Stonks
STOCKS | MARKET WATCH | Why Long-Term Investing Still Wins🤯 The start of 2025 was a bit of a rollercoaster for stocks.
Global markets got seriously rattled in the first few months by some sudden jitters. When President Trump announced those aggressive tariffs, it caused significant concern among investors, sending stock markets tumbling and prompting a flight to safety. Like Reuters said, April was "epic" for crazy market swings – the VIX fear index shot up to levels we hadn't seen since 2020 and 2008, and then just as quickly dropped back down. Markets went wild.
But then, by late April, the panic kind of ... disappeared. Once President Trump paused the implementation of the most severe tariffs, stocks bounced back pretty sharply. The S&P 500 recovered most of what it lost. After that nasty drop, it ended April only about 5% lower than it started the year. The Nasdaq, with all its tech stocks, pretty much ended the month where it began. So, after all that drama, major US stock markets weren't far from their all-time highs, showing how fast that "fear" can vanish.
📊 How key indexes did
S&P 500 (USA): 📉 Dipped in early April but bounced back late. Ended April around -5% for the year, after almost hitting a bear market.
Nasdaq Composite (USA): 📉 Similar story. Tanked on the tariff scare, then rallied when things calmed down, ending April pretty much flat for the year.
MSCI World (Global developed markets): 🤷♂️ Had its ups and downs along with the US markets. By the end of April, it was pretty much flat for the year – no big moves for the overall world index.
MSCI Emerging Markets: 📉 Didn't do as well as developed markets. Asian stocks, especially, took a hit early April because of trade war worries, so this index lagged, even though it recovered a bit by the end of the month.
FTSE/JSE All-Share (South Africa): 🇿🇦 The odd one out! The JSE jumped about +5% in the first three months of 2025, mainly thanks to mining stocks. It even hit a record high in March. The April craziness shook it up too, but because it did so well earlier, it was still slightly up for the year by late April.
Takeaway? Global stocks were jumpy, but they mostly recovered. By late April, most major indexes were close to where they started the year. South Africa's market was the exception, having a good first quarter that helped it weather the April storm.
⏳ Staying invested beats trying to be a stock Wizard
All this back and forth can make investors nervous. You start thinking, "Should I just sell now before it drops even more?" But history usually says that's the wrong move. Just sticking with it usually works out better than trying to guess the market's next move. BlackRock's iShares recently pointed out that "waiting for the 'right time' to invest might mean missing out on the best days," while staying invested lets you benefit from that "compounding" thing and get through the short-term bumps. Simply put, if you sit on the sidelines during big swings, you often miss the big rebound days. One study even showed that if you missed just the five best market days over 20 years, you'd end up with way less money than someone who just stayed in the market.
The legendary investor Charlie Munger put it simply: "The first rule of compounding: never interrupt it unnecessarily." Trying to jump in and out of the market around all the volatility is super tough – the biggest up days often follow right after the biggest down days. On the other hand, patient investors who just ride out the noise tend to grab more of those long-term gains. After all, with compounding, those small gains build on each other over time.
💰 The awesome power of compounding over time
Compounding basically means the sooner you invest and the longer you stay invested, the more your returns build on each other like a snowball rolling downhill. For example, the total return JSE All-Share index was up almost 23% over the last year. That kind of gain shows how just staying invested during good times can really grow your wealth. If you'd panicked and pulled out, you would have missed most of that growth. Over longer periods, like 5 to 10 years, the JSE has almost always gone up. The big lesson is that it's about "time in the market," not trying to "time the market," that really makes your returns grow and smooths out those bumps along the way.
🌍 What's driving the markets and the economy
There were a few big things happening that explain why the markets moved the way they did.
🇺🇸 US GDP Slowdown: The US economy actually shrank a bit in the first quarter of 2025. A lot of people blamed this on a big surge in imports as businesses bought stuff ahead of those potential President Trump tariffs. Even though this news spooked the stock market briefly in late April, underlying consumer spending was still looking pretty decent.
📈 US Company Profits: On the bright side, US companies reported some pretty strong profits. Analysts were expecting good growth in earnings for the S&P 500 in the first quarter, even with the economic slowdown. And it turned out even better – a lot of companies beat expectations, and overall earnings were up quite a bit from last year. This helped keep stock prices from falling too much during the pullbacks.
🇪🇺 European Spending Boost: In Europe, governments are starting to spend more. Germany, for example, proposed a huge fund for infrastructure and energy. The EU is also loosening its spending rules and increasing defense budgets. Some experts think this could actually boost Europe's economic growth a bit each year, which would mean better profits for European companies. Some even think European companies might see faster profit growth than US companies in the next few years because of this spending.
🇨🇳 Asia and Trade Wars: Asia was the weak spot. China's economy showed some signs of trouble, with a survey suggesting its manufacturing activity might have shrunk in April after a couple of months of growth. This seemed to be a direct result of the US tariffs. Asian stock markets took a hit on the tariff news, which dragged down the overall emerging markets index. Basically, tariffs and trade tensions hurt growth in Asia and its markets, which then affected returns in emerging markets globally.
✅ The bottom line
Early 2025 reminded us that markets can freak out quickly – but they can often bounce back just as fast. The swings felt scary, but history tells us that just sticking with your investments usually pays off. Major stock markets are pretty much where they were a few months ago, while economies and company earnings are still moving forward. For long-term investors, that wild week in April just reinforced an old lesson: stay invested and let compounding do its thing. As some experts say, "get invested and stay invested" because the most volatile times often have the biggest market gains. By sticking to your plan, you avoid missing those big up days when the "fear" fades and markets recover.
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SP:SPX
Sources: Recent market reports and data including the April SATRIX 2025 market newsletter “Once Again, Volatility Blinked and Fear Lost., nasdaq.com, reuters.com, ishares.com, insight.factset.com, reuters.com, iol.co.za
STOCKS | AI | Amazon, Meta & MSFTPeople who are saying that AI is just a bubble are missing the big picture. Huge tech companies are pouring serious money into it, which shows they believe AI is here to stay.
We're talking massive investments – like over $320 billion in AI infrastructure by 2025, according to the Financial Times. Amazon is planning over $100 billion in capital expenditures in 2025, mainly focused on AI infrastructure. This could be huge not only for NASDAQ:AMZN as a whole but also for the AI industry.
Alphabet is also throwing in around $75 billion this year to boost its AI capabilities. These kinds of investments from the top players make it clear: they know you have to spend big to win in the AI game and clearly there is a race going on, especially after the release of DeepSeekAI. American companies don't want to be left behind, and it's likely that they will pour money into integrating AI to improve their business operation - with the ultimate aim to improve profit - which is great for stock prices. How they make money from AI might change over time, but the overall direction is obvious – AI is changing everything and driving innovation.
According to Statista, the global AI market is predicted to reach around $826 billion by 2030. That kind of growth tells you AI is going to be a major force in just about every industry. And therefore I believe that all the companies making major investment in AI will also see exponential growth over the next 5 years - meaning it may be a longer term game play.
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NASDAQ:MSFT NASDAQ:META
DXY - OVERBOUGHT = Risk On in Near Term = GainsThe DXY RSI levels are approaching overbought territory. Don't need to over think this one. I'm looking for a mean reversion.
On average, it appears a DXY pull back is +/-12%. $102-$98 is the level I'm watching for the short/medium term for the DXY. I imagine it strengthens again in the future, but it's offside at the current moment.
Stonks, BTC, & Crypto are looking prime for a risk on environment & substantial gains - for at least the short to medium term - if the DXY sells off.
Either way, it's looking like the DXY will need to mean revert in the near term.
BULLISH.
GameStop Corp. ($GME): High-Risk, High-Reward OpportunityGameStop Corp. ( NYSE:GME ): High-Risk, High-Reward Opportunity
Trade Setup:
- Initial Entry: $31.45
- Alternative Entry: $24.11
- Stop-Loss: $10.88
- Take-Profit: $125.99
Rationale:
GameStop, a prominent video game retailer, has experienced significant volatility, often influenced by retail investor interest and speculative trading. The stock's history includes notable short squeezes, leading to substantial price surges. Recent discussions suggest the potential for another upward movement, presenting a high-risk, high-reward scenario.
Financial Performance:
In Q2 2024, GameStop reported revenue of $798.3 million, down from $1.16 billion the previous year. The company is focusing on cost containment and plans to close underperforming stores to enhance efficiency.
Volume and Short Interest:
As of November 15, 2024, GameStop had approximately 31.87 million shares sold short, representing about 7.47% of the float. This level of short interest indicates a moderate potential for a short squeeze.
Analyst Ratings:
Analyst coverage on GameStop is limited, with some maintaining a "Sell" rating and a price target of $10.00, suggesting potential downside. However, the stock's volatility and retail investor interest can lead to price movements that diverge from analyst expectations.
Risk Management:
Given the stock's volatility, strict adherence to the stop-loss at $10.88 is crucial to manage potential losses. The ambitious take-profit target of $125.99 offers a substantial reward, but traders should be prepared for significant price fluctuations.
*When the Market’s Call, We Stand Tall. Bull or Bear, Just Ride the Wave!*
*Disclaimer: This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Traders should conduct their own due diligence before making investment decisions.*
3 Stocks in ACCUMULATION Phase | STOCKS | BABA, HOOD, PYPLIf you have patience, stock trading can be very rewarding.
Something a little different today - SOCKS ! 🧦 These are my top 3 picks for stocks at the moments - for the sake of duration, we'll look at 3 per video.
What I look for in stocks, is longer term holds. Ideally they must be in accumulation phase, or have just broken out of my ideal buy zone.
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NYSE:BABA NASDAQ:HOOD NASDAQ:PYPL
meme pullbackthis hourly chart on gamestop shows bull exhaustion and a potential temporary top due to the amount and quickness of consolidation intraday. this stock is down from its highs in a market environment with sudden scarcity of bull trends after the recent break to all time highs in spx. with the market pulling back i expect this stock to continue to pull back although remaining bullish on higher timeframes like the weekly. i would short if we remain below VAH and close short in VAL area or the blue support zone.
gamestop cup and handle whats next?this isnt the strongest pattern for vull continuation, but if it does follow through i expect well see $25 soon. if we dont continue the pattern ill look for a pullback to the $21 region. the stock seems like it is ready to make larger swings now that its held some form of a daily to weekly uptrend. were still battlign a bear trendline of resistance since the last large monthly move and subsequent volatility, but it seems to be subsiding somewhat.
im looking at curred dPOC as the pattern pivot, and if we hold that level forming a range above open id look for the next market structure trailing stop area/VAH region to take profit long. if we break fown below dPOC and form bear momentum under the mPOC id look for lower POC and VAL to take profit short.
CNVS LONG TERM HOLD PAYING OFF. Looking forward to staying above 2.74 heading to test 3.94 with the momentum. ER COMES NOV 11 they continuously make revenue yoy and have been a positive company thru dark times of covid and stock market reset. Held thru and avd down !
Levels to stay above 2.70
Future tests 3.94 , 5.06
Onward to the volume held on at 10$ potentially with a insanely bullish run.
There could be a deal in the making, not sure but there is massive momentum. Looking to take profit at 4.20$ if trend continues but holding most of the shares for closer to nov 11
Retest Complete. Dollar Should Continue Down Again.There's that retest to the underside of my pink line that I was previously expecting. As you all know from last weeks video, I was a bit surprised we didn't get it at the time I was making the video. Well, better late than never. This is a perfect retest. Though, the dollar could hover on the underside for a few more days, I expect that by mid-October you'll see the trend continuation down as we head for that very important, very old trend line coming all the way back from Orwell's 1984. Blow-off top in the U.S. stock market should continue until then. If so, crypto will follow.
Gamestop WatchGME is the most talked about name in the market at the moment with the roaring kitty saga. We have it on high watch. Our premium indicator nailed the initial move and gave two blue continuation bars which captured the last move.
Although we believe the "squeeze" is likely through, we will be watching for another continuation setup to punt over the next week.
GME Bullish Setup Jun 6-7th Update#GME had a very strong close today, hitting my Main Target box to the penny!
#TTR was long #GME (again) from $24.54, we are 50% out today, near the highs, holding the rest for Friday.
#TTR was also long GME from $13.01 and we exited the most at 64.54, 57 and 51 on the main gap up day!
#TTR is also long #AMC, all the targets were posted