Short interest for SPDR Gold Trust gives investors a sense of the degree to which investors are betting on the decline of SPDR Gold Trust's stock. Short interest data is updated every two weeks.

SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD), Short Interest Report

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ChatGPT On Apple iPhone, Make Or Break Data For Stock Market Ahead

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US stocks end mixed, Dow up 0.32%, S&amp;P 500 up 0.16%, Nasdaq down 0.03%. Asian markets mostly down, European markets slightly lower. Oil and gold prices fluctuate. US futures up.

Asia Mixed, Europe Markets Slide, Gold Dips 1.1% - Global Markets Today While US Slept

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error in the price action of Charter Communications stock. 

Stocks Pause On Dismal Consumer Confidence; Yields, Dollar Rise As Inflation Expectations Kick Higher, Bitcoin Sinks: What&#39;s Driving Markets Friday? (CORRECTED)

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<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-13_08h51_19.png" style="height:392px; width:624px" />
<h3>Make Or Break Data Ahead</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-chatgpt-on-iphone-qqq-mc-05132024">click here</a> for an enlarged&nbsp;chart of Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>The chart shows QQQ is in the resistance zone.</li>
<li>The chart shows that the rally is on low volume, indicating a lack of conviction.</li>
<li>The chart shows that RSI has jumped and is now overbought. RSI indicates that the stock market is now vulnerable to the downside if the macro data goes against the market.</li>
<li>The chart shows Arora calls to raise hedges near the top and the Arora call to reduce hedges near the bottom.&nbsp;When hedges are used over a long period of time, they can add significant amounts to your returns and significantly lower your risks. If you do not hedge, you can simply adjust cash.&nbsp;Please see the &ldquo;Protection Band And What To Do Now&rdquo; section below.</li>
<li>Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) are ahead &ndash;these pieces of data are make or break for the stock market.&nbsp;Here is the consensus:
<ul>
<li>0.3% for headline PPI</li>
<li>0.2% for core PPI</li>
<li>0.4% for headline CPI</li>
<li>0.3% for core CPI</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Wall Street is positioned for inflation data to cool and the stock market to break out of the resistance zone shown on the chart.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Prudent investors need to be aware that if the data goes against Wall Street&rsquo;s positioning, the stock market reaction to the downside can be severe due to positive positioning.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) is reportedly in talks with OpenAI to put ChatGPT on iPhones.&nbsp;This is creating positive sentiment in the market.&nbsp;On the surface, this is negative for Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>) and Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/googl#NASDAQ">GOOGL</a>).</li>
<li>As a proof positive of the speculative sentiment in the stock market rapidly increasing ahead of the key data, the meme crowd is back. They are running up video game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gme#NYSE">GME</a>). To some degree, this is reminiscent of the start of the last meme crowd craze which ended in tears for the meme crowd.</li>
<li>Artificial intelligence stocks are getting a boost on reports that Arm Holdings PLC - ADR (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/arm#NASDAQ">ARM</a>) is developing new artificial intelligence chips</li>
</ul>
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in AAPL, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are negative in GOOG and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are mixed in S&amp;P 500 ETF (SPY) and QQQ.
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
The momo crowd is buying oil in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) is seeing buying along with the rise in speculative sentiment.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
A protection band of 0% would be very bullish and would indicate full investment with 0% in cash.&nbsp; A protection band of 100% would be very bearish and would indicate a need for aggressive protection with cash and hedges or aggressive short selling.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp;High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter-benzinga">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

On Friday, May 10th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed, with the S&amp;P 500 and the Dow edging up slightly, while the Nasdaq remained nearly unchanged. Investors reacted to comments from Federal Reserve officials and awaited&nbsp;key&nbsp;inflation data.
Economic data revealed a drop in the University of Michigan consumer sentiment to 67.4 in May from 77.2 last month, against an expected 76.&nbsp;
Among the 11 key sectors in the S&amp;P 500, consumer staples saw the&nbsp;biggest&nbsp;percentage increases, whereas consumer discretionary stocks trailed behind.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.32% and closed at 39,512.84. The S&amp;P 500 was up 0.16%, ending the day at 5,222.68, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.03%, finishing the session at 16,340.87.
&nbsp;Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.24%, ending the session at 38,165.50, led by losses in the Marine Transport, Insurance, and Communication sectors.</li>
<li>Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.01% at 7,750.00, led by gains in the Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples and Healthcare sectors.</li>
<li>India's Nifty 50 rose 0.22% to 22,104.05, and Nifty 500 closed higher 0.20% at 20,511.00.</li>
<li>China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.21% to end the session at 3,148.02, and the Shenzhen CSI declined 0.04%, closing at 3,664.69.</li>
<li>Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.76%, concluding the day at 19,107.00.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;Eurozone at 06:30 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.21%.</li>
<li>Germany's DAX slid 0.09%.</li>
<li>France's CAC declined 0.17%.</li>
<li>U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.07%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 06:30 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.41% at $78.58/bbl, and Brent was up 0.31% at $83.05 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas gained 0.71% to $2.268.</li>
<li>Gold was trading lower by 1.17% at $2,347.25, Silver slipped 0.66% to $28.323, and Copper increased 1.08% at $4.7125.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 06:30 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.08%, S&amp;P 500 futures gained 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.19%.
Forex at 06:30 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.04% to 105.26, USD/JPY was up 0.09% at 155.86, and USD/AUD fell 0.11% to 1.5131.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated to correct an error in the price action of Charter Communications stock. 
A worse-than-expected University of Michigan May consumer report halted stock gains on Friday, sparking worries about a potential decline in consumer health amid<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/05/38762249/consumer-sentiment-falls-in-may-inflation-expectations-strongly-exceed-feds-2-goal-they-now-perc"> perceived rising price pressures.</a>
The report disclosed that both near-term and long-term inflation expectations have surged beyond projections this month, causing the broader consumer gauge to hit its lowest levels in six months.
&#8220;If spending slows down and inflation increases, we'll get the opposite of the Goldilocks scenario that many were hoping for, and the Fed will be in an especially difficult position of choosing between accommodating a slowing economy and fighting increasing inflation expectations,&#8221; said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. 
Echoing this view, Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, sees rising risks of stagflation, a concern that could unsettle markets. 
At 12:05 p.m. trading in New York, the S&amp;P 500 was 0.1% lower, but it was firmly up by 1.6% for the week, poised to secure a third consecutive week of gains after three of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was a tad higher, battling to secure the eight straight session of gains, the longest positive streak since December 2023. Tech stocks were flat. Small caps were the underperformers, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IWM#NYSE">IWM</a>) down 0.9%. 
The rising inflation perceptions in the consumer survey rescued the dollar, which eyes a positive weekly close, after two negative ones. 
Treasury yields also inched higher by about 4 basis points across all maturities. The 10-year benchmark hit 4.5%.
Gold surged to $2,385/oz, with the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>) up 0.8%. 
The dismal consumer sentiment data sharply weighed on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) with the largest cryptocurrency dropping over 4% from $63,000 to below $60,500 following the report. 
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Chart of The Day: Michigan Consumer Sentiment Data Dings Bitcoin </h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="495" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59-1024x495.png" alt="" class="wp-image-332979" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59-1024x495.png 1024w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59-300x145.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59-768x372.png 768w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59-1536x743.png 1536w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/10120647/image-59.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Friday&#8217;s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Major Indices</td>
<td>Price</td>
<td>1-day %chg</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dow Jones</td>
<td>39,411.32</td>
<td>0.1 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Nasdaq 100</td>
<td>18,108.22</td>
<td>0.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>S&amp;P 500</td>
<td>5,209.09</td>
<td>-0.1 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell 2000</td>
<td>204.04</td>
<td>-0.9%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Updated at 1:05 p.m.</figcaption></figure>
The&nbsp;SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust&nbsp;(NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>) was unchanged at $520.20, the&nbsp;SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DIA#NYSE">DIA</a>) rose 0.2% to $394.65 and the tech-heavy&nbsp;Invesco QQQ Trust&nbsp;(NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QQQ#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>) was up 0.1% to $441.38, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/dashboard">Benzinga Pro data</a>.&nbsp;
Sector-wise, the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/XLF#NYSE">XLF</a>) outperformed, up 0.5%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/XLY#NYSE">XLY</a>) was the major laggard, down 0.6%.
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Friday&#8217;s Stock Movers</h3>
<ul>
<li>Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NVAX#NASDAQ">NVAX</a>) surged by an astonishing 122%, after the company announced a Covid-19 vaccine licensing deal with Sanofi (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SNY#NASDAQ">SNY</a>). The pharmaceutical company reported a lower than expected loss last quarter, but missed revenue estimates. </li>
<li>MacroGenics Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MGNX#NASDAQ">MGNX</a>) tumbled by 77% following an interim update on a mid-stage study of a cancer drug candidate, which reported the unfortunate deaths of several study participants. Furthermore, the results for the quarter fell short of expectations.</li>
<li>Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CHTR#NASDAQ">CHTR</a>) rose 4.6% after the company started a tender offer to buy back senior secured notes due 2025 for up to $1.7 billion in cash.</li>
<li>Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MRNA#NASDAQ">MRNA</a>) dropped by 4% after the company announced that the FDA won&#8217;t finish its review of MRNA&#8217;s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine by the scheduled action date of May 12 due to administrative constraints. The FDA has communicated that it anticipates completing the review by the end of May.</li>
<li>Companies reacting to earnings were Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GEN#NASDAQ">GEN</a>) up 15%, Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MTD#NYSE">MTD</a>) up 14%, Akamai Technologies Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ANET#NYSE">ANET</a>) down 10%, Ubiquiti Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/UI#NYSE">UI</a>) up 8%, DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DOCN#NYSE">DOCN</a>) up 6.6%, Construction Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ROAD#NASDAQ">ROAD</a>) up 2.6%, Sylvamo Corp. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SLVM#NYSE">SLVM</a>) down 5%, Costamare Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CMRE#NYSE">CMRE</a>) up 1.3%, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/MARA#NASDAQ">MARA</a>) down 8%, Insulet Corp. (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/PODD#NASDAQ">PODD</a>) down 4%, H&amp;R Block Inc. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/HRB#NYSE">HRB</a>) up 9.7%, and Genpact Ltd. (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/G#NYSE">G</a>) up 5.7%. </li>
</ul>
Read now: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/05/38764576/tesla-german-gigafactory-faces-climate-protestors-friday-why-are-they-not-jailed-musk-asks">Tesla German Gigafactory Faces Climate Protestors Friday: &#8216;Why Are They Not Jailed,&#8217; Musk Asks</a>
Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.

Stocks Pause On Dismal Consumer Confidence; Yields, Dollar Rise As Inflation Expectations Kick Higher, Bitcoin Sinks: What's Driving Markets Friday? (CORRECTED)

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-10_08h35_45.png" style="height:383px; width:700px" />
<h3>Buying On Rising Layoffs</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-rising-layoffs-momentum-to-new-high-spy-mc-05102024">click here</a> for an enlarged chart of SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) which represents the benchmark stock market index S&amp;P 500 (SPX).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>The chart shows that the stock market has vigorously risen from the recent pullback.</li>
<li>The chart shows that RSI reached oversold levels during the recent pullback and now has risen to touch the lower band of the overbought zone.&nbsp; Historically, this setup leads to more stock market gains.</li>
<li>The chart shows that the volume during the recent rise is not heavy.&nbsp; This indicates lack of conviction.</li>
<li>The chart shows that the stock market is now in the resistance zone.</li>
<li>In The Arora Report analysis, stops of the short sellers are right above the resistance zone. &nbsp;If the stock market rises further, Wall Street&rsquo;s hunt and destroy algorithms will kick in, taking out the stops of short sellers and igniting a short squeeze.&nbsp;The result of such a scenario would be a new stock market high.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Yesterday in the <a href="https://blog.thearorareport.com/arm-earnings-050924/">Morning Capsule</a> we shared with you:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>Jobless claims came at 231K vs. 213K consensus.&nbsp;This indicates that the job market is beginning to slow.
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The bulls latched on to the rise in jobless claims and aggressively bought stocks.&nbsp;There is merit to this line of thinking because Powell is already itching to cut rates and rising layoffs will give him an excuse to cut rates.</li>
<li>Prudent investors need to be somewhat careful as weekly jobless claims series is very volatile.</li>
<li>For proper analysis at The Arora Report, in addition to the weekly data, we look at a four week moving average of initial jobless claims.&nbsp; The four week moving average is now at 215K &ndash; up 2.26% from the prior week and down 10.14% from a year ago.&nbsp; Considering the size of the U.S. economy, a rise of 2.26% over the prior week is hardly meaningful, but do not tell that to trigger happy stock market bulls.&nbsp; Prudent investors should watch the trend over a period of several weeks, not just one week.&nbsp;Jobless claims is a leading indicator and carries heavy weight in The Arora Report adaptive <a href="https://thearorareport.com/ALLOCATION%2BMODELS.htm">ZYX Asset Allocation Model</a> with inputs in <a href="https://thearorareport.com/unique-zyx-asset-allocation-4/">ten categories</a>.&nbsp;In plain English, adaptiveness means that the model changes itself with market conditions.&nbsp; Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/unique-zyx-asset-allocation-3/">click here</a> to see how this is achieved.&nbsp;One of the reasons behind The Arora Report&rsquo;s unrivaled performance in both bull and bear markets is the adaptiveness of the model. Most models on Wall Street are static. They work for a while and then stop working when market conditions change.</li>
<li>Adding to the optimism this morning is a report of rising revenues at the world&rsquo;s largest chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsm#NYSE">TSM</a>). TSM is manufacturing a vast majority of the artificial intelligence chips, and the data shows sales are booming.&nbsp; Here are the details:
<ul>
<li>April revenues came at T$236.02B.&nbsp; This is up 59.6% year-over-year and up 21% month-over-month.</li>
<li>January - April revenue came at T$828.67B. This is 26% year-over-year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Data from TSM is bringing buying into artificial intelligence stocks such as NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amd#NASDAQ">AMD</a>), Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/mu#NASDAQ">MU</a>), and Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amat#NASDAQ">AMAT</a>).</li>
</ul>
<h3>China</h3>
Stocks in Hong Kong have reached a nine month high.&nbsp;There is China risk, but stocks in Hong Kong represent the best value in the whole world at this time.&nbsp;The ETF of choice is&nbsp;iShares China Large-Cap ETF&nbsp;(ARCA: FXI).&nbsp;As full disclosure, FXI is in The Arora Report&#39;s&nbsp;ZYX Emerging Model Portfolio.
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), NVDA, and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are neutral in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are negative in Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are positive in S&amp;P 500 ETF (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is aggressively buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
The momo crowd is buying oil in the early trade.&nbsp; Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) is rising along with tech stocks.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive. If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
A protection band of 0% would be very bullish and would indicate full investment with 0% in cash.&nbsp;A protection band of 100% would be very bearish and would indicate a need for aggressive protection with cash and hedges or aggressive short selling.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp; High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter-benzinga">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

AMAT

Aggressive Stock Buying On Rising Layoffs And Revenue Rise At The Largest Chip Manufacturer TSMC

On Thursday, May 9, U.S. stock markets closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for the seventh consecutive day, boosted by positive jobless claims data that heightened hopes for interest rate cuts.
According to the economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 22,000 to 231,000 for the week ending May 4, exceeding the market expectations of 210,000.
Ten of the eleven primary S&amp;P sectors experienced gains, with the real estate and energy stocks leading the way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% and closed at 39,387.76. The S&amp;P 500 was up 0.51%, ending the day at 5,214.08, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27%, finishing the session at 16,346.27.
Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Friday, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 gained 0.49%, ending the session at 38,257.00, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Finance &amp; Investment, and Retail sectors.</li>
<li>Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.35% at 7,749.00, led by gains in the Energy, Gold and Financials sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was up 0.46% at 22,061.55, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.63% at 20,472.40.</li>
<li>China&#8217;s Shanghai Composite was up slightly 0.01% to end the session at 3,154.55, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 0.05%, closing at 3,666.28.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index gained 2.30%, concluding the day at 18,963.68.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.76%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX gained 0.75%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC rose 0.75%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.81%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.61% at $79.77/bbl, and Brent was up 0.51% at $84.31 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas gained 0.61% to $2.315.</li>
<li>Gold was trading higher by 1.65% at $2,379.00, Silver rose 1.86% to $28.892, and Copper increased 2.81% at $4.7130.</li>
<li>Gold prices climbed in Asian trade, continuing gains as signs of a slowing U.S. labor market weakened the dollar and Treasury yields, boosting gold&#8217;s appeal. The uptick, ending two weeks of losses, was fueled by safe-haven demand amid doubts about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and new U.S. trade tariffs on China.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 05:45 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.32%, S&amp;P 500 futures gained 0.40%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.49%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.01% to 105.22, USD/JPY was up 0.15% at 155.69, and USD/AUD rose 0.12% to 1.5124.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia And Europe Markets Advance; Gold Inches Toward $2,400 Again - Global Markets Today While US Slept

WIIM

Gold and silver are trading higher amid a drop in Treasury yields.

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-09_07h54_05.png" style="height:428px; width:624px" />
<h3>Cracks In Ultra Bullish AI Story</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-bank-of-england-ai-earnings-arm-mc-05092024">click here</a> for an enlarged&nbsp;chart of Arm Holdings PLC - ADR (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/arm#NASDAQ">ARM</a>).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>This article is about the big picture, not an individual stock. The chart of ARM stock is being used to illustrate the point.</li>
<li>ARM has been one of the top artificial intelligence favorites of the momo crowd.</li>
<li>ARM is a British semiconductor design firm that is mostly owned by Japanese company SoftBank Group Corp - ADR (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/sftby#OTC">SFTBY</a>).&nbsp;ARM is known for licensing its designs for smartphone CPUs, such as those used in Apple&rsquo;s iPhones.&nbsp;Lately, ARM has been pivoting to artificial intelligence.</li>
<li>The chart shows the gap down after the release of this quarter&rsquo;s earnings. This indicates another crack in the ultra bullish short-term AI story promoted by momo gurus.</li>
<li>The chart shows a gap up after last quarter earnings.</li>
<li>Here are the details of ARM earnings:
<ul>
<li>ARM reported Q4 (March) earnings of $0.36 vs. $0.30 consensus.</li>
<li>Revenues came at $928M vs. $866M consensus.</li>
<li>Revenues rose 46.6% year-over-year.</li>
<li>For Q1 (June), the company projects earnings of $0.32 - $0.36 vs. $0.31 consensus.</li>
<li>The company projects revenues of $875M - $925M vs. $866M consensus.</li>
<li>For FY25, the company projects earnings of $1.45 - $1.65 vs. $1.54 consensus.</li>
<li>The company sees revenues of $3.8B - $4.1B vs. $3.98B consensus.</li>
<li>Royalty revenue was $514M up 37% year-over-year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The chart shows that from the peak after last quarter earnings to the recent low, ARM stock lost 47.8% of its value.</li>
<li>The Arora Report was one of the first to pick up on the AI theme back in 2022 allowing readers and&nbsp;members of The Arora Report to buy artificial intelligence stocks near the lows before the run up started.&nbsp;NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>) is a perfect example of the benefit of knowing early that a change is underway.&nbsp;<a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-taking-profits-on-nvidia-nvda-mc-04222024">Click here</a> to see a chart of The Arora Report signals for NVDA.</li>
<li>ARM stock is falling for two reasons.
<ul>
<li>Whisper numbers had moved much higher above the consensus going into earnings.&nbsp; Stocks move based on the difference between whisper numbers and the actual numbers.&nbsp; Whisper numbers are the numbers that analysts privately share with their best clients.&nbsp; Whisper numbers are often different from the numbers the same analysts publish.&nbsp; Whisper numbers is a technique used by analysts to drum up business.&nbsp;This is the reason that prudent investors do not depend on free data that floats around the internet and on the media.&nbsp;Prudent investors know better, but unfortunately many individual investors do analysis based on the free data and then spend years trying to figure out why their analysis never works out.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>ARM beat the consensus numbers for the prior quarter and raised numbers for the current quarter over the consensus. However, it did not help because whisper numbers were so much higher.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>For FY25, ARM guidance, even though inline with the consensus numbers, is way below the whisper numbers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>On a separate note, in The Arora Report analysis Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/abnb#NASDAQ">ABNB</a>) projections indicate that the consumer may be pulling back on summer travel.</li>
<li>Jobless claims came at 231K vs. 213K consensus.&nbsp;This indicates that the job market is beginning to slow.</li>
</ul>
<h3>U.K.</h3>
Bank of England (BOE) left its key interest rate unchanged at 5.25%. BOE is expected to cut rates in June.
BOE Governor Andrew Bailey says that BOE may reduce interest rates faster than markets expect.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
In The Arora Report analysis, BOE moves will likely encourage Powell to do what he is itching to do irrespective of the data.
<h3>China</h3>
The Chinese economy appears to be rebounding.&nbsp;Exports increased 1.5% year-over-year vs. 1.0% consensus.
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are neutral in Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>), and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are negative in Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>), and NVDA.
In the early trade, money flows are negative in SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is selling stocks in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
The momo crowd is inactive in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
The momo crowd is buying oil in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) is seeing selling.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
A protection band of 0% would be very bullish and would indicate full investment with 0% in cash.&nbsp;A protection band of 100% would be very bearish and would indicate a need for aggressive protection with cash and hedges or aggressive short selling.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp; High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter-benzinga">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

ABNB

SFTBY

AI Favorite ARM Earnings Show Cracks Appearing In Ultra Bullish AI Story

On Wednesday, May 8th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher, marking its sixth consecutive session of gains. The S&amp;P 500 ended unchanged after four sessions of gains, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped for a second consecutive day.
In terms of economic data, U.S. wholesale inventories declined by 0.4% in March compared to a revised 0.2% rise in the prior month.
Materials, real estate, and consumer discretionary stocks led most sectors on the S&amp;P 500 to close negatively, while utilities and financials stocks defied the trend, finishing the session higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.44% and closed at 39,056.39. The S&amp;P 500 was flat, ending the day at 5,187.67, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.18%, finishing the session at 16,302.76.
Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Thursday, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.34%, ending the session at 38,070.50, led by losses in the Glass, Insurance, and Communication sectors.</li>
<li>Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed lower by 1.06% at 7,721.60, led by losses in the Consumer Discretionary, Financials and A-REITs sectors.</li>
<li>India's Nifty 50 was down 1.55% at 21,957.40, and Nifty 500 was trading lower by 1.73% at 20,342.30.</li>
<li>China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.83% to end the session at 3,154.32, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 0.95%, closing at 3,664.56.</li>
<li>Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.22%, concluding the day at 18,537.81.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.40%.</li>
<li>Germany's DAX gained 0.31%.</li>
<li>France's CAC fell 0.09%.</li>
<li>U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.01%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.68% at $79.53/bbl, and Brent was up 0.57% at $84.06 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas declined 0.41% to $2.178.</li>
<li>Gold was trading lower by 0.30% at $2,315.25, Silver rose 0.84% to $27.832, while Copper was down 0.23% at $4.5325.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 06:00 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were down 0.22%, S&amp;P 500 futures were down 0.25%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.32%.
Forex at 06:00 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.13% to 105.68, USD/JPY was up 0.29% at 155.94, and USD/AUD rose 0.03% to 1.5206.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia And European Markets Mixed; Crude Oil Hovers Around $80 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, May 7th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed, with the S&amp;P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ending slightly higher, extending their winning streaks on expectations of upcoming Federal Reserve rate cuts.
In economic data, the Logistics Manager&#8217;s Index dropped to 52.9 in April, down from 58.3 in March.
Most S&amp;P 500 sectors closed higher, led by gains in materials, utilities, and consumer staples, although consumer discretionary and information technology stocks ended the session lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.08% and closed at 38,884.26. The S&amp;P 500 gained 0.13%, ending the day at 5,187.70, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.10%, finishing the session at 16,332.55.
&nbsp;Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Wednesday, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 declined 1.54%, ending the session at 38,199.50, led by losses in the Transport, Marine Transport, and Warehousing sectors.</li>
<li>Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.14% at 7,804.50, led by gains in the Industrials, IT and A-REITs sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was down 0.03% at 22,296.55, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.34% at 20,706.05.</li>
<li>China&#8217;s Shanghai Composite declined 0.03% to end the session at 3,128.48, and the Shenzhen CSI slid 0.79%, closing at 3,630.22.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.93%, concluding the day at 18,313.86.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.58%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX gained 0.50%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC rose 0.96%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.55%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.51% at $77.21/bbl, and Brent was down 1.38% at $82.01 bbl.</li>
<li>Oil prices dropped in Asian markets due to rising U.S. crude and fuel inventories, indicating low demand and cautious supply outlooks before next month&#8217;s OPEC+ meeting.</li>
<li>Natural Gas gained 1.36% to $2.240.</li>
<li>Gold was trading lower by 0.26% at $2,3218.35, Silver fell 0.54% to $27.390, while Copper was down 1.48% at $4.5370.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 05:45 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.03%, S&amp;P 500 futures were down 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.02%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index gained 0.12% to 105.58, the USD/JPY rose 0.43% to 155.37, and the USD/AUD rose 0.37% to 1.5215.
The dollar stabilized, recovering from losses linked to expected Federal Reserve rate cuts, while the yen weakened further, prompting warnings from Tokyo about economic impacts.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia Down, Europe Markets Advance, While Crude Oil And Gold Fall - Global Markets Today While US Slept

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-07_08h18_31.png" style="height:429px; width:700px" />
<h4>Artificial Intelligence Change You Need To Know</h4>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-new-change-in-ai-stocks-nvidia-pltr-mc-05072024">click here</a> for a chart of Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/pltr#NYSE">PLTR</a>).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>This article is about the big picture, not an individual stock.&nbsp;The chart of PLTR stock is being used to illustrate the point.</li>
<li>One of the keys to The Arora Report&rsquo;s successful strategy is identifying change early. Those investors who identify a change early always come out ahead. The <a href="https://thearorareport.com/zyxmethod">premise behind the ZYX Change Method</a> is that the most profits are generated with the lowest risk by successfully predicting change before the crowd.</li>
<li>The chart shows that PLTR, a popular artificial intelligence stock,&nbsp;ran up going into earnings.</li>
<li>The chart shows that the move up yesterday was on heavy volume.&nbsp;There is a large group of investors in the stock market that follow only traditional technical analysis and has no comprehension that traditional technical analysis no longer works as well as it used to.&nbsp;Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/zyx-technical-analysis-screen/">click here</a> to see the reasons.&nbsp; In traditional technical analysis, volume means confirmation.</li>
<li>The chart shows that the move up yesterday was on high volume.</li>
<li>The buying yesterday was mostly by the momo crowd on hopium and by the followers of traditional technical analysis on volume confirmation.</li>
<li>The chart shows a big drop after earnings.&nbsp;It is a reminder that earnings are always a risk event.&nbsp;Results can be in either direction.&nbsp; It is also important to know that the momo crowd always buys ahead of earnings on hopium.</li>
<li>PLTR reported great earnings.&nbsp;Here are the details:
<ul>
<li>PLTR reported revenues of $634M vs. $615M consensus. The revenues are up 21% from a year ago.</li>
<li>The company reported adjusted operating income of $226M vs. $200M consensus.</li>
<li>PLTR was originally focused on government and defense business but is now increasingly capturing commercial business.</li>
<li>PLTR generated commercial revenue of $299M vs. $292M consensus.&nbsp;This represents a 27% increase from the prior.</li>
<li>The government revenue came at $335M vs. $322M consensus.&nbsp;This represents a growth of 16%.</li>
<li>The company is very upbeat, and commentary about the future is very positive.</li>
<li>The company is guiding full year revenue to $2.677B - $2.689B vs. the prior range of $2.652B - $2.668B.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>PLTR stock is being hit for two reasons:
<ul>
<li>It is an expensive stock.&nbsp; If it was not for the momo crowd,&nbsp; the stock would have been trading much lower in the first place.&nbsp;The drop in the stock shows that now at least some investors are paying attention to valuation and are willing to take on the momo crowd.</li>
<li>As good as earnings and projections are, there is deceleration in commercial business growth.&nbsp;This shows that prudent investors who dig into the details of the hard numbers, especially growth, are willing to take advantage of the strength in AI stocks and sell.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The drop in PLTR stock represents for the first time a new change in how smart money is now willing to take on the momo crowd.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Another important observation for prudent investors today is on NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>).&nbsp;Here again, just like Palantir, a change is underway.&nbsp;This morning, there was an upgrade by a major Wall Street bank, but the stock is falling in the pre market.&nbsp;The reason is that those in the know were buying yesterday on the hopes of selling today to the segment of the momo crowd that depends on free media.&nbsp;This is the first time this commonplace phenomenon is coming to the premium AI stock &ndash; King Nvidia.&nbsp; A famous investor who is part of smart money recently reduced his stake in NVDA stock.&nbsp;Prudent investors need to remember that once the mania phase is over, the segment of the momo crowd that depends on free media often becomes the fodder for smarter players.</li>
<li>As full disclosure, NVDA and PLTR are both in ZYX Buy by The Arora Report.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Among earnings of note, Walt Disney Co (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/dis#NYSE">DIS</a>) is falling on earnings.&nbsp;Whisper numbers had ratcheted up going into earnings.&nbsp;Earnings are good but are less than whisper numbers.&nbsp;As full disclosure, The Arora Report has given a signal on Disney with a buy zone, recommended quantity, and target zone.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h4>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) and Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are neutral in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are negative in&nbsp;Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>),&nbsp;NVDA, and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are mixed in SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h4>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h4>
The momo crowd is buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
<h4>Gold</h4>
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h4>Oil</h4>
Oil is volatile on conflicting reports from the Middle East.
The momo crowd is like a yoyo in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h4>Bitcoin</h4>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) is range bound.
<h4>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h4>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp;High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h4>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h4>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Trading Ideas

PLTR

Pay Attention To New Change In Artificial Intelligence Stocks – Nvidia And Palantir

On Monday, May 6th,&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;stock markets closed higher for the third consecutive session, fueled by increasing investor optimism about potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.
In economic data,&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;employers added 175,000 nonfarm jobs in April, down from March&#8217;s revised 315,000 and below the expected 238,000. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, higher than the anticipated 3.8%.
Most S&amp;P 500 sectors closed higher, with the energy index leading the gains, partly driven by&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;natural gas futures reaching their highest level in 14 weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.46% to close at 38,852.27. The S&amp;P 500 was up 1.03%, ending the day at 5,180.74, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.19%, finishing the session at 16,349.25.
­Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Tuesday, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 rose 1.47%, ending the session at 38,796.5, led by gains in the Power, Mining, and Insurance sectors.</li>
<li>Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 1.44% at 7,793.30, led by gains in the Utilities, Gold, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was down 0.64% at 22,300.00, and Nifty 500 was trading lower by 1.11% at 20,633.80.</li>
<li>China&#8217;s Shanghai Composite gained 0.22% to end the session at 3,147.74, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.03%, closing at 3,659.01.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.53%, concluding the day at 18,479.37.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.66%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX gained 0.71%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC rose 0.39%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.06%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.14% at $78.37/bbl, and Brent was down 0.19% at $83.17 bbl.</li>
<li>Oil prices stabilized Tuesday amid physical market weakness, contrasting with concerns over Middle East conflicts as ceasefire negotiations faltered and Israel intensified attacks in Gaza.</li>
<li>Natural Gas slid 0.41% to $2.186.</li>
<li>Gold was trading lower by 0.36% at $2,322.60, Silver fell 0.60% to $27.435, while Copper was down 0.92% at $4.5725.</li>
</ul>
US&nbsp;Futures at 06:00 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.17%, S&amp;P 500 futures rose 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.13%.
Forex at 06:00 AM ET
The&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;dollar index gained 0.21% to 105.28, the USD/JPY rose 0.47% to 154.62, and the USD/AUD increased 0.40% to 1.5155.
Japan&#8217;s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, indicated that Tokyo is prepared to intervene in the foreign exchange market to stabilize the yen if speculative actions disrupt market functions.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia Mixed, Europe Advances, Crude Trades Below $80 - Global Markets Today While Us Slept

China aggressively increased its gold acquisitions, driving the global price of the metal to its highest levels ever in April 2024, according to data recently released by <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/gold">the World Gold Council. </a>
China&#8217;s gold reserves now represent 4.6% of its total financial reserves, a substantial increase from 3.2% since October 2022. This strategic accumulation has positioned China as the holder of the sixth-largest gold stockpile worldwide.
Last month, gold prices surged to as high as $2,431 per troy and ounce, pushing year-to-date gains in double digits. Gold prices as tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/GLD#NYSE">GLD</a>) outperformed other major asset classes such as major equity indices such as the S&amp;P 500, as gauged by the SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>).
<h1 class="wp-block-heading">Chart: Gold Vs. S&amp;P 500 – Year-to-Date Performance</h1>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="495" src="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39-1024x495.png" alt="" class="wp-image-324151" srcset="https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39-1024x495.png 1024w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39-300x145.png 300w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39-768x372.png 768w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39-1536x743.png 1536w,https://editorial-assets.benzinga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/06102858/image-39.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
Cultural And Economic Drivers of Chinese Gold Demand The surge in China's gold acquisitions is deeply rooted in the cultural and economic landscape of the country. Gold is increasingly viewed as a symbol of prudent financial planning and good fortune in China. 
The Chinese market, the largest single gold market globally, strongly believes in gold as a safe and appreciating asset, especially during times of economic instability.
According to the World Gold Council, gold&#8217;s popularity has been significantly bolstered by the demand for items commemorating the auspicious Year of the Dragon, and the ongoing preference for gold jewelry as a method of wealth preservation in the face of weaker currency and stock markets.
Chinese Central Bank&#8217;s Role In Gold Demand The People&#8217;s Bank of China (PBoC) has played a pivotal role in this trend, adding 27 tonnes to its reserves in just the first quarter of the year. The addition occurred in March and marked a 17-month streak of consecutive purchases by the central bank, bringing its total gold holdings to 2,262 tonnes — an impressive 16% increase in just five months.
&#8220;Bar and coin demand is set to remain strong. China is largely responsible, having started the year with the strongest quarter since 2017,&#8221; according to the World Gold Council. 
The increase in the People&#8217;s Bank of China&#8217;s gold reserves has been achieved by reducing its U.S. dollar holdings, with China enhancing its gold stockpile through the proceeds obtained from selling foreign currencies.
Young Investors Step Into Gold Investment Young Chinese investors are diversifying their gold investment strategies.
Platforms like Alibaba Group Holding&#8217;s (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BABA#NYSE">BABA</a>) Taobao are becoming increasingly popular for buying gold in smaller quantities, like &#8220;gold beans.&#8221; These small-scale investments, often just a gram per unit, along with other forms of gold jewelry, are becoming a preferred secure investment option among young people during uncertain economic times.
Read Now: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/24/05/38591175/barrick-golds-golden-cross-opportunity-analyst-sees-ample-opportunity-for-catch-up-">Barrick Gold&#8217;s Golden Cross Opportunity — Analyst Sees &#8216;Ample Opportunity For Catch Up&#8217; Post Q1</a>
Photo: <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/g/maoyunping">maoyunping</a> via Shutterstock

Specialty ETFs

Global

BABA

How China's Central Bank Gold Buying Frenzy Drove Prices To Record Highs, Attracting Gen Z To 'Gold Beans'

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-06_08h31_22.png" style="height:349px; width:624px" />
<h3>Holding Cash</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-buffett-holding-record-cash-sells-apple-brk-b-mc-05062024">click here</a> for an enlarged chart of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/brk-b#NYSE">BRK-B</a>).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>This article is about the big picture, not an individual stock.&nbsp;The chart of BRK.B stock is being used to illustrate the point.</li>
<li>The chart shows Warren Buffett&rsquo;s company BRK.B broke out at the beginning of the year with the rest of the market.</li>
<li>The chart shows that BRK.B has been consolidating in the resistance zone</li>
<li>Buffett has made two important disclosures.
<ul>
<li>Buffett is now holding a record amount of cash, $189B.</li>
<li>Buffett reduced his Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) position by 22% to $135.4B as of March 31, 2024.&nbsp;Buffett was holding $174.3B of AAPL stock at the end of 2023.&nbsp;Buffett appears to have sold about 115M shares or about 13% of his AAPL holdings.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Buffett said, &ldquo;Today things aren&rsquo;t attractive.&rdquo;&nbsp;How much cash should you hold? The Arora Report provides this guidance every day in the protection band.&nbsp;Please see the &ldquo;Protection Band And What To Do Now&rdquo; section below.</li>
<li>Buffett also said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;d love to spend it, but we won&rsquo;t spend it unless we think they&rsquo;re doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money.&rdquo;&nbsp;This is, in part, also the secret behind The Arora Report&rsquo;s success and popularity among individual investors, investment advisors, and money managers. The Arora Report teaches investors not to rush in and buy just because you have cash.&nbsp;It is to your own benefit to wait for dips in the buy zones and to also not buy when market conditions are not favorable.</li>
<li>In The Arora Report analysis, Buffett chose not to do a major buyback of BRK.B stock because he knows that BRK.B stock, along with the rest of the stock market, is overvalued.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Prudent investors should note the following:
<ul>
<li>Buffett sold a large amount of AAPL stock at a time when he was already holding record cash.</li>
<li>Buffett sold AAPL stock in spite of Berkshire having to pay tax on a gain of $11.2B.</li>
<li>Even though Buffett sold AAPL stock, he called Apple a better business than Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ko#NYSE">KO</a>) and American Express Company (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/axp#NYSE">AXP</a>).</li>
<li>Buffett praised Tim Cook as a great manager.</li>
<li>Buffett says Apple is a great business and Tim Cook is a great manager, but he sold a lot of Apple stock when he did not need cash.</li>
<li>Prudent investors should pay attention to what Buffett did, not what he said.&nbsp;Think about it &ndash; if you were still holding a large amount of Apple stock, would you not say positive things about Apple to prop up AAPL stock? </li>
<li>As full disclosure, Apple is the largest position in The Arora Report&#39;s ZYX Buy Model Portfolio.&nbsp;Since the stock was bought at an average price of $4.68, there are large unrealized gains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Prudent investors are waiting for remarks by several Fed speakers that are ahead.</li>
<li>The momo crowd is aggressively buying stocks in the early trade based on the weekend pump.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are neutral in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>) and Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are negative in AAPL
In the early trade, money flows are positive in SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is aggressively buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
The momo crowd is selling oil in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is buying oil in the early trade.
As a full disclosure, there is a new signal to buy oil in The Arora Report&#39;s ZYX Buy.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) continues to see buying after Friday&rsquo;s jobs report.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp;High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

BRK-B

Buffett Holding Record Cash And Sells Apple, Here Is How Much Cash You Should Hold

Gold is trading higher amid buying out of China.

On Friday, May 3rd, U.S. stock markets surged, with a softer jobs report reinforcing the argument for Federal Reserve rate cuts while highlighting the strength of the U.S. economy. The Nasdaq led the advance after Apple&#8217;s record share buyback announcement.
In economic data, U.S. employers added 175,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, down from 315,000 in March and below the expected 238,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.9%, and average hourly earnings slipped to 3.9%, falling more than the anticipated 4%.
Ten of the 11 primary sectors in the S&amp;P 500 finished the session positively, with only energy lagging. Technology achieved the highest percentage gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18% to close at 38,675.68. The S&amp;P 500 was up 1.26%, ending the day at 5,127.79, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.99%, finishing the session at 16,156.33.
­Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>Japan Market closed for the Children&#8217;s Day holiday.</li>
<li>On Monday, Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.70% at 7,682.40, led by gains in the A-REITs, Utilities, and Financials sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was down 0.15% at 22,442.70, and Nifty 500 was trading lower by 0.45% at 20,864.95.</li>
<li>China&#8217;s Shanghai Composite gained 1.16% to end the session at 3,140.72, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 1.48%, closing at 3,657.88.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index gained 0.55%, concluding the day at 18,578.30.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.70%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX gained 0.89%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC rose 0.67%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.51%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 06:00 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.11% at $78.98/bbl, and Brent was up 0.88% at $83.69 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas gained 0.56% to $2.154.</li>
<li>Gold was trading higher by 0.94% at $2,330.10, Silver rose 2.74% to $27.420, while Copper was up 1.82% at $4.6200.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 06:00 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.21%, S&amp;P 500 futures rose 0.26%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.25%.
Forex at 06:00 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index gained 0.03% to 105.07, the USD/JPY rose 0.49% to 153.70, and the USD/AUD fell 0.11% to 1.5088.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia and Europe Markets Advance; Crude Oil Back Near $80 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-03_08h41_09.png" style="height:341px; width:624px" />
<h3>Reduce Hedges And Deploy Cash</h3>
Hedges are profitable.&nbsp;It is time to take more partial profits.&nbsp;It is time to deploy slightly more cash.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Wage Growth Slows</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-wage-growth-slows-apple-running-up-spy-mc-05032024">click here</a> for an enlarged chart of SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) which represents the benchmark stock market index S&amp;P 500 (SPX).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>The chart shows that the stock market may attempt to break out of consolidation and run towards the resistance zone.&nbsp;RSI on the chart shows that the stock market is set to run up.</li>
<li>There is aggressive buying in stocks, bonds, gold, silver, and bitcoin on the jobs report.&nbsp;Investors are celebrating slower wage growth and lower than expected job creation. Here are the details:
<ul>
<li>Non-farm payrolls came at 175K vs. 250K consensus.</li>
<li>Private non-farm payrolls came at 167K vs. 175K consensus.</li>
<li>Average hourly earnings came at 0.2% vs. 0.3% consensus.&nbsp;On an annualized basis, this wage growth is 2.4%.&nbsp;This is good news on the inflation front.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>With Powell itching to cut rates, this report is going to give Powell the ammunition he needs.</li>
<li>The stock market always has crosscurrents.&nbsp;One of the negatives from this jobs report is that with slowing jobs growth and slowing wage growth, the consumer may stop spending excessively.&nbsp;The U.S. economy has stayed out of recession because of excessive consumer spending.&nbsp;If the consumer stops spending excessively, earnings growth will be lower than the current Wall Street consensus.&nbsp;In turn, it will hit the stock market negatively.</li>
<li>Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) earnings were roughly inline with the consensus but worse than whisper numbers.&nbsp;Here are the two most important pieces of data:
<ul>
<li>Q2 iPhone revenue was $45.96B vs. $51.3B last year.</li>
<li>China sales are down 8%.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In The Arora Report analysis, Apple is running up and creating positive sentiment in the entire stock market for the following reasons:
<ul>
<li>Apple announced the largest buyback in corporate history. It is $110B.</li>
<li>In his comments, Tim Cook&rsquo;s tone was more optimistic than we have heard thus far.</li>
<li>Cook is optimistic on China in spite of the data showing reasons to not be optimistic.</li>
<li>In a departure from Apple&rsquo;s standard practice, Apple gave guidance for the June quarter.&nbsp;Apple projects low single digit growth.&nbsp;Consensus for sales is $82.89B.&nbsp;It appears Apple departed from its standard practice because Cook sees the need for him to do everything he can to run up AAPL stock.</li>
<li>An AI announcement is likely on June 10 at WWDC.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amgn#NASDAQ">AMGN</a>), a component of DJIA, is running up on the company teasing about good data from its weight loss drug from Phase 2 and plans to move to Phase 3.&nbsp; The move up in AMGN is helping DJIA run up.&nbsp;Investors are selling stocks of competitors Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/lly#NYSE">LLY</a>) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvo#NYSE">NVO</a>).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Buy Zones And Buy Now Ratings&nbsp;</h3>
Consider continuing to hold good strategic positions.
Consider lightly buying, if underinvested, when stocks and ETFs fall in the buy zones.&nbsp; The Arora Report&#39;s Complete Model Portfolio updates with new zones are coming.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Nibbling</h3>
Consider not nibbling at this time.&nbsp;
Nibbling refers to buying very small quantities, often in existing long-term positions with the intention of exiting these additions in the short term.&nbsp; It is similar to trade around positions but without specific signals.
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>),&nbsp;and AAPL.
In the early trade, money flows are positive in S&amp;P 500 ETF (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is aggressively buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is buying stocks in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is buying gold in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD). The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
The momo crowd is buying oil in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is buying oil in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) has run up above $60,000 on weaker jobs report.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp;High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp;Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

AMGN

Wage Growth Slows – Stock Market Celebrates, Five Real Reasons Apple Is Running Up

On Thursday, May 2, the&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;stock markets closed higher as investors evaluated the Federal Reserve&#8217;s dovish rate guidance and mixed earnings. All three indexes closed higher.
According to economic data, the&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;trade deficit narrowed to $69.4 billion in March from $69.5 billion in February. Initial jobless claims remained steady at 208,000 for the week ending April 27, against an expected 212,000.
Most sectors on the S&amp;P 500 closed higher, with consumer discretionary, real estate&nbsp;and&nbsp;tech stocks leading. However, materials and healthcare stocks declined.
The Nasdaq rose due to a strong performance from semiconductor stocks after Qualcomm (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QCOM#NASDAQ">QCOM</a>) reported quarterly sales and profits that surpassed analyst expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.85% to close at 38,225.66. The S&amp;P 500 was up 0.91%, ending the day at 5,064.20, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.51%, finishing the session at 15,840.96.
Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>Japan&#8217;s Market closed for the Constitution Day holiday.</li>
<li>On Friday, Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.55% at 7,629.00, led by gains in the Consumer Discretionary, A-REITs, and&nbsp;IT&nbsp;sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was down 0.81% at 22,464.95, and Nifty 500 was trading lower by 0.64% at 20,949.05.</li>
<li>China Market is closed for the Labor Day holiday.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index gained 1.48%, concluding the day at 18,475.92.</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.59%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX gained 0.42%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC rose 0.61%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s&nbsp;FTSE 100 traded higher&nbsp;by&nbsp;0.41%.</li>
</ul>
Commodities at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.08% at $78.89/bbl, and Brent was down 0.05% at $83.63 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas slid 0.29% to $2.027.</li>
<li>Gold was trading higher by 0.02% at $2,310.10, Silver slid 0.11% to $26.802, while Copper was up 1.32% at $4.5438.</li>
</ul>
US&nbsp;Futures at 05:45 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.72%, S&amp;P 500 futures rose 0.30%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.57%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index declined 0.14% to 105.16, the USD/JPY was down 0.37% to 153.06, and the USD/AUD fell 0.27% to 1.5192.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

QCOM

Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Gain While Crude Oil and Gold Fall Below Key Levels - Global Markets Today While US Slept

To gain an edge, this is what you need to know today.
<img alt="" src="https://thearorareport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-05-02_07h55_50.png" style="height:435px; width:700px" />
<h3>Key Events Ahead</h3>
Please <a href="https://thearorareport.com/chart-analysis-stock-market-powell-rally-vanishes-apple-concerns-spy-mc-05022024">click here</a> for an enlarged chart of SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) which represents the benchmark stock market index S&amp;P 500 (SPX).
Note the following:
<ul>
<li>The chart shows the steep rally that started on Powell&rsquo;s press conference.</li>
<li>Yesterday, <a href="https://blog.thearorareport.com/powell-050124/">we wrote</a>:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>If political Powell shows up, expect a rip roaring rally.
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Three groups of investors were buying.
<ul>
<li>Investors driven by macro bought on the belief that Powell gave an all clear signal for buying stocks.</li>
<li>Investors who follow traditional technical analysis aggressively bought because a technical buy signal triggered.</li>
<li>The momo crowd was buying because dovish Powell showed up.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The chart shows that at the peak of the rally when buying was very aggressive, The Arora Report took a contrary view and wrote in the Afternoon Capsule:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>In The Arora Report analysis, there may be a re-think of the stock market rally as Powell was not able to support his dovishness with data or compelling argument.
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The chart shows that The Arora Report call has proven prescient as all of the stock market rally was given back.</li>
<li>Two key events are ahead:
<ul>
<li>Apple Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ">AAPL</a>) earnings</li>
<li>Jobs report, also known as the mother of all reports</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The momo crowd&rsquo;s pattern is to buy ahead of key events.&nbsp;The reason is that the momo crowd buys on hopium and does not take risk into account. Today is no different.&nbsp;The momo crowd is aggressively buying ahead of Apple earnings and the mother of all reports. In contrast, smart money knows that key events present risk.&nbsp; To reduce risk, smart money tends to trim ahead of key events.</li>
<li>Apple will report earnings after the market close.&nbsp; Here are the key points:
<ul>
<li>Analysts expect about a 5% drop in Apple revenues.</li>
<li>If analysts are right, this will be the fifth of the last six quarters with a drop in Apple revenues.</li>
<li>We have been sharing with you the problems Apple is facing in China.</li>
<li>Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qcom#NASDAQ">QCOM</a>) owns patents on key technologies that power today&rsquo;s smartphones, including iPhones. As full disclosure, QCOM is in The Arora Report&#39;s&nbsp;ZYX Buy Model Portfolio.&nbsp; QCOM long from $47.13.&nbsp; Apple is a key Qualcomm customer.&nbsp; QCOM data shows that it generated great revenues in China.&nbsp; The implication here is that other companies such as Huawei are taking significant market share from Apple as Chinese switch away from iPhones.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>As full disclosure, AAPL is in The Arora Report&#39;s&nbsp;ZYX Buy Model Portfolio.&nbsp; AAPL is long from $4.68.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Apple earnings are very important.&nbsp; Risks to Apple are also very important.&nbsp; Institutions are selling AAPL stock.&nbsp; It is important to become knowledgeable about Apple.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The jobs report will be released at 8:30am ET tomorrow.</li>
<li>Initial jobless claims came at 208K vs. 213K consensus.&nbsp;This indicates that the employment picture remains strong.</li>
<li>Q1 Productivity-Prel came at 0.3% vs. 0.8% consensus. &nbsp; This indicates that AI has not become as pervasive in the workplace as some prior data indicated.</li>
<li>Q1 unit labor costs-Prel came at 4.7% vs. 2.5% consensus.&nbsp; This indicates that taming inflation is a challenge.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Magnificent Seven Money Flows</h3>
In the early trade, money flows are positive in AAPL, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ">AMZN</a>), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/meta#NASDAQ">META</a>), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msft#NASDAQ">MSFT</a>), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nvda#NASDAQ">NVDA</a>), and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are neutral in Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/goog#NASDAQ">GOOG</a>).
In the early trade, money flows are positive in SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>).
<h3>Momo Crowd And Smart Money In Stocks</h3>
The momo crowd is aggressively buying stocks in the early trade.&nbsp; Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
<h3>Gold</h3>
As we are ready to publish this post, all of a sudden, significant selling is coming in gold.
The momo crowd is buying gold in the early trade.&nbsp;Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see gold and silver ratings.
The most popular ETF for gold is SPDR Gold Trust (ARCA:GLD).&nbsp;The most popular ETF for silver is iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV).&nbsp;
<h3>Oil</h3>
As we are ready to publish this post, all of a sudden, significant selling is coming in oil.
The momo crowd is buying oil in the early trade.&nbsp; Smart money is inactive in the early trade.
For longer-term, please see oil ratings.
The most popular ETF for oil is United States Oil ETF (ARCA:USO).
<h3>Bitcoin</h3>
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/btc/usd">BTC</a>) is seeing buying on dovish Powell.
<h3>Protection Band And What To Do Now</h3>
It is important for investors to look ahead and not in the rearview mirror.
Consider continuing to hold good, very long term, existing positions. Based on individual risk preference, consider a protection band consisting of cash or Treasury bills or short-term tactical trades as well as short to medium term hedges and short term hedges. This is a good way to protect yourself and participate in the upside at the same time.
You can determine your protection bands by adding cash to hedges.&nbsp;The high band of the protection is appropriate for those who are older or conservative. The low band of the protection is appropriate for those who are younger or aggressive.&nbsp;If you do not hedge, the total cash level should be more than stated above but significantly less than cash plus hedges.
It is worth reminding that you cannot take advantage of new upcoming opportunities if you are not holding enough cash.&nbsp;When adjusting hedge levels, consider adjusting partial stop quantities for stock positions (non ETF); consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and also allowing more room for high beta stocks.&nbsp; High beta stocks are the ones that move more than the market.
<h3>Traditional 60/40 Portfolio</h3>
Probability based risk reward adjusted for inflation does not favor long duration strategic bond allocation at this time.
Those who want to stick to traditional 60% allocation to stocks and 40% to bonds may consider focusing on only high quality bonds and bonds of seven year duration or less.&nbsp; Those willing to bring sophistication to their investing may consider using bond ETFs as tactical positions and not strategic positions at this time.
The Arora Report is known for its accurate calls. The Arora Report correctly called the big artificial intelligence rally before anyone else, the new bull market of 2023, the bear market of 2022, new stock market highs right after the virus low in 2020, the virus drop in 2020, the DJIA rally to 30,000 when it was trading at 16,000, the start of a mega bull market in 2009, and the financial crash of 2008. Please click here to sign up for a free forever <a href="https://thearorareport.com/generate-wealth-newsletter">Generate Wealth Newsletter</a>.
This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga&#39;s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Powell Rally Vanishes, Qualcomm Heightens Apple Concern, Mother Of All Reports Ahead

On Wednesday, May 1st, the U.S. stock markets closed mixed after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and hinted at a possible future rate cut, though&nbsp;it noted that inflation improvements are uncertain.
Related:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/24/05/38563545/powell-keeps-hawks-at-bay-says-interest-rate-hike-unlikely-stocks-gold-rally-while-treasury-yiel" rel="noreferrer noopener">Powell Keeps Hawks At Bay, Says Interest Rate Hike &#8216;Unlikely&#8217;: Stocks, Gold Rally, While Treasury Yields, Dollar Tumble</a>
According to economic data, U.S. private employers added 192,000 jobs in April, exceeding expectations but lower than March&#8217;s 208,000. The ISM manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2, indicating a contraction.&nbsp;
Mortgage applications declined by 2.3%, and job openings decreased to 8.488 million. In contrast, crude oil inventories experienced a significant increase, rising by over 7 million barrels.
Among the 11 key sectors of the S&amp;P 500, energy stocks experienced the&nbsp;biggest&nbsp;percentage drop, whereas utilities saw the highest gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.23% to close at 37,903.29. The S&amp;P 500 was down 0.34%, ending the day at 5,018.39, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.33%, finishing the session at 15,605.48.
Asian Markets Today
<ul>
<li>On Thursday, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 index closed lower by 0.10% at 38,210.50, led by losses in the Marine Transport, Glass and Steel sectors.</li>
<li>In Australia, the S&amp;P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.23% at 7,587.00, led by gains in the Gold, IT and Financials sectors.</li>
<li>India&#8217;s Nifty 50 was up 0.16% at 22,640.45, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.40% at 21,082.20.</li>
<li>China Market is closed for the Labor Day holiday.</li>
<li>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng Index gained 2.50%, concluding the day at 18,207.13.</li>
<li>Hong Kong shares of major Chinese electric vehicle makers, including Nio Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/NIO#NYSE">NIO</a>), surged on Thursday after&nbsp;strong&nbsp;April delivery numbers.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.56%.</li>
<li>Germany&#8217;s DAX declined 0.04%.</li>
<li>France&#8217;s CAC slid 0.91%.</li>
<li>U.K.&#8217;s FTSE 100 traded higher&nbsp;by&nbsp;0.29%.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;Commodities at 05:45 AM ET
<ul>
<li>Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.87% at $79.69/bbl, and Brent was up 0.96% at $84.24 bbl.</li>
<li>Natural Gas gained 2.11% to $1.973.</li>
<li>Gold was trading lower by 0.01% at $2,310.80, Silver slid 0.45% to $26.628, while Copper was down 0.36% at $4.5297.</li>
</ul>
US Futures at 05:45 AM ET&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Dow futures were up 0.34%, S&amp;P 500 futures rose 0.57%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.80%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index gained 0.03% to 105.79 USD/JPY, which was up 0.51% at 155.26, and the USD/AUD fell 0.12% to 1.5313.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

Asia And Europe Markets Mixed; Crude Oil Drops Below $80 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

Gold and silver are trading higher as the dollar drops after Fed Chair Powell said it is unlikely that the next policy rate move would be a rate hike.

Gold prices are starting the week on a softer footing as traders brace for crucial US economic readings this week with the latest inflation and retail sales data both due on Wednesday.

Gold Commentary - Monday, May 13

Commodity Roundup: Gold prices risk a pullback, ING says; Fed speakers in focus

US stock market indices are advancing bullishly towards their all-time highs, despite the lack of rate cuts. The bullishness is believed to be because S&P 500 companies are reporting higher than expected corporate earnings.

Forex Today: US Stock Markets Advance On Earnings Optimism

Gold fell in the first half of Monday's session, apparently due to profit-taking following its 2.5% gain last week that saw the metal end a two-week losing streak.

Gold Slips Ahead Of US Inflation Data But Bullish Trend Remains Intact

Gold declined after moving to its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement once again. The implications are clear.

Gold Price Reaches Key Retracement - Again

Milei's strategy hinges on two critical pillars: fiscal reform and monetary stabilization.

How Javier Milei's "Shock Therapy" Is Transforming Argentina's Economy

Precious Metals Royalty And Streaming Companies: The April Report

Wall Street started the week off on an unenthusiastic note, with all three major indexes holding near their midday marks.

Dow Snaps Winning Streak Ahead Of Inflation Data

The Dollar chopped sideways. Gold was under pressure, silver not so much.