What to Watch at All-Time Highs

More bullish flavor... What to watch next... Inflation and Nvidia earnings... Will the Russell 2000 finally catch up?... Notes from abroad... Chinese stocks are ripping – and the government is spending... [Stansberry Research Logo] Delivering World-Class Financial Research Since 1999 [Stansberry Digest] More bullish flavor... What to watch next... Inflation and Nvidia earnings... Will the Russell 2000 finally catch up?... Notes from abroad... Chinese stocks are ripping – and the government is spending... --------------------------------------------------------------- Another day, more new highs... The major U.S. indexes mostly traded higher today, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index setting new all-time highs and the benchmark S&P 500 nearly doing likewise... The small-cap Russell 2000 Index still needs to gain about 15% more from today's level to reach its own new peak... But it is trending higher, too... up roughly 30% since its lows last October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged slightly today, closing down 0.5%, but maybe that was due. It rose in 11 out of the last 14 trading days. As I (Corey McLaughlin) wrote to you last week, the market action's bullish flavor has become a lot stronger than it was a month ago. Some, like me, may even say sentiment has flipped to "[risk on]( As we wrote [in Thursday's edition](... Many investors are excited at the prospect of an "easier" financial environment because the Federal Reserve keeps saying it will happen... despite any evidence of still high(er) inflation sticking around. So it goes. The story hasn't changed significantly to start this week... Stocks were up, and bond yields were up (but only slightly). Meanwhile, gold traded at a new all-time high, too, of around $2,435 per ounce... And bitcoin briefly topped $70,000 today, up more than 20% since a low on April 30, before dipping slightly as we go to press. As for what's ahead... We're not expecting any macroeconomic news that would either upset or confirm the status quo until next week. That's when we'll get April's personal consumption expenditures ("PCE") numbers. Recall that "core" PCE strips out food and energy prices from its inflation estimate, writing them off as too volatile for a worthwhile measure (despite their importance in most people's lives). This figure has grown by 0.5% in January and by 0.3% in February and March. Those numbers are good (or bad) for almost 4.5% annualized inflation – even by this "official" measure. That's far from the Fed's supposed 2% target. Another month of data should add to the ongoing discussion/debate around interest rates, the path of inflation, and all that comes with that... This week could still bring economic news, though. Fed officials have a number of speaking appearances (again). The central bank's meeting minutes from last month will be published on Wednesday. And some home-sales data and manufacturing reports due out could be notable, too. As we wait for next week's PCE release, we'll share anything essential to know from this week's updates. Also, suddenly, the focus is on earnings season again, too... And one report due out in the next few days comes from a company that got some big-time attention three months ago and likely will again, one way or another... One potential catalyst... As our Ten Stock Trader editor Greg Diamond has been writing lately to subscribers, he's eyeing the next quarterly earnings report from chipmaker and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) releasing on Wednesday as a catalyst for some potential volatility... The market reaction could again be a signal about sentiment, like it was three months ago when Nvidia last reported earnings... Back then, the company, already richly valued, beat Wall Street expectations and raised its guidance for the current quarter. CEO Jensen Huang declared that his company was inventing a new industry, and the market bought into the line... Nvidia shares popped by about 16% in the ensuing 24 hours and kept rising into the end of March before cooling off – but just briefly – as the broad market did in the first half of April. Shares of the stock are now up more than 40% from just before Nvidia's earnings call a quarter ago – and have already doubled this year. U.S. stocks, broadly speaking, are up as well... They're evidently loving this environment where high(er) inflation may be sticking around, yet the U.S. central bank remains steadfast in its outlook to ease interest rates before doing anything else. As we shared with you over the weekend from Greg in our Masters Series – with his "road map to the next big move in stocks," as he put it – if Nvidia's earnings miss analyst estimates this time around, it could "spook the rest of the market." Either way, though, if shares rise after this round of earnings, Greg's gearing up to trade. Existing Ten Stock Trader subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can get up to speed [here]( as usual. And if you don't have access to Greg's work already, [click here to learn more](. Now's a perfect time, as he just went on camera to share more detail about why he thinks the market is due for a major "surprise" – and soon. He says investors who begin preparing now could earn huge gains in the weeks ahead... This week, Greg has also taken note of Wall Street 'positioning'... He explained precisely what this means... how individual investors can use the information to their advantage... and how he's looking at this market factor in the context of his technical trading strategy in this week's Diamond's Edge video. As a Digest reader, you get first access to these weekly videos... For example, as Greg discussed, professional hedge funds currently have their biggest "net short" positions on the Russell 2000 futures on record... ever. Whenever you see this kind of extreme, it's worthwhile to note – and possibly act on... That's because, as Greg – former hedge-fund trader himself before joining Stansberry Research – explained, a setup liked this often quickly leads to a "pain trade... that hurts the most people." Should prices rise – as they have been – hedge funds that are betting on lower prices instead will have to close out their positions or continue to lose more money... A "short squeeze" like this with the small-cap index is a possibility, as far as Greg sees it... An important question... Greg paired this backdrop with a technical analysis of the Russell 2000 and asked... We've already seen the major indexes at new all-time highs. Does the Russell 2000 finally catch up?... I really think this is going to be an important market to watch over the next few months. He shared the possible scenarios that could play out ahead... Among them is one that would put the small-cap index into "breakout mode" sooner than later... and closer to new all-time highs like the other three major U.S. stock indexes have already hit. Again, you can check out Greg's video – for free – with more detail [right here](. A few more notes from abroad... The death of the Iranian president and the nation's foreign minister in a helicopter crash over the weekend certainly got my attention... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is still the highest power – the "supreme leader" – in the Iranian government. But these vacancies below him now create uncertainty about succession plans in a country squarely in the middle of ongoing warring in the Middle East. Meanwhile, in China, the government finally took long-awaited steps on Friday to "rescue" the beleaguered property market. The Chinese central bank has pulled 1 trillion yuan (or $138 billion) out from under its mattress... will ease certain mortgage rules... and allow local governments to buy "some" apartments in the country... The Chinese real estate market has been sliding since 2021. And as [we wrote in February]( the nation's economy, in general, has been showing signs of deflation for nearly two years, despite headline GDP that was supposedly up 5%. But as we shared several months ago, the Chinese government was increasingly signaling and starting to actually deliver economic support that has been largely expected and called for by investors for some time... The Chinese stock market has been on a tear lately... For example, the KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund (KWEB) is up around 35% since a low in January. This wasn't a surprise to Stansberry Research senior analyst Brett Eversole, who in February wrote to True Wealth subscribers with a lower-risk recommendation than KWEB, designed to benefit from a "blood in the streets" moment in China. In short, he meant that sentiment was unlikely to get much worse for the country's stock market, and this was the time to put money to work... especially as the Chinese government was showing signs of new support for the economy. Subscribers who took Brett's advice are sitting on an 11% gain in this position – and, again, with less risk than owning Chinese stocks outright... and offers a hefty chunk of monthly income. The recommendation remains a buy in the True Wealth model portfolio, and existing subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members can check out the details and see Brett's analysis about China from earlier this year [here](. This started relatively small... In February, the People's Bank of China announced it was cutting its key five-year interest rate – the peg for most mortgages – by 25 basis points to 3.95%. That's the first time China's central bank had cut the benchmark rate since last June. But as we said then, "this could be just the start of 'easier' monetary policy [as] the Chinese premier called for 'pragmatic and forceful' action to boost the nation's confidence in the economy." It looks like we're seeing it now, which should act as a tailwind for markets as the world's second-largest economy gets a boost from its central bank. Of course, a move like this has consequences, like inflation. But we're prepared for that... For one thing, this is another reminder to own high-quality stocks that can help you beat inflation... plus inflation hedges like gold and other "hard assets." We'll have more to say about this outlook in the weeks ahead. --------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended Links: ['This Could Set Off the Biggest Shake-Up of 2024']( Despite a soaring market that has hit 22 new highs in the past three months, the expert who accurately called the 2020 and 2022 crashes is now stepping forward to warn of a "May Surprise" that could set off the biggest market shake-up of 2024. He has already shown his readers 33 different ways to double their money in as little as a day. And he says right now is the perfect time to begin using his strategy for a chance to double or triple your money without touching a single stock or crypto. [Get the full details here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Stunning Admission From Wall Street Millionaire]( He predicted the rise of the Internet... the financial crisis of 2008... and the most famous stocks of the last 25 years – including Amazon, Apple, and Netflix... before they were household names. (So many of his predictions came true, CNBC started calling him "The Prophet.") Today, this Wall Street millionaire is telling investors, "[Here's exactly where I'd be putting my money in 2024]( --------------------------------------------------------------- New 52-week highs (as of 5/17/24): Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Alamos Gold (AGI), Altius Minerals (ALS.TO), American Express (AXP), Aya Gold & Silver (AYASF), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), Brown & Brown (BRO), Cameco (CCJ), Costco Wholesale (COST), Dell Technologies (DELL), Danaher (DHR), Dimensional International Small Cap Value Fund (DISV), Denison Mines (DNN), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Fund (EMXC), Cambria Emerging Shareholder Yield Fund (EYLD), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), VanEck Gold Miners Fund (GDX), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), Alphabet (GOOGL), iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense Fund (ITA), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Kinross Gold (KGC), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Liberty Energy (LBRT), MAG Silver (MAG), Markel (MKL), Motorola Solutions (MSI), Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS), Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV), Royal Gold (RGLD), Sandstorm Gold (SAND), Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), Sprott (SII), SilverCrest Metals (SILV), iShares Silver Trust (SLV), Teck Resources (TECK), The Trade Desk (TTD), ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL), Global X Uranium Fund (URA), ProShares Ultra Financials (UYG), Verisk Analytics (VRSK), and Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM). In today's mailbag, a question about a feature of The Quant Portfolio... Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. "Did the Quant Calculator go away? You could type in your total numbers to invest and it would tell you how many shares of each investment to purchase. It was very handy. I can't seem to find it on the website." – Subscriber Norm B. Corey McLaughlin comment: Norm, you're looking for what we call the "position-size calculator" for The Quant Portfolio. Alliance members and subscribers to The Quant Portfolio can find it [here]( and in the "Extra Features" section at the bottom of The Quant Portfolio page on our website [here](. I agree, it is handy. As our team explains... We know that calculating your allocations for an entire portfolio can be intimidating... but not to worry. At The Quant Portfolio, we won't let you go it alone. Our share allocations are calculated based on your portfolio size. We simply take your portfolio total and compare it with our recommended allocation to give you a very clean, simple number... the number of shares you should purchase. With this feature, existing Quant Portfolio subscribers can download the position-size calculator, input your portfolio size in dollars, and a spreadsheet will do the work for you and show you how much to allocate to each position. We update the calculator monthly with the latest share prices and our most recent allocation advice. We also provide similar calculators for our other Portfolio Solutions products... The Total Portfolio and Stansberry's Forever Portfolio. All the best, Corey McLaughlin Baltimore, Maryland May 20, 2024 --------------------------------------------------------------- Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations Top 10 highest-returning open stock positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst MSFT Microsoft 11/11/10 1,373.3% Retirement Millionaire Doc MSFT Microsoft 02/10/12 1,337.6% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter ADP Automatic Data Processing 10/09/08 913.5% Extreme Value Ferris WRB W.R. Berkley 03/16/12 723.0% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway 04/01/09 639.3% Retirement Millionaire Doc HSY Hershey 12/07/07 511.7% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter AFG American Financial 10/12/12 461.9% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter TT Trane Technologies 04/12/18 424.9% Retirement Millionaire Doc NVO Novo Nordisk 12/05/19 376.7% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Gula TTD The Trade Desk 10/17/19 367.4% Stansberry Innovations Report Engel Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio. --------------------------------------------------------------- Top 10 Totals 5 Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter/Gula 3 Retirement Millionaire Doc 1 Extreme Value Ferris 1 Stansberry Innovations Report Engel --------------------------------------------------------------- Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst wstETH Wrapped Staked Ethereum 12/07/18 2,291.8% Crypto Capital Wade BTC/USD Bitcoin 11/27/18 1,684.1% Crypto Capital Wade ONE/USD Harmony 12/16/19 1,228.9% Crypto Capital Wade MATIC/USD Polygon 02/25/21 812.7% Crypto Capital Wade AGI/USD Delysium AI 01/16/24 443.4% Crypto Capital Wade Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it's still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stansberry Research Hall of Fame Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfolios Investment Symbol Duration Gain Publication Analyst Nvidia^* NVDA 5.96 years 1,466% Venture Tech. Lashmet Microsoft^ MSFT 12.74 years 1,185% Retirement Millionaire Doc Inovio Pharma.^ INO 1.01 years 1,139% Venture Tech. Lashmet Seabridge Gold^ SA 4.20 years 995% Sjug Conf. Sjuggerud Nvidia^* NVDA 4.12 years 777% Venture Tech. Lashmet Intellia Therapeutics NTLA 1.95 years 775% Amer. Moonshots Root Rite Aid 8.5% bond 4.97 years 773% True Income Williams PNC Warrants PNC-WS 6.16 years 706% True Wealth Systems Sjuggerud Maxar Technologies^ MAXR 1.90 years 691% Venture Tech. Lashmet Silvergate Capital SI 1.95 years 681% Amer. Moonshots Root ^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks. * The two partial positions in Nvidia were part of a single recommendation. Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of the position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could've recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stansberry Research Crypto Hall of Fame Top 5 highest-returning closed positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio Investment Symbol Duration Gain Publication Analyst Band Protocol BAND/USD 0.31 years 1,169% Crypto Capital Wade Terra LUNA/USD 0.41 years 1,166% Crypto Capital Wade Polymesh POLYX/USD 3.84 years 1,157% Crypto Capital Wade Frontier FRONT/USD 0.09 years 979% Crypto Capital Wade Binance Coin BNB/USD 1.78 years 963% Crypto Capital Wade You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to Stansberry Digest. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from Stansberry Digest [click here](. Published by Stansberry Research. You’re receiving this e-mail at {EMAIL}. Stansberry Research welcomes comments or suggestions at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. This address is for feedback only. 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