it’s got a four-leaf clover in its pocket? That’s right, four straight records, with Alphabet’s earnings making everyone dream about AI. Let’s dive into today’s juicy takeaways with Jared Blickre from Yahoo Finance.

Volatility? Meh.

00:13 Jared Blickre
Now, if you’ve been keeping an eye on the VIX like I have, you’d see it’s been taking a breather. Dropping slowly but, hey, still dropping. We saw it skim around 14 and close in the 15s. Check out this chart. It’s the four-day price action, barely grazing 15. But the real story? The year-to-date action. Remember that wild spike after “liberation day”? Well, we’re cruising down now, which means the S&P 500’s been on snooze mode.

Low volatility tends to do that. Volume dries up, especially when folks are off to the Hamptons. So, snooze away, unless you’re diving into those options expiration or rebalance dates, which sometimes throw a curveball. And don’t just watch the VIX. The bond market’s got a story, too, with the MOVE Index from ICE. Treasuries have calmed, with the 10-year T-note yield chilling below 4.5% and the 30-year trying to stick below 5%.

Meme Stocks: The Rollercoaster

03:02 Speaker A
Jared, got anything edgy for us? Something on the market’s wild side?

03:10 Jared Blickre
Oh, you bet. Meme stocks, people! Not much action today, but remember the dark days? Downward swings lasted forever. Let’s pull up this heat map I cooked up back in early 2021. Circle’s a fresh face, a real meme contender, and don’t forget open and DNUT. Yes, Krispy Kreme’s making headlines. Today’s looking red, but take Carvana, for instance. This bad boy was down 99% and now—boom!—up 1,000%. Coinbase and Robinhood also got dragged into the meme party. So, why am I yapping about this? Because those low-volatility indices are a snoozefest. Gotta find the action somewhere, right? Enter meme stocks and crypto.

Narrow Breadth: Should We Be Worried?

05:57 Speaker A
Hey Jared, let’s chat about narrow breadth. How big of a deal is it for this rally?

06:15 Jared Blickre
I’d call it a yellow flag, definitely not red. I had a chat with Jeff Hirsch, editor-in-chief at Stock Traders Almanac. We talked bottoms versus tops. Bottoms are easier to spot in real time. Those April 8th lows, for instance—not simple, but easier than calling tops. Jeff explains it best. Let’s listen.

07:03 Jeff Hirsch
Tops, my friends, they’re tricky. Bottoms? Different story. Sentiment indicators scream at bottoms. Bullish signs can linger. You see that capitulation like we did in April. We look at new highs, lows, fundamentals, and sentiment. But tops? They’ll fool you.

08:11 Jared Blickre
Catch that episode on our site, “Stocks and Translation.” Freshly dropped with Jeff Hirsch.

08:19 Speaker A
Thanks, buddy. Always a pleasure.

Wrapping Up

Look, whether you’re watching the VIX, meme stock craziness, or wondering about market breadth, Wall Street’s got a rhythm all its own. Here in NYC, we might jaywalk a bit, but the market? It never misses a beat.

For more details, dive deeper with Yahoo Finance.