In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new trades today.
2. Adjustment to XOP position.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

The dollar is rebounding, but don’t expect it to last

The US Dollar Index $DXY continues to sit near the top of our macro checklist. 

It’s been one of the more important tells of the cycle, not just for currencies—but for equities, commodities, and global risk assets.

Traditionally, the dollar moves opposite to US stocks. But as technicians, we know better than to marry intermarket correlations. These relationships ebb and flow, strengthen, weaken, invert, and sometimes go completely quiet. That’s normal.

Late last year, a big shift took place as stocks began to move with the dollar. It's not typical, but it’s not without precedent either. 

We're in New Orleans this week, surrounded by some of the smartest minds in finance at our Portfolio Accelerator event. 

The food here is incredible.

The music is loud.

And the markets are moving fast.

We put together a special video to walk you through what we’re seeing right now:

We discussed:

• The connection between Gold, Copper, and Crude Oil.
• Why energy stocks are struggling, and where the strength still is.
• Precious metals are leading in 2025.
• And our top setup in the mining space right now.

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new trades today.
2. Adjustment to XLI position.
3. Closed  USO and XLP at profit targets.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

I’m sitting at a Miami airport bar watching the Knicks game and looking at charts. 

It’s been a nightmare of a travel day. Let’s just say there are both pros and cons to island life. 

I'm trying to get out to New Orleans to meet my co-workers and clients at our Portfolio Accelerator event. 

I always look forward to these get-togethers. It’s an opportunity to catch up with JC and the analyst team in person. 

But more importantly, it’s a fun and laid back forum for sharing ideas with some of our smartest colleagues and industry professionals. I always come away with something good. Something I wasn’t watching. Something from someone else’s radar that is now on mine. 

I’m going to give a special talk on how I use VWAP...

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza.

Welcome back to Under the Hood, where we'll cover all the action for the two weeks ended May 9, 2025. This report is published bi-weekly, in rotation with The Minor Leaguers.

What we do here is analyze the most popular stocks during the week and find opportunities to either join in and ride these momentum names higher, or fade the crowd and bet against them.

We use a variety of sources to generate the list of most popular names.

There are so many new data sources available that all we need to do is organize and curate them in a way that shows us exactly what we want: a list of stocks that are seeing an unusual increase in investor interest.

Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at our process.

Today, I’m headed to New Orleans for our tri-annual Portfolio Accelerator event.

There’s always been something about this city that resonates with me—not just the food, the music, or the unmistakable soul of the French Quarter—but its relationship with risk.

New Orleans understands risk. And more importantly, it understands how to manage it.

From levees and dikes to advanced pumping and drainage systems, the city doesn’t ignore the dangers it faces. It builds around them. It plans for them. It respects them. Just like we do as traders.

That’s part of why this city is such an inspiring backdrop for a room full of portfolio-focused minds. Like New Orleans, we try to hedge our exposure. We use long options, smart position sizing, and strategic overlays to reduce our downside risk. And like the levees, those hedges give us peace of mind—until the water starts to rise.

Because here’s the truth: sometimes, Mother Nature throws a punch you just can’t fully dodge. In markets, that’s when volatility explodes and our carefully calibrated short-vol trades face the full wrath of a panicked tape. Sure, we might technically...

I just checked the app, and my car is rounding the corner. 

He's picking me up for a rocket ship ride to the moon!

Everything in markets is connected. Not in theory—in function.

Think of the market like a human body. Your brain is at the center—processing data, storing memories, sending signals. But none of that matters unless the message reaches your limbs. That’s what nerves are for. They carry the signal. They make the body move.

Without that connection, you become rigid. Movement slows. Response times lag. Eventually, the whole system breaks down.

Markets work the same way and the bond market is the brain.

It holds the signal. It processes information about liquidity, risk, and expectations. The shape of the yield curve can tell you whether credit is expanding or contracting. Whether investors are optimistic or defensive. Whether the economy is warming up—or starting to overheat.

The bond market doesn’t just exist alongside stocks and commodities. It speaks to them. It sets the tone. It sends the signal.

If there’s enough liquidity, risk assets rally. Stocks rise and credit flows.

That’s a healthy system.

Too much liquidity?

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new trades today.
2. Adjustment to XRT position.
3. Closed IGV position.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Miners are leading the charge in 2025, and the data backs it up

It’s not even close...

In a year when most sectors are struggling to stay afloat, precious metals and the miners are surging higher.