Not Bearish ...Just Bummed

Holy smokes.

Today was bad.

I think half the country forgot to sell stocks yesterday because they were so happy Trump was crushed. The lack of selling definitely fooled me.

Of course Trump reminded us all that he will be negligent, corrupt and trolling us for two more years so the selling accelerated today.

So what was the damage and what am I doing?

This chart below captures the damage.

It was the WORST one day of destruction of value in the history of the Nasdaq at $2.5 trillion

BUT, to put the losses in perspective that is just HALF of Apple’s market capitalization.

Apple celebrated today by raising $7.5 billion in the debt market.

What else?

The $VIX closed at 28. The volatility has my attention and if you follow me you know I look to buy stocks during elevated $VIX periods. No need to rush.

I try not to do much timing the market, but the $VIX was in the low teens and nobody wanted to sell AI or semiconductor stocks in June, when I shared that I was selling down my semiconductor exposure and explained all the reasons and worries.

Today and for the next few days and weeks will be ‘forced’ selling by margin departments. That is why there is no need to rush and buy.

While we should not celebrate losses, I think buying a little bit of the $QQQ ( ▼ 6.49% ) over the next week is not dumb.

Finally…

If you want a GREAT deep dive on all things AI based on what was really on the ballot for the midterms, Ben Thompson has it. He also shares what he thinks are the winners and losers.

Ben’s tenth and final take - ’the human factor’ - sticks with me the most…

Of course while we Americans slow down, China will not!

So as Ben says, and I agree, advantage China.

I am ok with this because I love living in America and I can also buy Chinese stocks. I just might.