A Powerful Lesson From a Runaway Cement Truck

A runaway cement truck recently slammed into a house in my area... And no one was behind the wheel. [Chaikin PowerFeed]( A Powerful Lesson From a Runaway Cement Truck By Pete Carmasino, chief market strategist, Chaikin Analytics A runaway cement truck recently slammed into a house in my area... And no one was behind the wheel. The crash wrecked two cars inside the garage. Engineers condemned the house due to the structural damage. The owner was forced to move out. But fortunately, no one got hurt. A cement truck with 10 cubic yards of material inside it can weigh close to 66,000 pounds. So if anyone had been in the path of the truck, it could've been much worse. Now, I'm not sure what happened. I assume the truck got stuck in gear and took off. The specific details don't matter. But this incident did serve as a powerful reminder to me... You see, I assume the driver didn't follow the proper process before leaving the truck. He likely skipped a step – probably something as simple as not turning the engine off. And ultimately, someone else lost two cars and their house. We put safety protocols in place for a reason. They're designed to protect everyone from unpredictable events – like a runaway cement truck crashing into a house. That's an extreme example, of course. But as I'll show you today, it's a lot like predicting market outcomes based on economic conditions. If you follow the proper process, you'll be ready for an unpredictable event... Recommended Links: [Urgent Announcement From Doc]( Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig has an urgent message about his position at our corporate affiliate Stansberry Research. In a new 10-minute update, he shares his (very rare and surprising) outlook for 2024... and an announcement that could shake up the entire financial publishing industry. This announcement could change how you make money next year... but you must see it before the holidays are over. [Click here for Doc's holiday update](. [Is your bank next?]( A powerful new trend is spreading through the U.S. financial system. At least 41 banks are already involved. But the Federal Reserve predicts that number will grow fast. [See if your bank is involved right here](. A year ago, nearly everyone was playing defense. The S&P 500 Index had plunged around 25% from its December 2021 peak through its October 2022 bottom. And many investors feared that things would get even worse. In short, they were predicting market outcomes based on economic events that had already happened... One of the main factors I'm talking about is inflation. The Consumer Price Index peaked in June 2022 at more than 9%. Even after it had started subsiding, a lot of folks still held on to the possibility of terrible economic outcomes... Defaults, slowdowns, and a potential recession dominated the headlines. But as I learned early in my career, guessing what might happen based on economic events is a fool's errand. You'll be a lot more successful if you follow the proper process... As part of my process, I always balance my research between economic data and market performance. That's a fancy way of saying I read a lot of stuff. I can't help but get fascinated with the economic forces that shape our financial landscape. And yet, I try not to get swayed one way or the other. It's something that can be hard to learn. But it's a lot easier when you have a process. And as part of that, I try to read and dissect the known to prepare for the unknown every day. Did I expect Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to turn "dovish" last week? Nope, not even close. But since I have a process in place, I didn't need to see it coming. I was prepared for unpredictable events. And it all started with the Power Gauge... The Power Gauge is a key part of my process. Importantly, our system told me something was changing all the way back in January... This change related to the communications services sector – which we track through the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC). It also involved XLC's top holding, Meta Platforms (META). In the following two charts, you'll notice that Meta Platforms' trend changed just before XLC. You can see what I mean in the relative strength panels along the bottom. Take a look... [Chaikin PowerFeed] [Chaikin PowerFeed] In other words, Meta Platforms started outperforming the S&P 500 Index just before its broader sector did. That's an important part of my process called a "bottom up" approach. A bottom-up approach helps us look for individual stocks that are making key changes. Then, we can dig deeper into the larger sector to see if a broader opportunity exists. In this case, we could've continued our process and bought XLC after its trend changed. If you would've done that, you'd be sitting on a gain of about 40% right now. That's nearly double the S&P 500's roughly 21% return over the same period. In the end, the markets don't follow a script. The financial world is full of unpredictable events. It's sort of like when a runaway cement truck hits a house. You need to have a process. So when the unexpected happens, you'll be ready to act fast. That's why I'm glad to have the Power Gauge in my corner. Good investing, Pete Carmasino Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors # Hld: Bullish Neutral Bearish Dow 30 -1.240% 10 18 2 S&P 500 -1.390% 153 275 69 Nasdaq -1.490% 38 51 9 Small Caps -2.310% 749 921 255 Bonds +0.680% — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks remain Bullish. Major indexes are mixed. * * * * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +2.51% Communication +1.41% Discretionary +0.92% Materials +0.21% Industrials -0.26% Real Estate -0.41% Financial -0.81% Information Technology -0.81% Health Care -2.38% Staples -2.92% Utilities -5.55% * * * * Industry Focus NYSE Technology Services 23 12 0 Over the past 6 months, the NYSE Technology subsector (XNTK) has outperformed the S&P 500 by +8.78%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #5 of 21 subsectors. Top Stocks [rating] AMAT Applied Materials, I [rating] JD JD.com, Inc. [rating] QCOM QUALCOMM Incorporate * * * * Top Movers Gainers [rating] CVS +1.28% [rating] GOOGL +1.24% [rating] JCI +1.09% [rating] ALLE +0.85% [rating] FDS +0.82% Losers [rating] FDX -12.05% [rating] SEDG -7.23% [rating] AON -6.04% [rating] CZR -5.70% [rating] MOS -5.69% * * * * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close MU, NKE CCL, CTAS, KMX, PAYX No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises [rating] GIS General Mills, Inc. Q2 $1.25 Beat by $0.09 [rating] MU Micron Technology, Inc. Q1 $-0.95 Beat by $0.06 [rating] TTC The Toro Company Q4 $0.71 Beat by $0.15 * * * * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, [click here](. You’re receiving this e-mail at {EMAIL}. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call [+1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.)](tel:18776976783), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. Please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized investment advice. © 2023 Chaikin Analytics, LLC. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission from Chaikin Analytics, LLC. 201 King Of Prussia Rd., Suite 650, Radnor, PA 19087. [www.chaikinanalytics.com.]( Any brokers mentioned constitute a partial list of available brokers and is for your information only. Chaikin Analytics, LLC, does not recommend or endorse any brokers, dealers, or investment advisors. Chaikin Analytics forbids its writers from having a financial interest in any security they recommend to our subscribers. All employees of Chaikin Analytics, LLC (and affiliated companies) must wait 24 hours after an investment recommendation is published online – or 72 hours after a direct mail publication is sent – before acting on that recommendation. This work is based on SEC filings, current events, interviews, corporate press releases, and what we've learned as financial journalists. It may contain errors, and you shouldn't make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. It's your money and your responsibility.