Each day’s trading is set by overnight activity in Iran (real and fake stories) and by oil market activity. Yesterday was the typical salad of confusion and headlines of bellicose Iranian leadership.  Meanwhile, Gulf States continue to warm to the idea of joining the fight. The market actually held up fine until midday, when selling in Technology (XLK) came to a boil. Who needs tech-bubble talk when the whole thing is going to implode on itself?  Thus, “creative destruction” for the authors of “creative destruction.”

Erasing Memory

The Google TurboQuant algorithm is causing a major scare, and doing what ‘shorts’ and gravity couldn’t – bringing down memory stocks. This topic is the latest to stir up debate and finger-pointing.

Micron Technology (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK) are taking it on the chin (the former ever since dropping that amazing earnings reports). The recent weakness has to also be viewed in context – these stocks have made monumental moves. Yesterday morning, we published our thoughts on the true impact on the memory industry – it’s a must-read before deciding whether or not to jump in.

Retail Blinked

On Monday, retail investors were net sellers of single stocks for the first time since late 2023. I think they are still ready to buy the dip, but not in ‘Pavlov’s dog’ fashion. Note: bearish sentiment pulled back this week.

Extended Pause

President Trump has extended the deadline for “Energy Plant” destruction by another 10 days. Some see this as a way to buy time to get all U.S. military assets in place, including 10,000 troops.

Continue pressure on crude oil and fertilizer will start to add up, so let’s hope there is a deal.