Technical analyst Bob Lang joins Chris Versace to discuss continuing market volatility, heeding the technicals, Costco and Nvidia earnings, and reasons to be bullish on bank stocks.
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00:00Welcome to the latest episode of The Streets' Stocks and Markets podcast.
00:07In today's episode, we're going to discuss the stock market's technical setup,
00:11should the market have been surprised by the weekend's Trump-EU developments,
00:15and does the market have it wrong again on inflation, and much more.
00:20I'm Chris Versace, Portfolio Manager of The Streets Pro Portfolio,
00:24and joining me this week to tackle all those items is The Streets' Bob Lang.
00:29And for those who are unfamiliar with Bob, he also supplies his technical insights to the Pro Portfolio.
00:41Bob, welcome to the podcast.
00:43Great to be with you, Chris. Great to be with all the members and talking a little bit about markets.
00:47You know, things are evolving very quickly here with trade policy and inflation
00:54and lots of different things that are happening to change the direction of markets.
00:59Backwards and forwards, you know, just a week or so ago, it looked like we were headed for a doomsday
01:05and headed for much lower prices.
01:09But now things have, you know, pretty much turned around and maybe a little bit brighter future ahead.
01:15Well, let's talk about that because, you know, every Monday,
01:17I think one of the great things that you do for the Pro Portfolio is
01:20you provide an updated technical look of the S&P 500.
01:24And you did that yesterday, just given the holiday weekend, came out on Tuesday.
01:29But you said something at the very end that I thought was pretty telling,
01:33and I want you to explain it.
01:34You were referencing the potential change in the inflection point of the MACD line,
01:39and you were saying that this could be good news for the bulls.
01:43What does that mean?
01:45Why is it important?
01:47Well, I use the MACD, Chris, as an indicator to tell us changes of trajectory
01:53in the stock market or stock prices before they happen,
01:57not when they're happening or when they did happen.
02:01So that's an important point using the MACD versus any other indicators.
02:06It's pretty reliable.
02:07It's been one of the most better indicators that I've used over the years,
02:12along with several others.
02:14But the MACD is really one of the important ones.
02:16It really tells you what is the MACD.
02:18It's the Moving Average Convergence Divergence.
02:21And it gives us basically a trend of market movement in prices
02:26over two or three different timeframes.
02:29And so in this particular case, I like to look at the basic standard default MACD,
02:34which is a 15 or 16-day versus over the 26 or 29-day.
02:39So it gives us a read of about three weeks versus about six,
02:43just six and a half weeks.
02:44And when the short-term moving average is above the longer-term moving average,
02:49and basically that's what we have right now in the weekly chart,
02:53which I explained this weekend, it's a bullish condition.
02:56Now, what I like to look for, I like to go a little bit further, Chris,
02:59and I like to look for confirmation.
03:00And confirmation comes from another week or another bar for that indicator
03:06to confirm that previous trend change.
03:10So this trend change happened this past week.
03:12It was the first time, Chris, that we saw the MACD doing a bullish crossover
03:16since late 2023.
03:19So, I mean, it's been a long time since we've had that shift or change in trajectory,
03:25but I think that's real positive for the markets.
03:27And when you've seen this happen in the past, is it an indication of a powerful rally
03:33or is it something that it's just, you know, something we need to pay attention to?
03:37I think it's actually, I think it's both.
03:39I think what we really need to do to pay attention to that is understand
03:43that these market trends tend to last for quite some time.
03:48And what it simply means is that when you get this bullish signal from the MACD,
03:52you get on board and you just ride it out until it changes.
03:55And who knows how long that's going to last?
03:57And we had a very, very long period where it was in bearish territory, the MACD.
04:03But prior to that, we had a good two and a half years where the MACD was in bullish territory.
04:10And, you know, once it crossed over, if you rode that out and stayed with it all through 2024,
04:15you were in good shape.
04:16All right.
04:16So let me just ask just a framing question, if you will,
04:19because there are other indicators that are out there.
04:21We at the ProPortfolio kind of talk a little bit about the relative strength index
04:27and there's oscillators and other things.
04:29How do we kind of, you know, put these in order of importance if we see a turn in the MACD?
04:35Well, remember something, Chris, you know, when we talk about the relative strength of the MACD,
04:40these are simply conditions, they're not signals.
04:42The difference between a condition and a signal is the condition tells you,
04:47explains to you what it looks like at a certain period of time.
04:50It doesn't tell you necessarily what to do, right?
04:53So if we look at a condition where markets are oversold, for instance,
04:58relative strength is down in the 20s or the 30s, it could last for a very long time.
05:05Conversely, we could look at an overbought condition when relative strength is,
05:09people look at the level of 70 and they say,
05:11okay, well, once the relative strength number hits 70 or 72 or 73,
05:17it's time to sell, turn the other way and look for the markets to go down.
05:21Well, you know what?
05:21We could have a long period of time where that overbought condition lasts.
05:26And what ends up happening, if you pull the trigger and leave the market during that period of time,
05:32you could certainly leave a lot of money on the table if you exit that trade or investment.
05:39So I guess what I'm hearing, Bob, is that you kind of have to be mindful of different indicators,
05:45what they each mean, and kind of use them to round out a fuller picture.
05:49That's correct.
05:50Okay.
05:51So and the fuller picture that you're seeing right now seems to be more bullish than not, correct?
05:55Yeah.
05:55You know what, we're slightly below 5,900 right now on the S&P 500 and the all-time high around 6,150 is less than 5% away from the current levels.
06:10And, you know, I think that we've had some other signals, not just the MACD, but also in breath indicators.
06:16Cumulative volume breath, for instance, is a very important indicator that I follow to see if we can get to all-time highs.
06:24And that recently did hit an all-time high about a week and a half ago, sort of the middle of May.
06:31And what that tends to tell us is that when that indicator is at an all-time high, it's not too far down the road where the S&P 500 and maybe the NASDAQ as well, too, will also hit a tag, a new all-time high.
06:45It doesn't tell you when, it just says, just be ready for it.
06:49Right.
06:49So, but if we kind of game it out, the market's had a really strong run.
06:52And we know this, you know, it's been recently over, you know, close to being overbought or some others at the street were saying intermediate overbought.
07:01I think Colleen Meisler had that to say.
07:02So we might see a new high, but that doesn't mean we're going to see the market move 5%, 10%, 15% higher from here, does it?
07:11No question, absolutely not.
07:13And one of the reasons why we won't see those sort of moves like that is, as I was explained by market volatility.
07:20Market volatility index, trading at around 19 and a half right now.
07:24It's actually, interestingly enough, that's about the historical average for the VIX, about 18 and a half to 19 and a half.
07:31So if you look back over time, over past, say, 30 years, Chris, that's about the average number that we've seen in the VIX.
07:38So if the VIX isn't going to go down any further and basically reflect more complacency in the market,
07:44where that complacency is basically driven by people who have no fear that the market's going to go down,
07:50if the market is not going to accommodate that and the volatility index isn't going to go down,
07:54and likewise, if it's not going to go up, we're stuck right here and we're only basically looking for possibly maybe a one and a half percent move in the market.
08:02It's not that 5%, 7% that you're talking about.
08:05Okay.
08:05So are you surprised by the lack of complacency?
08:09And I'm kind of asking this, you know, tongue in cheek because we've had some recent trade developments, right,
08:14between Trump and the EU last week.
08:17Oh, Trump saying trade negotiations are going nowhere.
08:20He slaps on this potential 50% tariff by June 1st.
08:23All of a sudden, mad scramble, things start to potentially break free.
08:29You know, what else do you see on the horizon, Bob, that folks need to be mindful of?
08:34Well, I'm starting to see this pattern develop, Chris, of wash, rinse, and repeat, right?
08:38We get a shocking word from the Trump administration about trade or tariffs and so forth like that.
08:47People start to panic, and then they come back in and walk it back.
08:50You've talked about this endlessly about how the administrators or the politicians start walking it back
08:58because they're fearful that the markets are going to get out of control and start moving way too far to the downside,
09:04and it'll be maybe into the abyss or something like that.
09:07But, you know, all that panic tends to get reversed when something positive comes out
09:14or the perception of some positive news comes out.
09:17We heard it with just a couple of weeks ago when the markets ran higher,
09:21when it appears that the U.S. and China have come to some sort of, you know, an agreement.
09:27And also this past weekend, President Trump came out and said,
09:32well, you know what, we can delay the tariffs for another five weeks,
09:35and then maybe with the EU, with the European Union, and maybe that'll cool things off a little bit.
09:43So what's funny about that, Bob, is, you know, we hear these threats, the market sells off.
09:47We see them walk back.
09:49The market comes back a little bit.
09:50Not much has really changed.
09:52Not a lot of fresh details.
09:54It just seems like we're just, you know, gyrating back and forth, back and forth.
09:58And, you know, I've said this before, that there are times when the market is going to trade day to day
10:04based on the latest headlines, the latest news flow.
10:07And it sure seems like we're back in that flow.
10:09Yeah, and that really makes people nervous.
10:13And it creates a lot of doubt, a lot of uncertainty here.
10:17And as we've said, it creates a lot of worry when people are, I don't know, basically all in,
10:26perhaps in the markets and showing a lot of the complacency.
10:29And what ends up happening is you get days like we had last week when out of nowhere,
10:33you get some sort of an announcement and the markets start selling off in a frenzy here.
10:39And people just start heading for the exits.
10:41And then it's all about, well, wait a minute, hold on.
10:45You know what?
10:45You don't have to leave so quickly.
10:47Let's put some positive spin on that news.
10:50And then all of a sudden the next day, the markets are gapping up and people start chasing it.
10:55We call it FOMO, Chris, the fear of missing out.
10:57You know, people start missing out on that upside.
11:00And, you know, I think as far as from an investor's standpoint, and again, you talk about this quite a bit.
11:08From a long-term investor's viewpoint, it doesn't pay to panic and step in and step out and step in and step out.
11:16It doesn't really make a lot of sense to do that.
11:18You look at longer-term trends, you look at the economy, you look at a lot of things that headwinds, tailwinds that some of these companies that we have are facing.
11:27And you stick with those regardless of what's happening in the short term.
11:31You know, Bob, you're speaking my language.
11:32Headwinds, tailwinds.
11:33I like it.
11:34What else, though, right?
11:37Because I feel like in the past, you and I have talked about this just kind of, you know, in various formats, videos that we've done, or more importantly, in the numerous offline conversations that we have, that we just need to adjust ourselves to the fact that there's going to be a constant push-pull, you know, one step forward, one step back.
11:56You know, as long as it seems the Trump administration is around, I'm starting to think more about the back half of the year.
12:04You know, I know we're closing down the second month in the current quarter, but once we get into June, you know, companies are going to report before too long.
12:13We're going to get another reset of expectations for the back half of the year.
12:17June also brings the, you know, Fed meeting, and they're going to update their set of economic projections, right?
12:24And there's risk that the market, I won't say freaks out, right?
12:27The market, the CME FedWatch tool seems to indicate three, but, you know, the Fed last time in March said two rate cuts.
12:36You know, what are you, as we get ready for the back half of the year, what are you focused in on?
12:40What are the technicals telling you?
12:43Well, before we get into the technicals, we mentioned about the Federal Reserve.
12:47Now you're talking my language.
12:48This is the sort of thing I like to discuss and analyze because there's a real connection between what happens with the stock market, which is what we are all worried about, and where Fed policy is at.
13:04And Fed policy right now is telling us that careful stock market players, don't get over your skis.
13:12Don't be careful here because if you do, we may not come in to save you as years past, many have really thought that the Fed was there to save the stock market.
13:27You know, they call it the Fed put.
13:29Well, you know, is there a Trump put?
13:30I don't know.
13:31But, I mean, as it relates to the Fed, I think that there's a real concern here that market participants are getting overdone right here.
13:42And not really understanding where Fed policy is going to be going over the next six months.
13:48I think inflation right now is still an issue that we have to address.
13:53So I agree with you on the inflation, but it sounds, just to go back to a term you used a few minutes ago, there might be some FOMO in the market, right?
14:00People don't want to miss out continuing to grind higher.
14:03I continue to think that we're not out of the woods yet.
14:06I think there's some hurdles that we have to clear through.
14:09So, you know, earnings expectations for the back half of the year, particularly for the market and what that means for the implied, you know, PE ratio or the market valuation.
14:17I do think that, you know, the longer we go on without multiple trade deals, the more likely we're going to get conservative guidance.
14:25You know, and some other factors, you know, like what's going on with this big, beautiful budget, you know, and tax exemption, tax extension, excuse me.
14:35Are we going to get at what form?
14:37Because the last I saw, it sounds like the Senate may not exactly pass something that Trump is happy with.
14:43So, go ahead.
14:45No, I agree with that.
14:47And frankly, you know, there's a little bit of quite a bit of discussion and a little bit of disarray among the Republicans right now and trying to decide which version is going to work.
14:59I think the Republicans are looking at it from the Senate point of view right now.
15:03It may not be completely exactly what we what they wanted in the Congress and the president may want.
15:09So at the end of the day, you know, there's a lot of shenanigans going on here and a lot of horse trading, I suppose, going on here.
15:17But at the end of the day, is what is going to be passed in Congress here going to be helpful to the economy?
15:24It's going to be helpful to the stock market.
15:25I think right now the stock market is looking beyond that and seeing perhaps some resolution there.
15:32And I'm not sure if tax cuts are necessarily that great for the stock market.
15:37It's not bad, but it's not.
15:39They're certainly going to drive earnings power as much as people think.
15:44But, you know, we'll see what happens.
15:46Yeah, no, I totally agree.
15:48I mean, you know, I think coming into this year, folks were curious as to what may happen on the tax front.
15:53To the extent that tax cuts are extended, maybe there's some incremental room for those 2026 EPS estimates.
16:02Maybe some people accounted for them earlier in the year.
16:05Maybe they didn't.
16:06You know, maybe we'll see some movement that could be helpful.
16:09Right.
16:10But, you know, that's, I would argue, below the line and largely cosmetic, not necessarily reflective of true operating power.
16:17But, you know, we will have to see what happens.
16:19On your comment about inflation and the Fed.
16:23We've got a lot of retailers reporting this week.
16:26ELF Beauty, one that a lot of people watch, came out and said that, hey, you know, we've got a lot of products that are priced below $10.
16:33Last week, they said, we're going to raise prices on a wide array of products by a dollar or more.
16:40That says 10% plus, you know, price pop.
16:44Do you think we're going to see more of that?
16:46And does that have you worried?
16:47Hang on.
16:47Does that have you worried about the data that we're going to get in the coming months?
16:52Not necessarily the April PCE price index on Friday.
16:57Yeah.
16:57You know, I think this PCE, the personal consumption expenditures, which, you know, I know you follow very closely.
17:04So do I.
17:05It's one of the most favored inflation gauges for the Federal Reserve.
17:10They look at this along with the CPI and the PPI, Chris.
17:13But I'm a little bit concerned over here because we did hear different things, perhaps from two larger retailers, Walmart and Target.
17:23We heard the Walmart CEO and CFO come out and say, you know what, we're going to have to take some price increases.
17:28And President Trump came out and was vehemently against that and said that they should, quote unquote, eat those tariffs.
17:38But Target didn't say that.
17:41Of course, they've got their own issues and own problems to deal with right now.
17:45So I'm really curious, Chris, to hear our favorite retailer, Costco, reports and talk and discusses this situation on Thursday evening after the close.
17:58So it'll be it'll be very, very interesting to see what they have to say.
18:02I'm willing I'm going to be in the camp of saying, Chris, that they're not going to pass those price increases on to their their customers.
18:10They're more than willing to eat some of those prices.
18:12But, you know, they're already one of the lower lower end price retailers as it is right now.
18:17And even even when price increases come up, you know, the membership prices go up.
18:22People still shop there.
18:23I do. You do.
18:25So I don't think it's really that big of a that's going to be a big issue for for Costco.
18:28Yeah, I if memory serves, Bob, you were just out in California and you paid a visit to a Costco.
18:34I did. And boy, was it was it hopping at 10 o'clock in the morning on on a Saturday in California.
18:41There was right when the store opened, there was a whole line of people, Chris, ready to come in and do some shopping and drop some money at the at the local Costco.
18:49So, you know, I think, you know, good stuff for Costco, I think, this week when they report on Thursday.
18:57Yeah. So, you know, BJ's reported last week and their comp sales were pretty good.
19:01But, you know, the cool thing about Costco is they still report monthly comp sales numbers.
19:05And when you line up, line them up, you know, Costco continues to take consumer wallet share.
19:11We certainly like it. And I do think that the membership business model that they have really, really separates them from the pack.
19:19And I think we're going to see that start to show up even more in this earnings report and their guidance to the extent that they give it.
19:27So, Bob, any other companies, any other events that you're watching this week?
19:33Well, we got the one of the big dogs reporting this week, Chris, is NVIDIA out with earnings on Wednesday after the close.
19:39I know Salesforce will also be reporting as well, too.
19:42So I'll be really watching NVIDIA closely this week because they tend to throw off a little what we call a bowling parlance,
19:50a little pin action to some of the other companies that are related to them.
19:57I mean, I'm looking at Broadcom.
19:59I'm looking at Marvell, which also reports later on this week.
20:03And a couple of other names like AMD, Dell, also SMCI, Supermicro.
20:09Some of these companies, you know, I think NVIDIA is going to bring out another huge beat this week
20:17and probably guide higher as they have been doing.
20:20I don't think their slowdown is going to be announced probably maybe for a few quarters down the road.
20:28I think they still have a lot of demand in the pipeline right now.
20:33They've been talking about customers like Microsoft and Google and Meta even, you know, increasing their orders for chips,
20:42the Blackwell chips and maybe even the next generation one, which comes out in about a year and a half.
20:47So I do think that they're going to be a huge driver, Chris, of some of these technology names over the next couple of weeks.
20:54And as we move into June, you know, it's a slower time of earnings, but still some big earnings reports are going to be coming out.
21:01And I think that this is going to be a potential good driver for technology if their earnings are good.
21:09Well, you know, I'm glad you brought up NVIDIA.
21:11It is the second largest holding in the S&P 500, the second largest holding in the NASDAQ 100.
21:16So to the extent that the company delivers as expected or better than expected, the shares move higher.
21:23That's another reason to think that the market could move a little more up to the right, I believe, is the way we want the chart to go.
21:30But on the other hand, Bob, you know, because expectations are running high, right?
21:35You are correct.
21:36You know, Big Tech has reiterated their capital spending.
21:39CoreWeave came out and talked about a big capital spending program.
21:43We're hearing about Stargate not only in the U.S., but outside the U.S., you know, the deals with the UAE.
21:49The only concern that I have is not necessarily for the quarter that NVIDIA will report.
21:56It's for something that we've seen happen for with NVIDIA in the past, including the most recent quarter, which is there's always the consensus figure out there, right?
22:04The official published numbers and the consensus amalgamates those across all Wall Street expectations.
22:10But it's the whisper number that you have to watch out for sometime, Bob.
22:15For those who are unfamiliar with the whisper number, Bob, what is it?
22:20So the whisper number, basically, Chris, and for everyone, is basically what is being rumored out there by analysts and participants and so forth.
22:32And, you know, there's some science to it.
22:34There's some non-science to it as well, too.
22:37Maybe it's just polls.
22:38People just asking a poll out there.
22:41One of our colleagues, of course, you know, Helene Meisler does one of these non-scientific polls on Twitter, for instance.
22:48You know, where is the next 100 points going to come from the S&P 500?
22:51Is it up or down?
22:52So it's this sort of thing.
22:54So it's more of a consensus of where people feel and where they think that the numbers are going to be at.
22:59You know, I would tell you that I don't think analysts have as much of an advantage in predicting where earnings are going to fall.
23:08Any more than you or I do.
23:09So, you know, taking it all with a kind of a grain of salt.
23:13But certainly, you know, there's no question that market participants and buyers of stocks do bid up stocks in anticipation of an earnings beat or earnings as a patient beat.
23:26So it's certainly that's always been the case with NVIDIA.
23:29So so you're to your point, you think that maybe the stock has already been running up into that to the print, into the the whisper number.
23:39That's very possible.
23:39But I think that they tend to beat even the whisper number, Chris, every single quarter and have for the past 12 quarters since since 2022.
23:49So, you know, why, why, why, why stop now?
23:52Well, I'll take the other side of that, because even though we are long term bullish on NVIDIA, when they reported last time, they were a little short of the whisper numbers.
24:02Stock was down seven percent the next day, traded off a little more the following days.
24:05Now, as a long term investor, does that bother me?
24:09No, it doesn't, because if it hits certain levels, that could be an opportunity for folks who are underweight the shares relative to the portfolio to scoop up additional one.
24:19So let me ask you, Bob, I don't know if you have the NVIDIA chart at the ready, but if you do, if you do, where would you see some nice support for the stock on a pullback?
24:30Where do you think folks should be?
24:32You know, I won't say piling in just given where the market is, but maybe nibbling, buying, buying some additional shares.
24:39So, Chris, it's having a little bit of trouble getting through 137.
24:41If it popped through 137, I think you're going to get a pretty good size short squeeze and meaning that short sellers are going to have to cover their positions.
24:50There's been a buildup of short interest in this name over the past month or so.
24:56I've noticed it and have seen it happen.
25:00But by the same token, we've seen some nice gaps up in the stock over the past few weeks as well, too.
25:07It started at the second week in May.
25:12So I would say a level that I would be looking at is where the 200-day moving average is right now, for instance.
25:18It's about 126.5.
25:21A little below there is a 50-day moving average, about 122.
25:25So if you do get lucky enough to get a pullback to those two areas, it's called 122 to 126.
25:31I would certainly be a buyer of that one right there.
25:35All right.
25:36Well, I appreciate you answering my question on that, Bob.
25:39I think we should pivot and take some member questions.
25:42What do you say?
25:43Absolutely.
25:43Let's do it.
25:44All right.
25:44Let's do it.
25:45Here we go.
25:45Question one.
25:46Bob, what are...
25:48This is right up your alley, Bob.
25:49What are your go-to technical indicators?
25:53I know we already talked, MACD.
25:54You explained how important that is.
25:56What are some of the other ones that you rely on?
25:59Well, one of my favorite ones was created by my good friend, Mark Chaykin, Chaykin Money Flow.
26:04And really, basically, it's an accumulator distribution indicator for volume and money flows.
26:13And so really what it tells us, Chris, is a big money investor coming into a particular stock or an index.
26:22And why is that important?
26:23It's because, look, you know, I mean, we know that a lot of the market action is being driven by algorithms and day traders and even day trade options and program trading.
26:37At the end of the day, it's the big money investors like the hedge funds, the pension funds, the charitable trusts, the mutual funds.
26:44This is the big money that is really moving markets and moving prices.
26:4880% of the market is being driven by that.
26:50And Chaykin Money Flow hits it right on the nose, Chris, and tells you exactly how the big money is trading or investing in a particular stock or in a particular market.
27:02So Chaykin Money Flow is one of my favorites.
27:04I also like to look at momentum.
27:06Momentum as it is interpreted by the stochastics.
27:11And with stochastics, basically, it's all about movement of prices up and down.
27:18And we see the money flows.
27:22We also see the price action.
27:23And I have to look at both of them together, Chris, to get a good feel or get a good read and good analysis of where prices are going to be heading down the road.
27:32So overbought, oversold on the stochastics are a very important indicator for me as well.
27:39Okay.
27:40Let's go to our second question.
27:41And I'm going to tune this up just a little bit to get a little more context.
27:44So the question is, why is it important for stocks to test and retest technical support or technical resistance levels?
27:52And let me just add to it, Bob.
27:54You know, you and I have chatted, and we've certainly written about this in the past, that, you know, when a stock either breaks through its 50-day moving average or pops above it, or the 100, the 200, it's got to retest in order to power higher.
28:08So if you can kind of explain that, that would be great.
28:11That's a great question.
28:13And really, I'm going to use one word or two words to really explain this.
28:17And it's all about reference points.
28:19What is a reference point where we can find some reliability that a stock price is not going to break down from?
28:27And usually when we see a stock make a sharp move to the downside and start to bounce or to rebound, we're looking for a pullback to that area to see if, you know, is that a safe place to buy the stock?
28:40Or will more people start selling and we'll see the trend of the market continue to the downside?
28:48And what I like to see is I like to see a pullback, a rally back up, and then a pullback to test that level and a rally back up.
28:55And it creates what we call, Chris, a W pattern.
28:59So if you think of the letter W, you know, you come down, you make a middle, and then you come back down again, and then you come right back up again.
29:06And we call that carving out the right side of the base.
29:11And we have a basing period where the stock is just going sideways.
29:15And that's sort of that W pattern going back and forth, down, up, down, up, down, up.
29:20So I want to see that sort of pattern play out over a long period of time.
29:25But that reference point is so important to make sure that there are no sellers down at that area or below to take that stock price down.
29:36Okay, great.
29:36And let's tackle our final member question.
29:39You know, Bob, you already mentioned, you know, Costco, NVIDIA as stocks to watch this week.
29:45But is there a particular sector or a particular stock that you're warming up to as we move into the second half of the year?
29:52Well, I really like the banks, Chris.
29:54And I know in the StreetPro portfolio, we've got Bank of America, we've got Morgan Stanley.
30:01And these names, I think, are going to do extremely well in the second half of the year, especially with interest rates so high.
30:08Their net interest margin is going to increase.
30:12Their borrowing from clients and from customers has been very strong, has been robust.
30:17And although the companies have been more conservative in keeping some reserves in case of losses, it was noted by G.P. Morgan and Bank of America, Wells Fargo, in their last earnings reports in April.
30:32I think that, by and large, this is the group that's going to really outperform in the second half of the year.
30:38So I'm glad we have some of those names in the portfolio.
30:42I am, too.
30:43I am, too.
30:43You know, I do think we've seen M&A activity heat up.
30:46I think, you know, we're poised to see more of that.
30:49You know, there's a couple recently priced IPOs, you know, CoreWeave Hinge, MNDT, if I remember correctly.
30:57We're going to see how they continue to perform.
30:59And I do think that the IPO window could be opening.
31:04Obviously, you know, the two names you just mentioned we have in the portfolio, extremely well positioned for that.
31:10So, folks, remember to have your questions asked and answered on the podcast.
31:15You have to be a Street Pro subscriber.
31:19Bob, as always, I enjoy our conversations.
31:22Before we get out of here, any parting words?
31:25No, I'm looking forward to the month of June.
31:29It's often been said that summer rallies often kick off in June.
31:34Hopefully, it hasn't started already in May.
31:37But if it has, maybe it can continue in the month of June as we push into the summer months.
31:43And I'm looking forward to seeing where we finish this month and then get started into the next earnings season.
31:50Not too far off, Chris.
31:51It's just in July.
31:53I know, Bob.
31:54You don't need to remind me of that.
31:56But I'm well aware of the earnings season, trust me.
31:58But I will look forward to your insights and the other thoughts that you and I, you know, tend to kick around on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis.
32:06So, Bob, thank you so much for joining.
32:07And I'm sure we'll have you back before too long.
32:09And, folks, that is a wrap on this week's Stocks and Markets podcast.
32:14Be sure to give us some feedback in the comments section below if you're reading this on the Street Pro.
32:18And if you're catching this on YouTube or any other podcast platforms, a like, thumbs up, some comments, whatever you want to do, boy, that would be appreciated.
32:28We'll have another episode of the podcast coming your way before you know it.
32:32We'll have another episode of the podcast.