To The Moon

As we start ‘fresh’ again, entering 2nd trading week of September 2025, I cannot help but wonder if US market is going to be more volatile this week than last ? (see below)

Reason being, the last inflation report will drop this week before US’s FOMC team convenes come 2025 Sep 16 - 17. (more on this later)

Week In Recap.

For the short trading week of 2025 Sep 02 -05, key catalysts impacting all three US composite indexes were US market's reaction to mixed economic data, alongside growing expectations for US central bank rate cut mid-September 2025.

Early in the week, markets were volatile but finished slightly higher as weak US employment data further raised hopes for easing monetary policy.

Thankfully, both manufacturing and services PMI indexes were still within the “growth” range, adding some optimism. (click here ! for details, help to Repost so more will know - tks !)

Above combined narrative explained overall US market behavior through the week, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq all reflecting these macro influences:

• DJIA : -0.32% (-144.02 to 45,400.86).

• S&P 500: +0.33% (+21.24 to 6,481.50). Ended last week just under 1.0% below its record high.

• Nasdaq: +1.14% (+244.84 to 21,700.39).

Week Beginning 08 Sep 2025.

Readers should remember that after US jobs reports are released, focus moves back to inflation, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report being the key highlight.

Besides that, other US economic reports includes:

• Wed, 10 Sep 2025 - US Producer Price Index (PPI).

• Thu, 11 Sep 2025 - US Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• Thu, 11 Sep 2025 - US jobs claims : Weekly & Continuing.

• Fri, 12 Sep 2025 - Consumer Sentiments Index (preliminary).

CPI Forecast.

The CPI is likely the most anticipated report of the week.

Below is Cleveland Fed’s latest CPI forecasts for August 2025, last updated on 5 Sep 2025:

Headline Inflation.

• MoM: is forecasted to be +0.3% vs July 2024’s +0.2%; that’s a gain of +0.1%.

• YoY: is forecasted to be +2.84% vs July 2024’s +2.7%; that’s a gain of +0.14%.

Core Inflation.

• MoM: is forecasted to be +0.25% vs July 2024’s +0.3%; that’s a cooling of -0.05%.

• YoY: is forecasted to be +3.05% vs July 2024’s +3.1%; that’s again a cooling of of -0.05%.

Based on NowCasting’s forecast vs July 2025's actuals,

• Overall, US inflation is roughly stable rather than rising sharply in August 2025.

• Headline inflation is creeping higher but not spiking yet.

• Core inflation is still modestly elevated but not accelerating.

Data implies US inflation pressures remain present but contained at this stage.

Best Performing Sectors - Last Week.

Below are performances on some of S&P 500 sectors.

Last week’s Top 3 Best & Worst sectors were:

• Best - $Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLC)$ , $Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLY)$ and Real Estate (XLRE).

• Worst - Utilities (XLU), $Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLF)$ and $Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLE)$.

This week, investors will be watching closely to see if inflation trends line up with that narrative and potentially clearing the path for stocks to extend their record-setting run.

Mon, 08 Sep 2025.

Monday saw US market continues to push higher as:

• Nasdaq notched a record high close, lifted by a rally in Broadcom.

• S&P 500 also gained as investors bet the Fed will soon lower borrowing costs to shore up economic growth.

• The narrative of a -0.25% interest cut during next week’s FOMC September meeting has given way to multiple interest rate cuts in remaining H2 2025.

• This stemmed from overall market consensus of a “real” potential slowdown in the world's biggest economy.

Fanning the optimism of multiple interest cuts are brokerages’ revised calls for Fed interest rate cuts:

• Barclays anticipates 3 cuts of 25 bps each in 2025, compared with 2 earlier.

• Standard Chartered expects a 50-bps trim in September - double its earlier projection.

It is prudent not to read too much into these predictions because its pure speculation; lest one gets too caught up in the process.

By the time 4pm came around:

(1) DJIA: +0.25% (+114.09 to 45,514.95).

(2) S&P 500: +0.21% (+13.65 to 6,495.15).

• YTD, this index is up about +10% so far and is poised to chart a new high (again !).

• On Monday, it posted 18 new highs and 8 new lows.

(3) Nasdaq: +0.45% (+98.311 to 21,798.699).

• Similarly, the tech index has climbed about +13% YTD.

• On Monday, it has topped its 13 Aug 2025’s high of 21,713.14.

• Nasdaq recorded 136 new highs and 95 new lows.

Trading volume on US exchanges was relatively heavy, with 16.2 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.1 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

PLTR Breakout Soon ?

It is no secret that $Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$ has been on a consolidation run since hitting its peak on 12 August 2025, closing at $186.97 per share. (see below)

Common grouses over PLTR includes:

(1) Valuation Concerns:

Analysts are still harping over PLTR’s trading at (a) very high multiples—about 236x forward earnings and (b) 105x 2025 revenue.

Like it or not, when its mentioned one time too many, it made investors cautious.

Such elevated valuations often lead to profit-taking and consolidation as the stock price becomes stretched relative to fundamentals.

It does not help too when news of investment guru like Druckenmiller divesting his entire stake in PLTR made front page news.

(2) Insiders’ Selling.

Also, it does not “bode well” when there is active insiders’ selling, despite these sales were mostly executed under Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, that is designed to automate regular sales and avoid insider trading allegations.

In the month of August 2025 alone,

• CEO Alex Karp selling shares valued at around $63 million in stake reduction via Rule 10b5-1 prearranged sales plans.

• CFO David Glazer also sold shares and reduced his holdings by around -13.7% through options exercise and market sales.

• Other insiders like Jeffrey Buckley - Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) and Shyam Sankar - Chief Operating Officer (COO) sold shares during August as well, totaling millions of dollars in sales individually.

(3) Technical Patterns:

After strong rallies, it’s typical for stocks to consolidate to build support before continuing an upward or downward trend.

PLTR’s price action showing a pause after rapid gains fits classic consolidation behavior.

Personally, I think it is a good thing to have a breather of sort before continuing its climb higher.

Technical Analysis & Predictions.

Over the past 2 weeks, PLTR has attracted buyers and established what looks like a bullish continuation pattern: (see above)

• A decisive move above $159 would confirm a breakout and likely pave the way for another leg higher.

• On the other hand, a break below key support near $150 would suggest further downside risk, signaling that investors may want to wait for a better entry point.

At the same time, past 2 months, has seen a wave of analyst upgrades PLTR across all timeframes.

Current-quarter earnings estimates are up more than +21%, while projections for next year have climbed +16.7%.

Predictions.

Valuation will remain a sticking point, as PLTR trades at an elevated 236x forward earnings.

Yet the growth outlook continues to justify bullish sentiment.

Sales are expected to surge +46% for FY 2025 and another +33% in FY 2026, while earnings are projected to compound at an impressive +40.8% annually, over the next 3 - 5 years.

Conclusion.

Investors willing to be tactical and embrace more speculative setups, PLTR arguably embodies the current market zeitgeist better than any other stock.

Sitting at the intersection of AI and defense technology, Palantir is aligned with 2 of the most powerful long-term themes driving capital flows today.

When it comes to Palantir, are you game ?

Remember to check out my other posts. (See below). Help to Repost ok, Thanks.

Must Read: Click on below titles to access. Repost to share, Like as encouragement ok. Thanks.

• AFRM - king of BNPL, until KLAR's IPO ? Tue, 09 September. Idea pick.

• Jobs Reports Impacts - NOT Interest Cut only (II) ! Mon, 08 September. Pick post.

• Jobs Reports Impacts - NOT Interest Cut only ! Mon, 08 September. Pick post.

• Do you think a rising CPI data will help US market rally ?

• Do you think a rising August 2025 CPI will help PLTR to recover and breakout higher ?

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