08/24/2026
Gold and Bitcoin rose last week. Bitcoin was up over 20% while gold jumped over 5%. Treasury Secretary Bessent announced support for treasury buybacks, bringing interest rates down which supported a bigger risk appetite among investors. Concern over the level of outstanding debt played a role in the movement of both financial alternatives. Stocks eased a bit from a recent run-up but Lowry’s sees solid underlying demand. All key indexes remain above their 50 day moving averages.
Drug stocks and bitcoin related issues were big winners last week. Moderna blasted upwards by 129% on positive comments about a melanoma drug. Coinbase rose over 25% and miner Freeport McMoran rose over 15%. Tech and Electronic stocks were big losers among these Seagate down 12%, Intel down12%, Jabil down 13% and Reddit down nearly 14%.
QUIZ: Among the “Picks and Shovels” stock of the internet build out Sandisk is the big winner. Over the last 52 weeks how high has this stock risen:
a. ) 342%
b. ) 496%
c. ) 721%
d. ) 3,342%
Answer below
Highlights From Lowry's Weekly Commentary
• While Demand measures could be better, expanding market breadth across all segments, accompanied by no sign of worrisome selling, continues to favor the bulls.
• With major price indexes still near their recent all-time highs and displaying resiliency, it remains prudent for investors to keep a bullish mindset.
Highlights from Braeburn Monitor
• While the Nasdaq 100 ETF, symbol QQQ remains a market darling and is up 16.1% on the year, our favorite large value ETF, Mega Value (MGV) is up over 19% year-to-date.
• Oil stocks are current leaders but Medical Groups are on the move:
Economic Highlight of the Week
Industrial production in the United States increased by 0.2% in July 2026, falling short of market expectations for a 0.3% rise, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in June. Manufacturing output, which accounts for about 78% of total industrial production, went up 0.2% in July after rising 0.3% in June, in line with forecasts. Manufacturing output excluding motor vehicles and parts increased 0.4%. Mining production increased by 1.3%. Meanwhile, mining output grew 0.2%, and utilities output rose 0.5%, with similarly sized increases in electric and natural gas utilities. Capacity utilization edged up to 76.3%, a rate that is 3.1 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2025) average. source: Federal Reserve
Source: Trading Economics
Quote of the week : “To compound your money, and not your mistakes, your goal is to buy on the way up—not on the way down..” -Mark Minervini in Think and Trade Like a Champion.
Sandisk is up 3,342% in the last 52 weeks. A $10,000 investment in this stock is worth $344,200
