The stock market got back to its winning ways on Tuesday as the tariff scare faded. That means DeepSeek AI must be really old news. In a bull market, stocks often deal with difficult news and then move higher. The advance was fairly broad, with the S&P 500 (SPX) rising 0.7%, the S&P 100 up 0.9%, and the Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100 tacking on 1.3%. The S&P MidCap 400 added 0.6%, while the S&P SmallCap 600 jumped 1.2%. Turning to sectors, it was a minor risk-on day, with Energy, Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Communication Services rising between 0.9% and 2%, Utilities, Consumer Staples, Financial, and Healthcare were down 0.3% to 0.9%. One of our recent themes has been a break in the U.S. Dollar (USD) and bullish implications for emerging markets. USD topped on January 13 and broke its uptrend on January 21, with the initial pullback falling from $110 to $106.80. The greenback snapped back to $109.75 on February 3, but failed right at former trendline support. USD closed at $108 on Tuesday and appears to be tracing out a double top. The dollar peak coincided with a peak in Treasury yields across the curve. The Commitment of Traders (COT) data was a big reason we were cautious on the greenback. The iShares Emerging Markets (EEM) bottomed on January 13 and broke its downtrend off the October 7 peak. We have seen a five-day/13-day exponential moving average (EMA) crossover buy signal and a completed small inverse head-and-shoulders formation. Emerging markets are highly, negatively correlated with USD. The iShares China Large-Cap (FXI) bottomed On January 10 and a break over $33.25 will complete a small base. It would be nice if some other global markets came to life.

Xerox builds and integrates software and hardware solutions for customers. The company had traditionally provided printers and copiers for the workplace, but now has investments in artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality-driven services, robotic process automation, sensors and services for the internet of things, 3D printing, and clean technologies. Based in Norwalk, Connecticut, Xerox operates in 160 countries and employs about 17,000 people. The shares are a component of the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index.

Xerox builds and integrates software and hardware solutions for customers. The company had traditionally provided printers and copiers for the workplace, but now has investments in artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality-driven services, robotic process automation, sensors and services for the internet of things, 3D printing, and clean technologies. Based in Norwalk, Connecticut, Xerox operates in 160 countries and employs about 17,000 people. The shares are a component of the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index.

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.6%, and Nasdaq gained a mere 0.3%. But for the year, the Dow is higher by 16%, the S&P is up 27%, and the Nasdaq has popped 33%. If we were looking for results that aligned any better with current insider-sentiment data, we'd need to dig deep. Indeed, last week showed that stocks are priced at levels that may well be consider 'dear,' but nonetheless are not likely to plummet over the final weeks of 2024. Insiders have moved to the sidelines for multiples weeks, but in so doing have not tapped out by selling at a worrisome level. Instead, they have booked some reasonable end-of-year gains, but stayed in the game enough to show that the sky is not falling, nor it is likely to fall any time soon. By way of data evidence, all of the major eight-week sell/buy ratios from Vickers Stock Research are within the neutral zone that runs from 2.00 to 6.00. On a sector basis, insider buying was the greatest in Energy last week, with shares valued at $11 million bought versus less than $6 million sold. Meanwhile, selling was the greatest in Technology over the last week, with shares valued at $485 million sold versus less than $400,000 bought. This week, analysts at Vickers highlighted insider transactions of interest at Ibotta Inc. (NYSE: IBTA) and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (NYSE: SMG).