There was a lot of sloshing around during the session yesterday, and the S&P 500 finished the day where it started. Energy (XLE) surged as the world awaited Israel’s response to Iran's missile barrage. I interviewed Danny Danon, Israel's UN Ambassador, who told me the retaliation would be stiff, mainly since Israel showed restraint this summer. But it was Technology (XLK) that saved the session.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) took the biggest hit during the session.

There were slightly more decliners than advancers, but up volume was significantly greater than down volume, especially on the NASDAQ Composite, that’s the buy-the-dip crowd.

Market Breadth	NYSE	NASDAQ
Advancers	1,273	2,000
Decliners	1,514	2,177
New Highs	143	112
New Lows	27	133
Up Volume	1.78 billion	3.18 billion
Down Volume	1.26 billion	1.72 billion

Market Movers and Themes

Market Movers
Advancers	Decliners
China’s Stimulus Wall Street Upgrades AI Power Story	News (HUM rating disaster from CMS) Earnings & Fundamental News
CZR +5.27% SMCI +3.58% CRM +3.18% KLAC +3.14% IVZ +3.07% MPWR +3.04% PLTR +2.83% TRMB +2.78% WMB +2.76% HPE +2.76%	HUM -11.79% CAG -8.07% NKE -6.77% KMX -3.51% TSLA -3.49% DG -3.20% DAL -3.12% ALGN -2.97% MOH -2.96% VMC -2.84%

Blackwell Demand is Insane

“Prices are insane!

I grew up in New York City when Crazy Eddie stores were popping up everywhere, accompanied by aggressive advertising claiming the company’s prices for electronic equipment were “insane.”

It turned out the whole shebang was a scam. The accounting scam was finally uncovered with a bang. But long after the stores vacated their locations and everyone moved on, nobody forgot those commercials.

I was reminded of those commercials when I saw clips of Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang proclaiming that demand for the new Blackwell chip is “insane.” There will be critics who suggest that such talk from a CEO is unseemly and maybe a smack of desperation.

I think Jensen is telling the truth, as is the market, which bid up the stock in after-hours trading.

Insane, indeed!

Today’s Session

The market looks to open under pressure this morning. It's not the panicky kind of pressure, but there is no doubt that some doubt is creeping into investors' minds.

This morning, the AAII sentiment readout saw bullishness slip to 45.5% from 49.6%, as bearishness increased to 27.3% from 23.7%.

Overall, the report points to continued confidence in the market. It also reflects a sense of uncertainty as the election approaches. 

Labor Picture

Initial jobless claims edged higher to 225,000, against consensus of 221,000.

Initial Jobless Claims

Continuing claims were essentially unchanged at 1,826,000.

Continuing Jobless Claims

Hiring Strike

As I’ve stated and written numerous times, the pressure on the labor market comes from attrition and a lack of hiring. On that score, Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that year-to-date hiring had been the lowest since 2011.

Comments

All that money going to illegal immigrants and now after this hurricane, as everyone knows they come, there's not enough money for the Americans who are desparate, some dying and struggling to survive this tragedy. It's all because of the illegal tactics of the Harris Regime of open borders. Elect Trump! Lorin K. on 10/3/2024 10:26:34 AM

I’m confident Trump can win. Vance was awesome with the debate. His message will resonate. Harris is not qualified! Michael Schoenmakers on 10/5/2024 9:27:09 AM

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