Finance Trends Letter

The Nasdaq Composite ( COMPQX , IXIC ) topped 6,000 today, a record high for the tech-heavy index.  Here is an updated monthly chart ( click below ) of the Nasdaq from 1999 - 2017. You'll note that the prior dot com bubble peak of 5,132 in March 2000 was not topped until mid-2015. With this latest surge, the Nasdaq jumped over the 6k mark for the first time ever. Joining the Nasdaq at new all-time highs are many of the most actively traded US tech stocks.  Leading tech names such as Amazon ( AMZN ), Apple ( APPL ), Facebook ( FB ), Netflix ( NFLX) , Microsoft ( MSFT ), and Google ( GOOG, GOOGL ) are trading at, or very near, their all-time highs. See the Finviz charts below. Also joining the new highs parade are Tesla ( TSLA ), a tech company in the guise of a car manufacturer, payments processor Square ( SQ ), Pepsi ( PEP ), and omnipresent burger joint, McDonald's ( MCD ).  So we are seeing a bullish resumption of the upward trend in US stocks. The new hi

NVIDIA ( NVDA ) shares have struggled to regain their former highs above $120. Has this new tech leader topped out or is the stock merely catching its breath and consolidating?  NVDA is currently trading around $100 after falling back below its 50 day moving average . The stock is currently down -6% YTD. As you'll note from the chart annotations ( click chart to enlarge ), this is the second time the stock has dipped below the 50 day MA since topping out in early February.  The stock made a short-term top at the end of 2016, with a bearish engulfing bar (the long red bar/candle on December 28, 2016). This down day marked the start of a brief decline, after which NVDA climbed back to challenge its former high. The stock failed to hold above the $120 level and quickly dropped back below its key moving averages. I should note that NVDA pulled back sharply below its 20 and 50 day MAs back in early 2016 . The stock soon bounced back and went on t o make multi-year highs