📈 Market Patterns & Sector Rotation

• Year-end saw a classic whipsaw and failed breakdown. Energy is hitting new 52-week highs relative to Financials, a recurring pattern observed annually. 2

💼 Corporate Due Diligence / Investment Philosophy

• Companies with ever-shifting narratives signal underlying problems; genuine firms prove value through results. These are red flags for acquisition or employment. 3

💻 Tech Sector Performance

• Without META’s performance, the tech sector would have largely sold off today, indicating its outsized influence. 4
• Meta’s strong earnings beat and optimistic guidance, alongside significant AI infrastructure spending (estimated $115-135 billion capital expenditure in 2026), underpin long-term growth. This contrasts sharply with Microsoft’s performance, with Meta being the sole large tech stock gaining today. 5

📊 Market Volatility & Sentiment

• VIX movement signals expected market volatility. 1
• Current market euphoria is fleeting, with Gold, Silver, and S&P 500 hitting highs before immediate sell-offs, signaling intense underlying uncertainty. 6

🛡️ Trading & Risk Management

• Proactively manage risk by hedging long delta at key resistances, enabling retention of preferred holdings during periods of uncertainty. 7

🚗 Company Specific Analysis

• Resolution of Tesla’s 4680 battery and dry electrode coating challenges would materially boost TSLA’s profit margins. 8

🌐 Intermarket Analysis

• MSFT’s market shock cascaded, forcing funds to dump Gold and Silver, likely due to margin calls or foreign funds cutting USD hedges when exiting tech. 9
• Historically, equity markets react negatively to significant volatility in major forex and futures markets. 10

💰 Investment Strategy

• MSFT officially entered a bear market, down -23% from ATHs. This presents a buying opportunity for long-term portfolios, advising dollar-cost averaging. 11