Market Recap – January 15th, 2025 (CPI Day)

Pre-market Overview:

U.S. futures are flat as the market awaits the CPI data release in two hours.
In Asia, markets were relatively uneventful. The 2-3 day gains in China remain intact, while Japan and Korea traded flat.
Europe opened green, supported by lower inflation numbers for November, but overall, markets remain range-bound.

Key Observations:

Bitcoin and crypto are holding on to gains from the previous day.
European rates are down today after peaking since early December.
The U.S. dollar is taking a breather, down for three days straight since its recent peak.

8% Gainers and Losers (Past Week):

Gainers:

89 names, primarily from health technology, transportation, and energy minerals.
Constellation Energy and Cheniere Energy (LNG) are the largest names among gainers, with most others being small caps (< $10 billion market cap).
Airlines and energy continue to show strength.

Losers:

302 names have declined 8% or more.
Technology services, producers/manufacturers, and health technology dominate the decliners.
Big names in this group include Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor, Toyota, Alibaba, and AMD.
Watchlist Highlights:

Names showing relative strength with good earnings growth include:
Hood (Robinhood), CEG (Constellation Energy), Root, Brose, Sierra Deo
Roblox (RBLX), Hubs (HUBS), Marvell (MRVL), Vistracorp (VST)
These stocks look promising but await broader market confirmation before making a move.

Technical Levels:

RSP (Equal-Weighted S&P): Chopping between 176.19 and 174.78. Watching for direction after today’s CPI numbers.
Plan of Action:

Focus on names that have been basing and are poised for quick 3-5 day moves if the market reacts positively.

If the market melts down, consider shorting larger names.
Taking a cautious approach at the open, as the first move might not be the correct one.
Additional Notes:

Positive numbers came out from Blackrock, among others.
Considering incorporating market movers from the pre-market into future notes.