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The market is flexible, adaptable to new conditions. Money always goes somewhere. While the main indexes continue to be under pressure, select sectors are thriving. Last week, the big winners were oil, coal, grains, metals, grocery stores, military stocks, railways. The losers were tech, consumer discretionary, Europe. In fact, most of the European indexes and ETFs made fresh 52-week lows on Friday.
For a brief moment last week, alternative energy stocks also perked up – solar, fuel cells, you name it. It only makes sense. If oil, gas, and coal are getting way more expensive, their alternative should be worth more. This is exactly what happened in 2007-mid2008 when oil went from $60 to $140 per barrel. ESG wasn’t even a thing at the time. It’ll be interesting to see if the same patterns repeat this time again. Most alt energy names are down more than 70% from their recent highs and still in a downtrend but I’ll be paying attention.
I don’t know how long the run in commodities will last but what I know is that eventually, it leads to further weakness in the general market. Most stocks keep making lower highs and lower lows in a declining market but shorting is not easy when volatility is elevated. In a headline-driven market, even a rumor can cause a quick short-term bounce that can stop you out before a stock continues lower. The cure is to be aware of the choppy nature of down-trending markets, be nimble, take frequent profits when you have them and use smaller positon size; be selectively active, and simplify things as much as possible.
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Disclaimer: Everything I share is for educational and informational purposes only and it should not be considered financial advice.