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What’s Happening?
What a difference two weeks can make: the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) extended its winning streak to 10 straight days and hit a new record high on Friday, bringing its gain during the run to 14.1%. The S&P 500 (SPY, VOO) also reached fresh record highs. The Russell 2000 (IWM) didn’t join the party, but it sits within 1% of its all-time high and remains the best-performing US stock index this year, up 9.3%.
👀 S&P 500 Spotlight
Software and tech shined on Wednesday, with Tesla leading the gains in the S&P 500 — up 7.6%. It was followed by ServiceNow, Intuit, and Uber all gaining more than 6%. Carrier Global was the downside leader, falling almost 10%, followed by Stanley Black & Decker, down about 7%.
⚡ Crypto Corner
Bitcoin continues to hover around the key $74K mark, but hasn’t been a full participant in Wall Street’s recent rebound — although the IBIT ETF hit a two-month high earlier this week. We’re also seeing gains in some smaller coins, as Doge nears a one-month high and as Polkadot climbs more than 7%.
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The Setup — QQQ ETF
The QQQ reclaimed a key level last week and hasn’t looked back, rallying to new highs. Now investors are watching to see whether the move pauses near resistance that capped prior rallies over the past few quarters. Similar advances in October and January stalled around this area, which could make the next move from here especially interesting.
Options
Investors who are bullish could consider calls or call spreads as one way to speculate on further upside, while bearish investors could consider puts or put spreads to speculate on a further move to the downside. For options traders, it may be advantageous to have adequate time until the option’s expiration.
To learn more about options, consider visiting the eToro Academy.
What Wall Street’s Watching
SNAP
Shares of Snap rallied nearly 8% on Wednesday after the company said it will lay off about 1,000 employees. The firm plans to use AI to streamline operations and cut costs as it works to improve profitability. Snap also expects Q1 revenue to rise about 12% to roughly $1.53 billion, which is generally in line with analysts’ expectations. Dig into the fundamentals for SNAP.
BIRD
Allbirds shares surged 582% yesterday in a move that looks like classic meme-stock behavior. The struggling sneaker brand now plans to rebrand as “NewBird AI” and pivot into AI infrastructure, despite having little obvious connection to GPU cloud services. The company was on the brink of collapse not long ago, and even with the spike, the stock remains down about 97% from its all-time high. Check out the chart of BIRD.
LYV
A federal jury found Live Nation illegally monopolized the live events industry, delivering a major antitrust win to 33 states and Washington DC. The ruling could bring penalties of up to $700 million or even force a Ticketmaster sale, though Live Nation plans to appeal. Shares fell 6.3% after the verdict, while rival ticketing stocks rose on hopes the decision could weaken the company’s dominance. Follow the news on LYV.
Disclaimer:
Please note that due to market volatility, some of the prices may have already been reached and scenarios played out.