To The Moon

US stock composite index for Mon, 08 May 2023 In my daily discussion post for Mon, 08 May, I have mentioned that $Occidental(OXY)$ should be consolidating ahead of its first quarter earnings for year 2023. (click here to read. Give a “LIKe” ok). Reason being, US market is faced with the following 4 head winds: US Non-farm payroll for May 2023 US Non-farm payroll for May 2023 came in at 253,000 jobs; an additional 88,000 jobs (+53%) from April’s 165,000 jobs. Even beating market expectations of 180,000 jobs. This will not be music to the Feds ears because it is hoped that labour market would continue to soften; complimenting falling inflation. Will the latest data result in the Fed raising interest rate yet again in Jun 2023, instead of halting? Kickstart US Debt limit discussion on Tue, 09 May between President Biden & House speaker Kevin McCarty. April 2023 CPI inflation data due on Wed, 10 May morning. April 2023 PPI inflation data due on Thu, 11 May morning. During “bad or challenging” times, US market tends to be hyper-sensitive on the run-up to official report release. Yesterday (Mon, 08 May) and today (Tue, 09 May) are no exceptions. The concerns are valid (of course!) because US economy (for that matter, all world economies including Singapore) is still trying very hard to get back on its feet as quickly. It will not be a walk in the park because of different pockets of geo-political tensions happening concurrently, hindering each country’s effort to normalcy. By that I mean the followings (for now): Ukraine-Russia war. North Korea-South Korea missiles testing and joint military exercises with US. China-Taiwan military drill and defiant diplomatic engagement. China-Philippines south china sea dispute and Philippines-US joint military exercise. Have a think-over and decide if the above are worthy considerations? As they say in show business - “The Show Must Go On” and so, US market will continue to chug along with or without good news & bad news. As investors, we will still need to keep our eyes wide opened for a “balanced” risk appetite : Bargains to be had with blue-chip stocks (of course!) for the bigger part of investment outlay Quickies to be had with “hot” stocks or “meme” stocks for a minor portion of investment outlay. The above may or may not appeal to long term investors. There is no right or wrong when it comes to investment strategies, only what you could stomach. $AAPL stock price for past 1 Year If there is one stock that is worth a consider now, it would be $Apple(AAPL)$. It has reported a “stronger than expected” quarterly earnings for 2023. A fall in demand for the Macbook & iPad have already been “factored-in” after cross-referencing semiconductor companies quarterly earnings reports. The fall has been more than “compensated” by increased demand for its flagship iPhones and Services; that I have covered sufficiently in my previous post. In 1-Year, Apple has gone thru the high ($174.55 on 17 Aug 2022) and the low ($125.02 on 5 Jan 2023). Its Mon (08 May) closing price of $173.50 is edging closer to its peak price; thanks to (a) its Q2 2023 strong quarterly earnings and (b) last Sat (06 May) $Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B)$ annual meeting where investment gurus - Mr Warren Buffet and Mr Charlie Munger have “endorsed” Apple as a worthy investment and “wished” that they had purchased more earlier on. Do I need to elaborate further? Guessed not. Do you think there are other headwind/s affecting US market sentiments ? Do you think APPLE is a good stock to add to your portfolio if its not already there ? Please give a “LIKe” for this post ok. Thanks. Your rating is very important! Please feel free to share or re-post! Will you consider “Follow me” so that you get first hand read of my daily new posts? Thanks! @Daily_Discussion @TigerPM @Tiger_SG @TigerStars