💰Red-Hot ‘Stars-and-Stripes’ Trade Explodes:LAC, INTC, MP & More

September 25, Eastern Time – while the broad market slid for a third day, a clutch of Made-in-USA names dubbed the “Stars & Stripes basket” lit up the tape.

$Lithium Americas Corp.(LAC)$ rose another 22.63% after popped 95 % on Wendnesday, $Intel(INTC)$ added 8.87% and $MP Materials Corp.(MP)$ surged 8.82%.

5 DAY CHANGES AS OF September 25th 2025

Below we unpack the catalysts, money-flow and a watch-list for the next Washington-backed momentum plays.

1. What happened on 9/25?

The Trump administration is in talks with $Lithium Americas Corp.(LAC)$ o restructure a $2.26 billion Department of Energy loan and is seeking an equity stake of up to 10%.

A similar “national-team” equity logic had already surfaced around $Intel(INTC)$ and $MP Materials Corp.(MP)$ , so money piled into the entire “critical minerals + domestic manufacturing” chain, dragging INTC and MP higher.

The Big 3 That Led the Charge

Ticker	Intra-day rise	Close	Spark
LAC	22.63%	$7.37	Trump team plans 10 % equity + $2.3 bn DOE loan re-fi for Thacker Pass, the largest Li resource in the Western hemisphere (start-up 2028).
INTC	8.87%	$33.99	White House confirmed studying debt-to-equity swap on previous CHIPS loans – Treasury could own ≤10 % of Intel.
MP	8.82%	$77.13	Only U.S. rare-earth producer already awarded $400 m DoD cash; seen as next in line for a federal stake.

Common thread: D.C. takes a seat on the cap-table → lower cost of capital + guaranteed order book → short-cover + quant chase = textbook policy squeeze.

2. Flag-Waving Alpha: Why Traders Piled In

Policy Delta: The credit equals 25 ¢ on every dollar spent, a far richer incentive than last year’s CHIPS Act (12 %).
Clock Speed: The draft contains “buy-America” clauses that take effect 1 Jan 2026, forcing OEMs to re-shore or lose federal contracts.
Short Squeeze: MP and LAC both sport short interest >20 % of float; once volume hit, algms chased gamma hedges.

3. Fast money & charts

$Lithium Americas Corp.(LAC)$ volume 18× 30-day avg, 42 % of shorts covered in 1 session (γ-squeeze).
$Intel(INTC)$ : broke 3-month down-trend, 75 % of daily option flow in calls, Oct-30 strike OI mushroomed.
$MP Materials Corp.(MP)$ : reclaimed 200-d MA, MACD bullish cross, next resistance ATH high ~$82.5

4. Follow-on more “Stars-and-Stripes Basket”

Ticker	Angle	Next catalyst
$Albemarle(ALB)$	Only U.S. Li brine mine (Silver Peak) – subsidy upgrade likely	Q3 earnings Oct-late
$Micron Technology(MU)$	CHIPS beneficiary, debt-to-equity candidate	Cap-ex day Nov
$Freeport-McMoRan(FCX)$	World #1 Cu producer, Cu = “electrification metal”	Oct Congress hearing
$Rocket Lab USA, Inc.(RKLB)$	Only listed U.S. small-lift rocket – NSS launch tilt	Oct launch window
$General Motors(GM)$	38 % owner of LAC Thacker Pass, locks in cheap Li	Investor day early Oct
$cleveland-cliffs(CLF)$	Sole U.S. iron-ore pelletizer; 15 % short.	Mid-term guidance update (Nov)
$Nucor(NUE)$	Domestic steel giant, 0 % net debt, 3 % div. yield.	Q4 scrap surcharge reset
$Texas Mineral Resources Corp.(TMRC)$	Rare-earth junior, 30 % short, nano-cap torque.	Drill results / DOE grant decision (Q4)
$Constellation Energy Corp(CEG)$	Carbon-free power for data-centers; gov’t offtake MoU in place.	FERC capacity auction (Nov)

5. Risk & playbook

Policy risk: election outcome or Congress can shrink/stall deals.
Volatility: 20 % pull-backs routine after 70 % spikes – use covered calls or protective puts; sell OTM puts to enter lower.
Cash-flow: some projects ( $Lithium Americas Corp.(LAC)$ ) start 2028 & still loss-making – trade, don’t marry.

Bottom line
The theme flips geopolitical risk into a government equity premium. Trading vehicle, not a widows-and-orphans holding. Keep sizing ≤5 % equity, move fast, watch White House/DoE/DoD press releases for the next debt-to-equity ticker.

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💰Stocks to watch today?(5 Dec)

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