Note: Many quantum computing stocks are on fire. Just over the past year or so, you could have turned $5,000 into $42,650 in IONQ… $144,900 in D-Wave… or $207,200 in Rigetti Computing.
But if you’ve been watching this quantum computer boom from the sidelines, our colleague Jeff Brown says, “Don’t worry… It’s NOT too late. But soon, it could be.”
By the end of this month, an announcement from DARPA, the government agency that invented the internet, could help send Jeff’s top three quantum stocks skyrocketing higher.
And TONIGHT, he’ll give you all the details.
So please click here to automatically save your seat for this strategy session…
Over the last week or so, markets have pretty much gone nuclear.
Volatility is well and truly back. After staying around 15-16 for much of the past five months, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hit an intraday high of 22.4 on Friday, October 10.
That’s when Donald Trump announced an additional 100% tariffs on China in retaliation to its plans to limit rare earth supplies. Just like that, the forgotten trade war was front-page news.
And as the market scrambled to find its feet, volatility ratcheted higher.
Last Friday, the VIX opened at 28.4 on the way to topping out around 29 before then reversing. That reversal provided some short-term relief for nervous investors. But I’m expecting higher volatility to remain.
Because there’s plenty for the market to digest ahead…
Despite stocks recovering somewhat last week, things have changed.
The certainty that investors have enjoyed isn’t there like it was before. The mood has gotten more skittish. Buyers simply don’t have the same conviction they had a month ago.
For a start, the government shutdown seems poised to continue even as it nears its fourth week. There’s little expectation of an imminent solution.
Yet despite limited economic data, last week Jerome Powell essentially promised a rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s meeting later this month.
Plus, markets are somehow factoring in a 94% probability of a 0.25% cut in December too. If there’s no solution to the shutdown before then, the Fed won’t have seen any updated data for two solid months.
How the market can expect a rate cut without fresh data is beyond me. Inflation may surge higher, after all.
But that’s not the only problem…
Despite reassurances from the White House, we don’t know how the threat of an additional 100% tariff on China is going to play out. And if recent history is any guide, neither does the White House.
Rekindling a trade war between the world’s two largest economies isn’t good for either country – let alone global trade or financial markets.
And as the bull market passed its three-year anniversary just over a week ago, it is showing similar hints of the “irrational exuberance” from times past…
As we discussed yesterday, we see AI-themed deals announced seemingly every other day. And private equity continues to chase down and overpay for just about every deal in town – all financed with a mountain of debt.
And what worries me are the loan and credit issues at regional banks. While folks are trying to hose down any fears, it may point to a deterioration in credit quality. It also fuels concerns that other banks could be sitting on similar losses or exposure.
That has major implications for the broader market. Something out of left field like this could set off a major pullback.
So my advice to you is simple…
Keep your exposure low and watch each position like a hawk… and whatever you do, remember to stick to your stop losses. Now is a time for caution.
Happy Trading,
Larry Benedict
Editor, Trading With Larry Benedict
Reading Trading With Larry Benedict will allow you to take a look into the mind of one of the market’s greatest traders. You’ll be able to recognize and take advantage of trends in the market in no time.
