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Nvidia Sparks NAND Memory Frenzy While Chevron Traders Learn Hard Lessons About FOMO

MarketDash Editorial Team
1 day ago
Nvidia's Jensen Huang just triggered a buying mania in memory stocks with comments about a new storage platform, while momentum traders who chased Chevron's weekend pump are nursing losses. Plus, a Supreme Court tariff decision looms that could shake markets.

The Chevron Euphoria Trap

Here's a cautionary tale about what happens when you let FOMO drive your trading decisions. Chevron Corp (CVX) rocketed to $172 in premarket trading on January 5th after news broke that the energy giant was teaming up with a private equity firm to acquire international assets from Lukoil, a major Russian oil producer. In overnight Sunday trading, it climbed even higher.

The surge was fueled by momentum trading gurus pumping the stock over the weekend, urging their followers to pile into Chevron during overnight sessions. But as of this writing, Chevron has retreated to $157.64, and it traded even lower earlier in the session. That's a painful round trip for anyone who bought into the hype.

The warning signs were there for those watching proprietary demand indicators. Throughout this period, supply and demand signals were consistently showing net supply rather than net demand, essentially flashing orange warning lights against buying into the spike.

The irony here is that Chevron actually has legitimate tailwinds. The company is the only major U.S. oil producer operating in Venezuela and controls approximately 25% of Venezuela's oil production. That's a real strategic advantage, especially with recent developments in that country. But there's a massive difference between a good long-term story and a good price to enter a position.

The lesson? Unlike the momentum crowd, prudent investors need to control their fear of missing out. As important as it is to buy the right positions, it's equally critical not to buy the wrong position at the wrong time, especially when you're buying into euphoria. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.

Nvidia Triggers NAND Memory Mania

Now let's talk about the buying frenzy that NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) just sparked in memory stocks. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made some comments that sent traders scrambling, saying that existing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is "far from sufficient to support GPUs, and the memory bottleneck is only getting worse." He then explained a concept he called a "new memory storage platform."

The key detail? This new concept uses NAND memory. The market immediately interpreted this as a major opportunity for solid-state disk drives (SSD), and a genuine mania erupted in several related stocks.

Micron Technology Inc (MU), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Western Digital Corp (WDC), and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) are all seeing frenzied buying activity. This isn't just a modest bump; we're talking about the kind of momentum that happens when the market collectively decides a new trend is emerging.

Whether this enthusiasm is justified depends on how quickly and broadly this new storage architecture gets adopted. But when the most influential CEO in the chip industry says there's a fundamental bottleneck that needs solving, and then points toward a specific technology, markets listen.

The Dow's Historic Start and What's Coming Friday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) just delivered its strongest start to a year in 23 years. Over the first three trading days of the new year, the Dow climbed 2.9%. You'd have to go all the way back to 2003 to find a better opening three days, when it gained 5.2%.

Meanwhile, Automatic Data Processing Inc (ADP), the largest private payroll processor in the United States, released its employment report showing 41,000 jobs added versus a consensus estimate of 45,000. ADP's data often provides an advance glimpse of the official jobs report, which drops on Friday.

But Friday might bring something even more consequential than jobs data. The Supreme Court may announce a decision on tariffs, and if it does, that ruling could be genuinely market-moving, particularly if the Court rules against President Trump. The consensus view in the market right now is that the Supreme Court will find a way to support the President's position. If that consensus is wrong, expect volatility.

Why Venezuela's Oil Deal Matters More Than You Think

Venezuela just agreed to sell 50 million barrels of oil to the United States and its allies. Normally, this oil would have flowed to China. But here's the crucial detail that many people are missing: this sale will occur in dollars.

Venezuela had been selling to China in yuan. For the dollar to maintain its status as the world's reserve currency, it's absolutely critical that oil continues trading primarily in dollars. Every time a major oil transaction shifts from yuan back to dollars, it reinforces the dollar's dominance in global commodity markets. This isn't just about one oil deal; it's about the architecture of global finance.

This also helps explain why Chevron, with its 25% share of Venezuelan oil production, has a strategic advantage beyond just the volume of barrels it controls.

Money Flows in the Magnificent Seven

Given how concentrated most portfolios have become in the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, tracking early money flows in these names has become essential daily intelligence.

In early trading, money flows are showing neutral patterns in Tesla Inc (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet Inc Class C (GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN).

Money flows are turning negative in Apple Inc (AAPL), Meta Platforms Inc (META), and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

Meanwhile, flows are mixed in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ), suggesting the broader market hasn't picked a clear direction yet.

Bitcoin Stays Range-Bound

Bitcoin (BTC) continues trading within its established range, showing neither breakout nor breakdown momentum at this point.

Portfolio Positioning Strategy

In this environment, the prudent approach is to continue holding quality long-term positions while maintaining appropriate protection through a combination of cash, Treasury bills, or tactical hedges based on your individual risk tolerance.

Your protection band should reflect your circumstances. Conservative or older investors should lean toward the higher end of protection levels, while aggressive or younger investors can operate with less protection. The key is maintaining enough dry powder to take advantage of new opportunities when they emerge.

Think of protection bands on a scale from 0% to 100%. A 0% protection band would indicate you're fully invested with maximum bullishness. A 100% protection band would signal maximum bearishness with aggressive hedging or even short positions. Most investors should be somewhere in between, adjusted for their risk profile.

When adjusting positions, consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and allowing more room for high-beta stocks that naturally move more than the broader market.

The Bond Allocation Question

For those following traditional 60/40 portfolio allocation between stocks and bonds, the current probability-based risk-reward picture adjusted for inflation doesn't favor long-duration strategic bond positions.

If you're committed to maintaining that 40% bond allocation, focus on high-quality bonds with durations of five years or less. More sophisticated investors might consider treating bond ETFs as tactical positions rather than strategic holdings in the current environment, allowing for more flexibility as interest rate dynamics continue evolving.

The bottom line: we're in a market where patience and positioning matter more than ever. The opportunities are real, whether in memory stocks riding Nvidia's coattails or energy plays with genuine strategic value. But so are the traps, as Chevron momentum traders just learned the hard way. Stay disciplined, keep some cash ready, and don't let FOMO make your decisions for you.

Back to Stock Market News

Nvidia Sparks NAND Memory Frenzy While Chevron Traders Learn Hard Lessons About FOMO

MarketDash Editorial Team
1 day ago
Nvidia's Jensen Huang just triggered a buying mania in memory stocks with comments about a new storage platform, while momentum traders who chased Chevron's weekend pump are nursing losses. Plus, a Supreme Court tariff decision looms that could shake markets.

The Chevron Euphoria Trap

Here's a cautionary tale about what happens when you let FOMO drive your trading decisions. Chevron Corp (CVX) rocketed to $172 in premarket trading on January 5th after news broke that the energy giant was teaming up with a private equity firm to acquire international assets from Lukoil, a major Russian oil producer. In overnight Sunday trading, it climbed even higher.

The surge was fueled by momentum trading gurus pumping the stock over the weekend, urging their followers to pile into Chevron during overnight sessions. But as of this writing, Chevron has retreated to $157.64, and it traded even lower earlier in the session. That's a painful round trip for anyone who bought into the hype.

The warning signs were there for those watching proprietary demand indicators. Throughout this period, supply and demand signals were consistently showing net supply rather than net demand, essentially flashing orange warning lights against buying into the spike.

The irony here is that Chevron actually has legitimate tailwinds. The company is the only major U.S. oil producer operating in Venezuela and controls approximately 25% of Venezuela's oil production. That's a real strategic advantage, especially with recent developments in that country. But there's a massive difference between a good long-term story and a good price to enter a position.

The lesson? Unlike the momentum crowd, prudent investors need to control their fear of missing out. As important as it is to buy the right positions, it's equally critical not to buy the wrong position at the wrong time, especially when you're buying into euphoria. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.

Nvidia Triggers NAND Memory Mania

Now let's talk about the buying frenzy that NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) just sparked in memory stocks. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made some comments that sent traders scrambling, saying that existing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is "far from sufficient to support GPUs, and the memory bottleneck is only getting worse." He then explained a concept he called a "new memory storage platform."

The key detail? This new concept uses NAND memory. The market immediately interpreted this as a major opportunity for solid-state disk drives (SSD), and a genuine mania erupted in several related stocks.

Micron Technology Inc (MU), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Western Digital Corp (WDC), and Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) are all seeing frenzied buying activity. This isn't just a modest bump; we're talking about the kind of momentum that happens when the market collectively decides a new trend is emerging.

Whether this enthusiasm is justified depends on how quickly and broadly this new storage architecture gets adopted. But when the most influential CEO in the chip industry says there's a fundamental bottleneck that needs solving, and then points toward a specific technology, markets listen.

The Dow's Historic Start and What's Coming Friday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) just delivered its strongest start to a year in 23 years. Over the first three trading days of the new year, the Dow climbed 2.9%. You'd have to go all the way back to 2003 to find a better opening three days, when it gained 5.2%.

Meanwhile, Automatic Data Processing Inc (ADP), the largest private payroll processor in the United States, released its employment report showing 41,000 jobs added versus a consensus estimate of 45,000. ADP's data often provides an advance glimpse of the official jobs report, which drops on Friday.

But Friday might bring something even more consequential than jobs data. The Supreme Court may announce a decision on tariffs, and if it does, that ruling could be genuinely market-moving, particularly if the Court rules against President Trump. The consensus view in the market right now is that the Supreme Court will find a way to support the President's position. If that consensus is wrong, expect volatility.

Why Venezuela's Oil Deal Matters More Than You Think

Venezuela just agreed to sell 50 million barrels of oil to the United States and its allies. Normally, this oil would have flowed to China. But here's the crucial detail that many people are missing: this sale will occur in dollars.

Venezuela had been selling to China in yuan. For the dollar to maintain its status as the world's reserve currency, it's absolutely critical that oil continues trading primarily in dollars. Every time a major oil transaction shifts from yuan back to dollars, it reinforces the dollar's dominance in global commodity markets. This isn't just about one oil deal; it's about the architecture of global finance.

This also helps explain why Chevron, with its 25% share of Venezuelan oil production, has a strategic advantage beyond just the volume of barrels it controls.

Money Flows in the Magnificent Seven

Given how concentrated most portfolios have become in the Magnificent Seven tech stocks, tracking early money flows in these names has become essential daily intelligence.

In early trading, money flows are showing neutral patterns in Tesla Inc (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet Inc Class C (GOOG), and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN).

Money flows are turning negative in Apple Inc (AAPL), Meta Platforms Inc (META), and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

Meanwhile, flows are mixed in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ), suggesting the broader market hasn't picked a clear direction yet.

Bitcoin Stays Range-Bound

Bitcoin (BTC) continues trading within its established range, showing neither breakout nor breakdown momentum at this point.

Portfolio Positioning Strategy

In this environment, the prudent approach is to continue holding quality long-term positions while maintaining appropriate protection through a combination of cash, Treasury bills, or tactical hedges based on your individual risk tolerance.

Your protection band should reflect your circumstances. Conservative or older investors should lean toward the higher end of protection levels, while aggressive or younger investors can operate with less protection. The key is maintaining enough dry powder to take advantage of new opportunities when they emerge.

Think of protection bands on a scale from 0% to 100%. A 0% protection band would indicate you're fully invested with maximum bullishness. A 100% protection band would signal maximum bearishness with aggressive hedging or even short positions. Most investors should be somewhere in between, adjusted for their risk profile.

When adjusting positions, consider using wider stops on remaining quantities and allowing more room for high-beta stocks that naturally move more than the broader market.

The Bond Allocation Question

For those following traditional 60/40 portfolio allocation between stocks and bonds, the current probability-based risk-reward picture adjusted for inflation doesn't favor long-duration strategic bond positions.

If you're committed to maintaining that 40% bond allocation, focus on high-quality bonds with durations of five years or less. More sophisticated investors might consider treating bond ETFs as tactical positions rather than strategic holdings in the current environment, allowing for more flexibility as interest rate dynamics continue evolving.

The bottom line: we're in a market where patience and positioning matter more than ever. The opportunities are real, whether in memory stocks riding Nvidia's coattails or energy plays with genuine strategic value. But so are the traps, as Chevron momentum traders just learned the hard way. Stay disciplined, keep some cash ready, and don't let FOMO make your decisions for you.

    Nvidia Sparks NAND Memory Frenzy While Chevron Traders Learn Hard Lessons About FOMO - MarketDash News