This stock market has had a number of themes of late, but the one having the most impact is its inconsistency. What matters one day is forgotten the next and if you try to prepare for follow-through you are often on the wrong side of the trade.
Thursday morning interest rates have pulled back and bonds have bounced after some tough action Wednesday. While bank stocks are still holding up, the theme I discussed in my opening post about how higher rates could trigger a change in the character of the action has been put on hold.
There isn't any obvious driver for the action Thursday morning other than the fact that many traders keep looking for a market top and are out of position and forced to buy. There is talk about how trade wars and some weakness in the dollar are reasons for the move but it is mostly caused by investors that still don't trust this market that much.
One theme that is continuing, though, is the cannabis trade. Tilray (TLRY) has been surprisingly sedate but aggressive traders like me are beating the bushes looking for the next big mover. New Age Beverages (NBEV) , which I mentioned Wednesday, continues to run with a fury.
A new name that's popped up is Corbus Pharmaceuticals (CRBP) , which announced that it has bought a portfolio of "endocannabinoid system-related compounds" which means "pot-related" in more common vernacular. The stock is up slightly on the news but took off when our own Jim Cramer announced that he would be interviewing the CEO on his Mad Money show tonight.
One thing that often happens when there is a frenzy in a sector like we have now in the cannabis names is that it spills over into other stocks. They may have nothing to do with the prevalent theme but the strong trading increases confidence that other speculative trades may work and that can offer some great opportunities.
