Is there anything worse on this earth than being stuck in traffic?
There I was, fifty miles south of Atlanta, GA, in dead stopped, bumper-to-bumper, “not going anywhere” traffic…
Little did I know it would be the first of four such traffic jams I’d encounter, which would stretch an already absurdly long 13-hour journey into an 18-hour nightmare.
As I write this, I just recently arrived at a hotel in my hometown of St. Louis where I will crash for the night before seeing my family in the morning.
I would like to have seen them this evening for a bit, but… traffic…
Traffic is my nightmare.
Put me in a car that’s moving along at a reasonable speed and I can drive for hours without needing a break.
Put me in ten seconds of traffic and I want to break things.
It’s irritating to be stuck in neutral, and it’s even more irritating to know that often, there’s no reason for these traffic jams other than the collective foolishness or recklessness of the drivers on the road around you.
But there’s one thing that almost makes traffic worth it…
That rush of FREEDOM when you finally reach the end of the jam. When 25 feels like flying…
I finally got there when I escaped the ruined, apocalyptic nightmare known as Tennessee (I’m sorry, Tennesseans reading this. I actually love your state. It’s so beautiful. But its highways have never been kind to me…)
And I almost didn’t care that I still had five hours to drive in pitch black Midwestern darkness to get to a hotel I barely wanted to sleep in to begin with…
That release of putting the pedal down and heading in a direction… any direction… was so freeing!
Well, traders are about to feel that same release.
Yesterday, I laid out the case for why the day after the election will be a pivotal turning point — the “release valve,” if you will, for all the election pressures plaguing the market.
And I have a lot of confidence that that will happen. It’s actually one of the most predictable trends I’ve ever seen.
Until then, though? I’m afraid it’s traffic…
If the QQQ from yesterday doesn’t prove that, I don’t know what will.
TSLA spiked by over 20%, and the QQQ barely budged…
That’s a traffic jam if I’ve ever seen one.
Earnings are one of the big catalysts on the calendar. But I don’t think they will have a broader market effect for the next week. Individual stocks will make big moves (see above), but I don’t think they’ll drag the indexes along.
It’s bumper-to-bumper for the next week…
But then, get ready to put the pedal to the medal, one direction or the other…
Have a great weekend, and may your roads be ever clear of brake lights.
To your prosperity,
— Stephen Ground
Editor in Chief, ProsperityPub
P.S.: One great way to play uncertain markets that could move either direction is with a special type of trade Geof Smith is going over in a LIVE briefing today. Catch it here.