WEDNESDAY 1/3/2024: The Nasdaq’s 3.3% drop over the last 3 days is annoying but not surprising after the 6.4% runup in December.

WEDNESDAY 1/3/2024:  The Nasdaq’s 3.3% drop over the last 3 days is annoying but not surprising after the 6.4% runup in December.

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>>>If you take the time to look at the recent runup in the S&P500 and Nasdaq,you will see quite a wild rise over the last 2 months of 2023.  I wonder if the big players were simply tryingto push 2023’s finish higher to hook a few more investing dollars?

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In 2024, I plan to include the S&P500 for comparis ,onto the Nasdaq. But overall, the S&P500 just hasn’t kept up with the Nasdaq so why should I waste your time? So you will appreciate the Nasdaq’s greater growth!

Last year the Nasdaq more than doubled the S&P500’s returns. (see table above,)

I will keep the S&P500 with the Nasdaq on my charts for comparison purposes.There is no other Mainstream ETF to compare it with.

>>>CONCLUSION: I suggest you don’t waste your time on the DJIA or even the S&P500.  

LOOK AT THESE HUGE 2023 QQQ  RETURNS below! Which one would you prefer to have earned?

Where can you look for easy access to higher returns?

How about the triple QQQ, an Exchange Traded Fund known by its TQQQ ticker?

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>>>> What you have to remember about rising multiple ETFs  is that they  usually fall faster than they rise.  This is usually true in the ETF world as well.

If had only 5 minutes one night to turn on my computer and check my stocks, I would check the ETFs above. Their movement tells me if I made or lost month and it tells me about the health of the current market.

The results of the 2023 comparison?:  

I WON! with the TQQQ

Ifyou used the triple Qs (TQQQ) in the last 12 months , you probably also made big returns.

I hope you enjoyed the extraordinary gains of the TQQQ (TripleQQQ ETF) for at least part of 2023! I did not get into the triple in this newsletter until the last 2-month run-up. And I regret my hesitation.  But the final returns were very satisfying. And now you know what I did for higher returns that I didn’t tell you about. My hesitation was in the fact that some investors go into the triple ETFs with vigor,…. Get sidetracks…..and when they return to managing their portfolios, have missed the highs and might even be looking at losses.

Imagine who you would have earned if you had just planted your portfolio in the TQQQ!......But then realize neither of us knew what was coming next. So that last thought was just a fantasy.

>>>WARNING #1:  RISING MARKETS are always followed by FALLING MARKETS. It is your job to watch the markets (or just read this newsletter nightly) to be clear on what direction the market is going.

I am not always in one investment like the TQQQ.  I will switch to the SQQQ (an INVERSE ETF) when the market falls – BECAUSE THE INVERSE ETF RISES WHEN THE MARKET FALLS.

I will clearly let you know when I make the market directions witches from TQQQ to inverse SQQQ in this newsletter.

REMEMBER:  I do NOT know how to:

·      Get in at the bottom or

·      Get out at the top.

…..but I have consistently gotten closer than most …. And that timing has returned significant growth in my portfolio.

>>>WARNING #1:  RISING MARKETS are always followed by FALLING MARKETS. It is your job to watch the markets for changes in direction(or just read this newsletter nightly.)

>>>>NOTE: In a rising market, the Triple QQQ (TQQQ) is where I made the biggest returns last year. And I am very open to stashing my money with the TQQQ again, but NOT RIGHT NOW. The last 2 days were serious down days.

REMEMBER:  I do NOT know how to:

·      Get in at the bottom or

·      Get out at the top.

·      ….. I just get closer than most!

If you had gotten in and out with the Armchair Investor signals, you would have avoided many of the losses and participated in more of the rising markets, than just holding an strong ETF resulting in a significant larger return.

THE ABOVE TIMING OF THE TQQQ (tripleQQQ) is one strategy I will focus on this year.

Are you concerned that the market may have risen as much as it could, for the moment? … I’m not.  

I simply follow what is actually going on in the current market and utilize “best practices” to scrape off the wins  avoid the losses. That means that I watch which way the market is going intraday and the strength of the movements. Then I play on those two critical aspects.

>>> Remember: The market and individual stocks continue in the direction they are going until they don’t..

Friday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s dropping price moves were not unexpected after the large 2023 run-up in this market.

The market had already generated amazing returns for the year and had earned an early rest for the last trading day of the year. The market action usually slows in the last few days of the year.

I’m sure you see the “red flag” in the table below.

Yes, the Nasdaq has dropped twice what the S&P500 did.And it is still way ahead of the 2023 and the first week of the 2024 S&P500market.  

Please do not expect the above gains in the coming year. 2023was an amazing year but the market may see itself as “extended.” Count on my telling you about the trend changes during the year so you can ride them appropriately.

And with the blow-out in some of the AI stocks, it will be worth your time to read at least the first page of this newsletter nightly to be sure you don’t miss my notes on when and where the big growth (or fall) is happening!  

I hope you have enjoyed an investment in the TQQQ (triple QQQ.)  They have grown almost 4 times the single QQQ this year. ….. But remember…. The TQQQ also can fall at 3 (or more) times the QQQ.  

What to do about the high volatility of the TQQQ?

>>> I suggest you read at least the first two pages of this newsletter each night.  This action will keep you tapped into the current market. And remember:

·       I do NOT know how to get in at the market bottoms and out at the tops.----- I just get closer than most others.

Note the increase in Nasdaq falling days - 4 in a row in the last 4 days. IT LOOKS LIKE THE MARKET TOP IS DEFINED AND THE MARKET IS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK.....MAYBE! STAY TUNED!

Look at the amazing percentage of stocks that have “A”or “B” ratings – Even after a drop from recent A+B s owning 732%.... today’s 68% As+Bs is still very strong.!!!

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Please watch this newsletter daily. Note that the percentage of Arated stocks dropped today.

The percent of “A” and “B” rated stocks is an EXCITING 68%.  You can find winners easily!

   REMEMBER:      

I do NOT know how to get    in at the bottom… or out at the top.  

I just usually get closer    than most!

And you    can make some nice returns with the signals I talk about in this    newsletter.

NOTE THIS WARNING.  Holding onto a falling stock, whether an ETF or the stock of a favorite company, is a quick way to loose your recent gains. If you play individual stocks and ETF’s, play carefully. Use the real returns (daily, weekly, monthly)

>>>> Remember….. down is down!

Of course I do not sell a position that has been rising well after one or two small down days. But if you had a significant loss over several days, especially if there is an increase in market distribution days (down days on higher volume), then stepping out and waiting in cash can help you save your portfolio for future rallies and let you sleep at night.

REMEMBER:_____EVEN IF CASH IS A VALID POSITION,…in a fast rising market, you should consider holding a position that allows you to position your portfolio to rise with the market (or a multiple of it.) Stay tuned! And watch daily!

And….. those birds still aren’t going anywhere!

Stay tuned!    Those birds just aren’t going anywhere!

One additional “Word to the Wise”…

>>>>>--- MOST MARKETS FALL FASTER THAN THEY RISE. Beware of buying any new positions unless they are very healthy.

I APPRECIATE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR SUPPORTING THIS NEWSLETTER.  I USUALLY SPEND  MORE THAN 4 HOURS RESEARCHING THE IDEAS IN THIS NEWSLETTER, CALCULATING ALL THE DATA I NEED, WRITING THE TEXT FOR THE NEWSLETTER AND…. FORMATING THE NEWSLETTER.

I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS ON THE MINOR CHANGES IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER (as described in the notes.)

Thank you for your kind feedback and ideas. Please keep sending them.

Charlotte Hudgin

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The Armchair Investor

CharlotteDH100@mail.com