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

1. No new positions today.
2. Rolled SMH to September.
3. Exited GDXJ.
4. Current status of open campaigns.

Let’s dig in!

Are you one of those people who thinks that Transportation Stocks are "boring"?

Those kinds of people exist out there you know...

But in my experience, these are some of the most important stocks in the entire market.

And there are ways to leverage these directional moves to maximize the profits in these types of stocks that you think may not move fast enough for you.

First of all, here is the Dow Jones Transportation Average in a long-term uptrend consisting of higher lows and higher highs:

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

We love our bottoms-up scans here at All Star Charts. We tend to get really creative when making new universes as we want to be sure they will deliver us the best opportunities the market has to offer.

However, when it comes to this one, it couldn't be any simpler!

With the goal of finding more bullish setups, we have decided to expand one of our favorite scans and broaden our regular coverage of the largest US stocks.

Welcome to The Junior Hall of Famers.

This scan is composed of the next 150 largest stocks by market cap, those that come after the top 150 and are thus covered by the Hall of Famers universe. Many of these names will someday graduate and join our original Hall Of Famers list. The idea here is to catch these big trends as early on as possible.

There is no need to overcomplicate things. Market cap is a quality filter at the end of the day. It only grows if price is rising. That's good enough for us.

The bottom line is it is a bull market. We want as many vehicles and options to express...

Zoom In. Zoom Out. Let’s Ride.

When you zoom in on the chart of Zoom Video $ZM you will see an intraday range that is engulfing the prior 7 trading days. Unless a lot changes in the next few hours, it should also be green with a large body. 

When you zoom out, you’ll notice this couldn’t be taking place at a more critical price level. Just look at all the old lows around 60. That’s a lot of dead bodies. 

The most significant insider buy on today's list comes via a 13D filing by Abdiel Capital LP.

This time, the investment firm revealed an additional purchase of 82,500 shares in Appian Corporation $APPN, increasing its ownership stake to 18.60%.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from July 24, 2024:

Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas filed a Periodic Transaction Report declaring a purchases in the following stocks:

• Apple Inc $AAPL ($500,000 - $200,000);
• Meta Platforms Inc $META ($50,000 - $100,000);
• Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST ($50,000 - $100,000);
• Workday Inc $WDAY ($50,000 - $100,000);
• Alcoa Corporation $AA ($50,000 - $100,000);
• Vishay Intertechnology Inc $VSH ($50,000 - $100,000);
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc $AMD ($15,000 - $50,000); and
• ...

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

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 multiple reports.

Now, we're also highlighting lagging stocks on a recurring basis.

Welcome to the Short Report.

We...

The Berkshires is a wonderful place to visit. And it can often be a great place to ride out the heat of summer.

Similarly, Berkshire Hathaway $BRK/B is often a great place to ride out the heat in the market.

And given the volatility backdrop in $BRK/B options, the options market is offering to pay us to catch the turn.

Let's get after it!

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

1. New position in XLC.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. Exited XLP at our profit target.
4. Current status of open campaigns.

Let’s dig in!

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

One week, the buck is breaking down. The next, it’s ripping higher.

With commodity currencies rolling over, the dollar-yen sliding lower, and the US Dollar Index $DXY failing to hold its recent breakdown… 

What’s it going to be this week? 

So far, the Bulls are in control. 

But that could change if dollar bears violate these critical levels…

First, track the 1.0915 zone for the euro: 

A decisive break above that level will apply pressure on the buck and set an upside target of 1.1125.

Next, keep an eye on the pound.

The GBP/USD is pulling back following the completion of a six-month inverted head and shoulders pattern:

The pound’s breakout remains valid as long...

The bears can’t break down Zoom. Despite the structural downtrend and a rough tape for tech over the past few weeks, ZM keeps hanging on. If the stock can reclaim 60, we want to get long and bank on a "scoop n score" back above this shelf of old lows.

The most significant insider buy on today's list comes via a Form 4 filing by Abdiel Capital LP.

The investment firm revealed a purchase of $6.7 million in Appian Corporation $APPN.

Director Roger D. Carlile bought 25,000 shares of Resources Connection $RGP, equivalent to $281,250.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from July 23, 2024:

In another Form 4, Terrence W. Cavanaugh, director of Selective Insurance Group $SIGI, reported a purchase of $171,700.

SIGI broke out of a multi-year base in 2021 and ripped higher towards the 161.8% extension. But price has since retraced all gains and is retesting the breakout level.

We're wondering if this former resistance will turn into support this time around:

The line in the sand lies at 81.15. If we're above this level, the risk is to the upside. 

...

The Ethereum ETF is here!

Let's take a moment to pause, put aside all the noise of information out there, and just return back to what's actually happening in the market.

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The Junior International Hall of Famers.

With the goal of finding more bullish setups, we have decided to expand one of our favorite scans and broaden our regular coverage of the largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs.

This scan is composed of the next 100 largest stocks by market cap, those that come after the top 100 and are thus covered by the International Hall of Famers universe.

Many of these names will someday graduate and join our original International Hall Of Famers list. The idea here is to catch these big trends as early on as possible.

Let’s dive right in and check out what these future big boys are up to.

This is our Junior International Hall of Famers list:

Click table to enlarge view

And here’s how we arrived at it…

We removed laggards which are down 5% or more relative to the ACWI Ex. U.S. Index $ACWX over...

While I was away, volatility had a moment. And it's still hanging at pretty high levels, especially in tech stocks.

In the Technology sector ETF $XLK, we're seeing the highest implied volatility that we've experienced all year:

And with the chart of $XLK forming a range...

...this feels like a good opportunity to play for volatility mean reversion.

Here's the Play:

GE just beat earnings and is trading up slightly in the pre-market. When trading opens today, we expect volatility to come in a lot with this quarter's report now in the rear-view.