Summary

As we close out 2024, the stock market is acting in a way that nicely reflects the sentiment expressed by experts over the past month. No one has run completely for the exits, but volatility is high and investors have reacted very quickly to the flow of news as they look to protect gains in what has been a solid year for equities. Insider sentiment, as expressed in weekly data from Vickers Stock Research, reflects a group of shareholders who are staying on the sidelines, with no apparent desire to buy shares, but no panicky inclination to dump shares . Major Vickers one-week bid/ask ratios remain in the neutral zone between 2.00 and 6.00, but a slight divergence has appeared this week, with sentiment on the Nasdaq worsening while sentiment on the NYSE improves . With the Nasdaq leading the charge this year (around 30%), we’ll allow for some small profit-taking in the index. In sector terms, insider buying was the biggest in the consumer discretionary sector over the past week, with shares valued at $187 million bought versus $46 million sold. Buying activity also outpaced selling