PUT IN WORK (2/10/2025)

The stock market performed rather uninterestingly last week overall, with the S&P 500 (SPY) ending down 0.1% and the Nasdaq (QQQ) ending up 0.1%. It didn't seem as if much happened when all was said and done, but that's not necessarily true!

The vast majority of movement we saw last week can be attributed to investors reacting to developing news regarding Trump’s tariffs and investors responding to the barrage of earnings reports. The week started rough, with markets opening down quite majorly in response to the executive orders on tariffs signed over the weekend. Just about every stock was down, including some giants such as Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Google (GOOG). Investors fought to keep the stock market afloat, and they largely managed, with indices ending down for the day but ultimately ending substantially higher than they’d opened—about 1% or so.

Tuesday saw the market rise once more. This positive movement was heavily influenced by Trump’s announcement the previous day, in which he decided to delay the decision to impose massive 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada by 30 days. One individually noteworthy stock was Palantir (PLTR), which climbed nearly 25% higher thanks to earnings. Large-cap technology stocks found their footing once more, pushing the overall market higher.

Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same, with investors pushing the market to its limit—especially the S&P 500, which gradually neared its all-time high. By Friday, however, this weekly upward run had been halted. Employment numbers released on Friday morning were less than favorable in the eyes of investors and analysts, with fewer jobs being added and declining unemployment leading many to negatively speculate about the next Fed meeting, which won’t take place until mid-March. Ultimately, the market ended the week fairly flat—although investors showed some heart.

(Nasdaq ETF (QQQ) price from February 2024 - 2025 — each candle is 1 week. Chart provided by tradingview.com.)

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Our stocks outperformed the market this week, with many pushing higher! Some of our more prominent positions, such as our SoundHound (SOUN) position, rose by nearly another hundred percent from our original investment. We plan to hold all currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future. As always, thanks for reading, and happy investing.