AGNC Investment Corp. is a publicly traded REIT focused on residential housing. The company's investment portfolio consists of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) managed on a leveraged basis. The company uses an actively managed portfolio and hedging strategies with the goal of preserving net asset value in different interest rate scenarios.

The stock market tried its best to rally on July 29, but with major EPS reports, a Fed decision, and an employment report looming, higher prices attracted sellers and the major indices finished flat. The market will either continue lower in the near term or the pullback will end and new highs are just around the corner. We would bet on the former, as there is no indication from the recent price action of the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Nasdaq 100 that the selling is over. While the tech-heavy indices, industries, and mega caps have worked off overbought momentum conditions on a daily and weekly basis, we have not yet cycled into oversold territory on a daily basis. Do we have to? Absolutely not -- but it probably would be healthy. The last time Technology indices/stocks were oversold on a daily basis was on April 19 -- but just barely, with the 14-day relative strength index reaching 30. The last time tech was oversold on a weekly basis was in mid-2022 -- and prior to that, during the pandemic. Long-term relative strength leadership rarely cycles into oversold territory on a weekly or monthly basis except during mega meltdowns and crashes. So there is a smell of panic in Technology land as the 'can't miss' semiconductor stocks are stinking it up. But at least the money fleeing those stocks is being moved into other areas of the market. The NYSE, Dow Jones Industrials, the S&P 500 equal weight, the S&P MidCap 400, the Russell 2000, and the S&P Small Cap 600 continue to catch a bid -- with most remaining near all-time highs. As of this writing, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX $220.58) has cratered almost 17% over the 14 sessions, its largest decline in that time period since June 2022 (which was during a tough bear market for Information Technology). There is a cluster of support near $200, which includes the last low in April, trendline support off the lows since October 2022, and a 38.2% retracement of the bull market. Distribution days on the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and the SOXX continue to add up as we count seven on both ETFs over the past 14 days.

AGNC Investment Corp. is a publicly traded REIT focused on residential housing. The company's investment portfolio consists of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) managed on a leveraged basis. The company uses an actively managed portfolio and hedging strategies with the goal of preserving net asset value in different interest rate scenarios.

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday morning as investors digested new economic data and ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision. According to ADP's latest National Employment Report, U.S. private employers added 192,000 jobs in April, slightly ahead of expectations for 183,000. Job gains were broad based, with all sectors reporting gains aside from IT -- which lost 4,000 jobs. The ISM Manufacturing PMI in the United States fell to 49.2 in April of 2024 from 50.3 in the earlier month, below market expectations. The Dow is up 0.3%, while the S&P 500 is down 0.8% and the Nasdaq fell 0.5%. Crude oil is trading below $80 per barrel and gold rose $14 to $2317 per ounce.