Well, we finally got the FOMC rate cut we were hoping for. The 0.50% rate cut was announced on Wednesday and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes hit all-time highs on Thursday, with the NASDAQ lagging behind only slightly. With the last quarter of the year in front of us, it’s time to see if the bulls will take the wheel and bring home a strong 2024 with a strong final quarter.

This week I discuss:

1. How earnings drive stock prices and what to look for in earnings trends,
2. the pattern of selloffs after quarter-ends in 2024 and why that’s so, and
3. why sitting on your hands can be as profitable (or more so) than trading bad setups.

Pantile Investments' Principal David Baines recaps what happened in the US stock market last week and what it means for your trading in the week to come.