Investors who sold into the Middle East war fears, who short-sold the market, are feeling the pain. Nasdaq (QQQ) gained 1.6% on April 15. Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN) are among the Magnificent 7 that traded in a V-shaped rebound. Tesla (TSLA) gained around 15% in just a few trading sessions.
Investors took the White House’s indication of a second round of peace talks with Iran as a bullish signal. Despite shipping traffic still mostly closed, markets ignored its impact on oil and chemicals prices. WTI crude hovered below $91. Pundits are pointing to an $80 - $90 range for crude oil prices. This defies reality: pipelines and refiners are falling further behind normal operations every day that the Strait is closed.
Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) are now at lows not seen since February/March. ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) are also pulling back. Their stock patterns resembles that of gold (GLD) and silver (SLV) from late last year. The euphoria for those metals ended. The gold ETF did not bottom until late March at around $400. GLD stock closed at $440.46.
Nasdaq and S&P 500 are now at all-time highs on lower daily trading volume. The unconvincing rally might follow through with a sell-off. The indices may avoid profit-taking if recent buyers hold their positions instead.
