If you’ve been watching the market lately and thinking, “Something doesn’t quite add up.…”
You’re not alone.
Big-name earnings are rolling in. Tech’s showing strength. And yet, there’s a disconnect. Just when things look like they’re stabilizing, the signals turn anything but clear.
One subscriber who recently emailed me put it this way:
“I’m trying to stay on top of everything in the markets right now, but things just feel… off. Am I missing something?”
And that’s exactly what I want to dive into today.
Because while earnings are front and center, there’s a quiet shift taking shape right now that none of the financial pundits seem to be talking about.
Let’s start on the earnings side…
Q: Tom, I saw that we’re in earnings season—what exactly does that mean, and how’s it going so far?
Earnings season is when public companies open the books and share how they did last quarter. It happens four times a year—and every time, it becomes a catalyst for volatility.
Wall Street watches closely. The financial news networks watch closely. And so do we.
As for how it’s going this time around? The results are mixed… and it’s throwing a lot of traders off. Some of the biggest names in tech are doing heavy lifting, but across the S&P 500, we’re seeing smaller earnings beats and fewer positive earnings surprises.
The word analysts keep using, and you’ve probably heard yourself, is “resilient.” But all that means is that while things aren’t going badly, they’re not exactly taking off, either.
Q: Hi Tom, you mentioned something about gold… what are you seeing there?
I did—in fact, you can check out my full video breakdown here.
But to get to the meat of your question, I recently ran one of my favorite scans on gold and silver after they broke fresh highs. This one shows me the 100-day correlation between the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and every optionable stock in the S&P 500.
I wanted to see which stocks are moving in sync with gold, even if they don’t scream “commodity play” at first glance. And the result? A short list shadowing gold’s moves almost tick-for-tick:
Now these aren’t recommendations… but they are leads worth investigating—especially for traders looking to build option strategies off real pattern behavior.
You can also always trade gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), like GDX, directly. Just remember to speak with your financial professional to decide what’s best for your goals.
Q: Hey Tom, have you ever heard of a “market-hugging” stock? And is that a good or bad thing?
Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them. And odds are, you’ve got a few in your portfolio right now.
Every bull market creates an illusion of skill. Portfolios rise, screenshots get shared, and suddenly everyone’s a stock-picking genius. But when you look closely at the holdings in those “winning” accounts, you’ll often find a quiet truth: those stocks aren’t beating the market—they’re just following it.
These are the market huggers… the high-correlation names that track the S&P 500 almost exactly. When the market’s up, they’re up. When it drops, they drop. They don’t lead, they just mirror.
Now for some traders, that feels safe. It’s predictable. It’s reassuring.
But here’s the problem: stacking a bunch of market-huggers doesn’t diversify you—it concentrates your risk. And it turns your whole portfolio into one big bet.
So when the market turns? Everything goes with it.
That’s why I always say: use them with intention. They can be a part of your plan, but if they’re your whole plan? That comfort can come at a cost.
Great questions, as always. If you have more, be sure to send me a message. I read every one.
Have a good weekend!
Tom Gentile
America’s Pattern Trader
