Breakout or Breakdown

* Analyzing the markets with Richie Naso, a Wall Street veteran of over 40 years and former member of the NYSE.

DJIA 52-wk: +11.84% | YTD: +3.83% | Wkly: +1.35%

S&P 500 52-wk: +19.56% | YTD: +8.63% | Wkly: +2.43%

NASDAQ 52-wk: +28.10% | YTD: +11.08% | Wkly: +3.87%

Cboe Volatility Index 52-wk: -36.32% | YTD: -12.68% | Wkly: -25.66%

Weekly Market Highlights (Aug 4–8, 2025)

1. Strong Weekly Rally Across Major Indices

The Nasdaq Composite surged 3.9%, hitting new all-time closing highs by Friday’s end. The Wall Street Journal reports.

The S&P 500 rose 2.4%, marking its best weekly performance since June. The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained approximately 1.3%. The Wall Street Journal reports.

2. What Fueled the Rally

A wave of optimism around September Fed rate cuts, supported by weak labor data and strong corporate earnings, especially from mega-cap tech names. Barron's reports.

Apple led the gains, surging about 13%, followed by notable rallies in Tesla (≈+2.3%) and Palantir (+21%). The Wall Street Journal reports.

3. Economic and Policy Context

Gold hit near-record highs, while U.S. tariffs and inflation concerns remained key themes. The Wall Street Journal and Barron's reports.

Treasury yields ticked up modestly, and investor sentiment benefited from belief in future Fed easing.

4. Investor Flow Trends

Despite equity gains, global equity funds experienced outflows for the second consecutive week, driven by tariff fears and weak U.S. economic data. Investors increasingly favored money markets and bond funds. Reuters reports.

The CPI report due next week is expected to be a critical data point for markets. Barron's reports.

Strong earnings, Fed rate cut optimism, and strength in tech stocks propelled markets higher. Continued tariff concerns, inflation dynamics, and upcoming macro data (like the CPI) will be key in shaping the market’s direction in the weeks ahead—a cautious tone is advised despite this week’s robust performance.

Global equity funds see outflows for second week on tariff, economic concerns:

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Global equity funds came under selling pressure while safe-haven demand bolstered money market funds in the week through August 6, as U.S. tariff announcements and data showing signs of weakness in the U.S. economy fuelled risk aversion.

Investors sold off a net $7.82 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, adding to $29.95 billion worth of net divestments the week before, LSEG Lipper data showed.

They snapped up money market funds to the tune of $135.37 billion, in their most robust weekly net purchase since January 8.

Fund investors rushed to lock in profits from a recent rally after U.S. President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners, including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan. A disappointing U.S. jobs report for July added to investor caution.

A total of $13.7 billion of weekly net sales for U.S. equity funds outweighed inflows in European and Asian equity funds totaling $3.45 billion and $1.85 billion, respectively.

Sectoral funds also bucked the trend, with communication services, industrial and tech sector funds luring in a significant $1.18 billion, $822 million and $541 million, respectively.

Healthcare Stocks Have Been Beaten Up. The Case for Buying Now.

By Jacob Sonenshine

How Quantum Computing Could Upend Bitcoin

Hackers stand to gain “a superpower.” Will the crypto industry be ready?
Two of this century’s breakthrough technologies are on a collision course. Investors in Bitcoin (BTCUSD+0.24%) should pay attention.

Experts say that ultrapowerful quantum computers could eventually crack the security codes of blockchain, the underlying technology for Bitcoin. That would be a hacker’s dream. And it could deal a severe blow to investors’ trust in the $2 trillion-plus market for the leading cryptocurrency.

Roughly a quarter of all Bitcoins are now protected with algorithms that could be cracked by quantum computers in five or 10 years, Gartner analyst Avivah Litan tells Barron’s. Those are mostly older Bitcoins housed in digital vaults, or wallets, that date back as far as 15 years.

As quantum computing keeps advancing, the damage could spread to newer wallets, and then to the market’s broader structure. The computers “might eventually become so fast that they will undermine the Bitcoin transaction process,” experts at Deloitte have written. Conceivably, hackers could start rewriting the history of trades.

The crypto industry knows about these risks and is quietly preparing to defend itself.

“There are very strong incentives to protect the value in Bitcoin’s network and drive the development of quantum-resistant technology,” Litan says. Ultimately, the industry’s best weapon for the fight could prove to be quantum computing itself. Some firms are already working on that.

The big, unanswerable question is how quickly quantum develops. That is, how soon might the security features of blockchain meet their match? Will the industry finish its preparations in time?

1-Week Flash Outlook Table

• Driver: Tariff updates & CPI report
  Market Impact Potential: High – Fed expectations could shift
  
  
• Driver: Earnings (tech, industrial)
  Market Impact Potential: Moderate – moves in key sectors
  
  
• Driver: Valuation/sentiment risks
  Market Impact Potential: Elevated – bubble signals growing
  
  
• Driver: Seasonality (Aug–Sep)
  Market Impact Potential: Heads-up – historical higher volatility
  
  
• Driver: Macro momentum vs. caution
  Market Impact Potential: Mixed – bulls optimistic, but risks rising

Basically, there has been a one-month consolidation. The CPI report could produce a breakout or a breakdown. I’m going to take a wait and see attitude, I don’t want to get caught either way.

— Richie

This content (“Content”) is produced by Richard Naso. The Content represents only the views and opinions of Mr. Naso who is compensated by TradeZero for producing it. Mr. Naso’s trading experiences and accomplishments are unique, and your trading results may vary substantially from his. TradeZero does not endorse the Content and makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy of the Content or information available through any referenced or linked third party sites. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice or a recommendation as to any security. Trading securities can involve high risk and potential loss of funds. Furthermore, trading on margin is for experienced investors whereby the loss can be greater than your initial investment. Likewise, short selling as a securities trading strategy is extremely risky and can lead to potentially unlimited losses. Options trading is not suitable for all investors as it can involve risk that may expose investors to significant losses. Please reach the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options, also known as the options disclosure (ODD) at OCC.

TradeZero provides self-directed brokerage accounts to customers through its operating affiliates: TradeZero America, Inc., a United States broker dealer, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC); TradeZero, Inc., a Bahamian broker dealer, registered with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas; and TradeZero Canada Securities ULC, a Canadian broker dealer, member firm of the Canadian Industry Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).