The S&P 500 ($SPX) just logged its fifth straight trading box breakout, which means that, of the five trading ranges the index has experienced since the April lows, all have been resolved to the upside.
How much longer can this last? That’s been the biggest question since the massive April 9 rally. Instead of assuming the market is due to roll over, it’s been more productive to track price action and watch for potential changes along the way. So far, drawdowns have been minimal, and breakouts keep occurring. Nothing in the price action hints at a lasting change — yet.
While some are calling this rally “historic,” we have a recent precedent. Recall that from late 2023 through early 2024, the index had a strong start and gave way to a consistent, steady trend.
From late October 2023 through March 2024, the S&P 500 logged seven consecutive trading box breakouts. That streak finally paused with a pullback from late March to early April, which, as we now know, was only a temporary hiccup. Once the bid returned, the S&P 500 went right back to carving new boxes and climbing higher.
New 52-Week Highs Finally Picking Up
If there’s been one gripe about this rally, it’s that the number of new highs within the index has lagged. As we’ve discussed before, among all the internal breadth indicators available, new highs almost always lag — that’s normal. What we really want to see is whether the number of new highs begins to exceed prior peaks as the market continues to rise, which it has, as shown by the blue line in the chart below.
As of Wednesday’s close, 100 S&P 500 stocks were either at new 52-week highs or within 3% of them. That’s a strong base. We expect this number to continue rising as the market climbs, especially if positive earnings reactions persist across sectors.
Even when we get that first day with 100+ S&P 500 stocks making new 52-week highs, though, it might not be the best time to initiate new longs.
The above chart shows that much needs to align for that many stocks to peak in unison, which has historically led to at least a short-term consolidation, if not deeper pullbacks — as highlighted in yellow. Every time is different, of course, but this is something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Trend Check: GoNoGo Still “Go”
The GoNoGo Trend remains in bullish mode, with the recent countertrend signals having yet to trigger a greater pullback.
Active Bullish Patterns
We still have two live bullish upside targets of 6,555 and 6,745, which could be with us for a while going forward. For the S&P 500 to get there, it will need to form new, smaller versions of the trading boxes.
Failed Bearish Patterns
In the chart below, you can view a rising wedge pattern on the recent price action, the third since April. The prior two wedges broke down briefly and did not lead to a major downturn. The largest pullbacks in each case occurred after the S&P 500 dipped below the lower trendline of the pattern.
The deepest drawdown so far is 3.5%, which is not exactly a game-changer. Without downside follow-through, a classic bearish pattern simply can’t be formed, let alone be broken down from.
We’ll continue to monitor these formations as they develop because, at some point, that will change.
Here are some charts that reflect our areas of focus this week at
XLU Leads with New High
Even though the Utilities SPDR (XLU) cannot keep pace with the Technology SPDR (XLK) and Communication Services SPDR (XLC), it is in a leading uptrend. XLU formed a cup-with-handle from November to July and broke to new highs the last two weeks. ETFs hitting new highs are in strong uptrends and should be on our radar.
Metal Mania in 2025
In a tribute to Ozzy, metals are leading the way higher in 2025. The PerfChart below shows year-to-date performance for the continuous futures for 12 commodities. Copper, Platinum and Palladium are up more than 45% year-to-date, while Gold is up 28.38% and Silver is up 35.30%. QQQ is up 10.52% year-to-date, but lagging these metals. The other commodities are mixed.
Multi-Year Highs for Silver and Copper
The next chart shows 11 year bar charts for five metals. Gold broke out in early 2024 and led the metals move with an advance the last 21 months. Silver and copper broke out to multi-year highs. Platinum broke above its 2021 high and Palladium got in the action with an 18 month high. There is a clear message here: metals are moving higher and leading as a group.
Home Construction Hits Moment of Truth
The Home Construction ETF (ITB) hit its moment of truth as it rose to its falling 40-week SMA. Notice that ITB failed just below this moving average in August 2023. During the 2023-2024 uptrend, the 40-week SMA was more friendly as ITB reversed near this level in October 2023 and June 2024. ITB surged to the falling 40-week SMA in July, but the long-term trend is down and this area could be its nemesis.
Genetics is the study of genes, their variations and hereditary characteristics, as well as how these traits are passed on through generations. So what is genetics investing?
When it comes to genetics investing, companies in this niche of the life science sector are mostly focused on four submarkets: DNA sequencing, genetic testing, gene therapy and genomics, which includes gene editing.
This life sciences submarket has gained much attention from investors over the past several years. It has provided a launching pad for a number of biotech firms developing and commercializing novel treatments and drugs addressing a wide range of diseases with unmet needs.
For those looking to dive into the genetics sector, there are numerous investment opportunities to consider. Investing in gene stocks is the most common route, but there are risks due to the market’s volatility, especially when it comes to wins or losses with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are another popular option for gaining exposure to the industry, and come with less risk than investing in a single stock.
In this article
What are the key areas of the genetics sector?
Before diving into investment opportunities in the genetics market, it’s important to understand the industry and the key areas of genetics mentioned above.
What investors should know about the genetics market
In the biotech sector, gene therapy is one of the more advanced treatment options, and gene therapy pipeline candidates are robust in late-stage clinical trials.
In terms of what will — and already has — disrupted the genetics industry, CRISPR gene-editing technology has been on the rise for quite some time. It uses short repeating DNA sequences with “spacers” dividing them to treat genetic diseases.
While the use of the technology is still in its early stages, in the coming years it’s expected to have a big impact on how genetic diseases are treated, and there are a range of clinical trials underway involving CRISPR technology. So far, the only FDA approved CRISPR-based medicine is Casgevy, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP). It was originally approved in late 2023 for the treatment of sickle cell disease.
The prominence of gene therapies in the life science sector was a major theme at the 2025 JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in January 2025. Peter Marks, then-director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, told attendees that his agency is aiming to accelerate approvals for gene therapies.
In 2024, the FDA expanded approvals for CRISPR-based Casgevy to beta-thalassemia, and it also approved Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) Beqvez and PTC Therapeutics’ (NASDAQ:PTC) Kebilidi.
Despite experiencing a challenging year in 2024, there is still a lot of optimism in the gene therapy sector. Also speaking at the January conference, Alliance for Regenerative Medicine president Tim Hunt said he believes 10 new cell and gene therapy treatments could reach blockbuster status by 2030.
“No one’s saying there aren’t headwinds, but we are seeing important signs of growth,” he added.
Looking at DNA sequencing, this market is driven by advances in biotech, the increasing prevalence of cancer and rising demand for precision medicine, as well as higher investment in research and development. DNA sequencing has become a vital component of this growth and has played a key role in remodeling molecular biology and genomics research.
Genetic testing is another segment of the genetics industry that is growing at a fast pace. Unsurprisingly, technological breakthroughs have had a huge impact on genetic testing, and so has the fact that governments and regulatory bodies are turning their attention to this market in order to regulate and raise awareness to treat diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia.
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies are also expressing interest in this sector, which is expected to further fuel genetics sector growth in the coming years. Mergers and acquisitions activity is also expected to increase as companies seek to expand their product portfolios new candidates and technologies.
As can be seen, the genetics industry is vast and complex, but is also ripe with investment opportunities.
How to invest in gene stocks
Investors looking to invest in the field of genetics through stocks have many options, from large-cap biotech companies to pure-play gene therapy, gene editing and genetic testing stocks.
See the list below for genetics companies to consider, and check out the linked stock lists for more options.
Large-cap gene stocks
There are a number of large-cap biotech companies that have significant focuses on the field of genomics. Here are a few to consider:
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) A global leader in biotech, Amgen uses advanced human genetics to develop and manufacture therapeutics targeting a variety of diseases with unmet medical needs. The company’s subsidiary deCODE Genetics is researching how human genetic diversity influences disease.
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) Research-based global biopharmaceutical company AbbVie that addresses several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology and gastroenterology. AbbVie is collaborating with ADARx Pharmaceuticals to develop siRNA therapeutics, viewed as a promising genetic medicine approach for silencing disease-causing genes.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) Regeneron Pharmaceuticals creates medicines for a wide variety of diseases. The Regeneron Genetics Center is conducting one of the world’s largest genetics sequencing efforts in collaboration with health organizations around the world.
Gene editing (CRISPR) stocks
There are a variety of options for investors looking to buy in on the field of gene editing stocks, including:
CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) CRISPR Therapeutics and its partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals co-developed drug Casgevy, a CRISPR/Cas9 genome-edited cell therapy. Casgevy is the first ever treatment based on CRISPR technology to be approved for the US market, as well as by the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada.
Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) Intellia Therapeutics is a gene editing biotech company developing drugs for patients with genetic and autoimmune diseases. The company’s drug pipeline includes late-stage clinical programs for therapies targeting hereditary angioedema and transthyretin amyloidosis.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Vertex Pharmaceuticals is the other half of the team behind Casgevy. It also offers exposure to other sectors of genomics, with approved treatments for cystic fibrosis and a pipeline of genetic and cell therapies. Its investigational VX-880 islet cell replacement therapy could restore insulin production in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Gene therapy stocks
Gene therapy stocks and stem cell stocks are also popular choices for genetics investing. Here are a few to get you started:
Novartis (NYSE:NVS) Switzerland-based Novartis is focused on treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancers, malaria, leprosy and sickle cell disease. Novartis is developing adeno-associated-virus (AAV)-based and CRISPR-based gene therapies. Its Kymriah treatment was the first CAR-T cell therapy to be approved by the FDA, and the agency also approved its AAV-based therapy Zolgensma.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Global biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences is advancing breakthrough medicines to prevent and treat serious diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer. Its cell-based gene medicine for blood cancer, the CAR T-cell therapy Yescarta, was the second gene therapy approved by FDA.
uniQure (NASDAQ:QURE) Genomic medicine company uniQure develops and markets gene therapy products for patients with severe genetic diseases. The company’s AAV-based gene therapy platform targets liver-directed and central nervous system disorders.
Genetic testing stocks
For those interested in genetic testing stocks, these three stocks provide a snapshot on different ways to get exposure to the sector:
Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Exact Sciences focuses on molecular diagnostic tests. The company has developed a molecular screening technology platform called Cologuard that detects a range of cancers, including breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT) A leader in clinical diagnostic genetic sequencing, Fulgent Genetics is a full-service genomics testing company. Its proprietary technology platform, Picture Genetics, allows for the identification of personal DNA health markers in individual patients.
Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) Illumina develops, manufactures and markets life science tools and integrated systems that enable the implementation of genomic solutions for the healthcare sector. Its focus is on oncology testing, genetic disease testing, reproductive health and research.
How to invest in genomics ETFs
For those who would prefer to invest in the genetics industry overall rather than buying shares in an individual gene stock, investing in genomics ETFs is the way to go. Here are some available ETFs that offer exposure to companies in the biotech and genetics sectors to start you off:
ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARCA:ARKG) This ETF tracks firms focused on CRISPR technology, targeted therapeutics, bioinformatics, molecular diagnostics, stem cells and agricultural biology. Its holdings include CRISPR Therapeutics and Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH).
Global X Genomics & Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:GNOM) The Global X Genomics & Biotechnology ETF invests in stocks that are involved in genomic science, which includes gene computational genomics and biotechnology. Its holdings include Illumina and Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA).
iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF (ARCA:IDNA) The iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF focuses on companies involved with genomics, immunology and bioengineering. Its holdings include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Arcellx (NASDAQ:ACLX).
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Flowers, succulents and Formula One race cars helped fuel a 12% revenue bump for Lego during the first half of the year.
The company reported a record 34.6 billion Danish kroner, or $5.4 billion, in revenue as part of its biannual earnings report on Wednesday. Operating profit rose 10% year over year to 9 billion Danish kroner, or $1.4 billion, the company said.
“It’s the best first half ever,” Lego CEO Niels Christiansen told CNBC. “It’s a record on revenue, a record on operating profit, it’s a record on net profit. … So, we are very happy.”
The brick maker launched 314 new sets during the first six months of the year, another record high. Lego has steadily added new product to its portfolio, branching out into home decor with wall art sets. It has also added new license partners and released sets tied to animated children’s program “Bluey” and fan-favorite anime “One Piece.”
Up next is a multiyear partnership with Pokemon, due to hit shelves in 2026.
“You can always find something that you really like, the pop culture you’re into or the passion point you have,” Christiansen said. “That works really well.”
In expanding its catalog of product, Lego has also grown its consumer base. Gateways into the brand such as its line of botanicals — plants, flower bouquets and succulents — and its ongoing partnership with Epic Games — which brings Lego to the digital space and elements from the popular video game Fortnite into the physical world — have encouraged newcomers into the brick-building space, Christiansen said.
“Then they figure out what it is and what it does for them, how it kind of allows them to express themselves, but also de-stress and focus on stuff in a different way,” he said. “So botanicals sets turn out to be good at recruiting new consumers into the brand, and then as soon as they build their botanical set, they may move on to building something else.”
Lego opened 24 new stores globally during the first six months of the year. The company has been opening more physical retail locations in areas that, unlike the U.K. and the U.S., did not grow up with the iconic colored bricks. This includes countries such as China and India.
Having brick-and-mortar places where kids and adults can get their hands on Legos and see the available sets has previously helped bolster sales.
THE SANTA ROSA PLATEAU ECOLOGICAL RESERVE, Calif. — The scientist traipses to a pond wearing rubber boots but he doesn’t enter the water. Instead, Brad Hollingsworth squats next to its swampy edge and retrieves a recording device the size of a deck of cards. He then opens it up and removes a tiny memory card containing 18 hours of sound.
Back at his office at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the herpetologist — an expert in reptiles and amphibians — uses artificial intelligence to analyze the data on the card. Within three minutes, he knows a host of animals visit the pond — where native red-legged frogs were reintroduced after largely disappearing in Southern California. There were owl hoots, woodpecker pecks, coyote howls and tree frog ribbits. But no croaking from the invasive bullfrog, which has decimated the native red-legged frog population over the past century.
It was another good day in his efforts to increase the population of the red-legged frog and restore an ecosystem spanning the U.S.-Mexico border. The efforts come as the Trump administration builds more walls along the border, raising concerns about the impact on wildlife.
At 2 to 5 inches long, red-legged frogs are the largest native frogs in the West and once were found in abundance up and down the California coast and into Baja California in Mexico.
The species is widely believed to be the star of Mark Twain’s 1865 short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” and their crimson hind legs were eaten during the Gold Rush. But as the red-legged frog declined in numbers, the bullfrog — with its even bigger hind legs — was introduced to menus during California’s booming growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on an international effort to bring back a type of frog.
The red-legged frog population was decimated by the insatiable appetite of the bullfrogs and the disease the non-native species brought in, but also because it lost much of its habitat to drought and human development in the shape of homes, dams and more.
Hollingsworth couldn’t estimate the number of red-legged frogs that remain but said they have disappeared from 95% of their historical range in Southern California.
Brad Hollingsworth records an image of a red-legged froglet in a restoration pond on Aug. 11, on a ranch outside of El Coyote, Mexico.Gregory Bull / AP
Robert Fisher of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative Program searched for the frog for decades across 250 miles from Los Angeles to the border. He found just one in 2001 and none after that.
Scientists using DNA from red-legged frogs captured in Southern California before their disappearance discovered they were more genetically similar to the population in Mexico than any still in California.
In 2006, Fisher, Hollingsworth and others visited Baja where they had heard of a small population of red-legged frogs. Anny Peralta, then a student of Hollingsworth at San Diego State University, joined them. They found about 20 frogs, and Peralta was inspired to dedicate her life to their recovery.
Peralta and her husband established the nonprofit Fauna del Noroeste in Ensenada, Mexico, which aims to promote the proper management of natural resources. In 2018, they started building ponds in Mexico to boost the frog population that would later provide eggs to repopulate the species across the border.
But just as they were preparing to relocate the egg masses, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Peralta and the U.S. scientists scrambled to secure permits for the unusual cargo and a pilot to fly the two coolers of eggs closer to the border. The rest of their journey north was by road, after the eggs passed a U.S. border guard inspection.
Over the past five years, Hollingsworth and his team have searched for sounds to prove their efforts to repopulate ponds in Southern California worked.
On Jan. 30, he heard the quiet, distinct grunting of the red-legged frog’s breeding call in an audio flagged by AI.
“It felt like a big burden off my shoulder because we were thinking the project might be failing,” Hollingsworth said. “And then the next couple nights we started hearing more and more and more, and more, and more.”
Over the next two months, two males were heard belting it out on microphone 11 at one of the ponds. In March, right below the microphone, the first egg masse was found, showing they had not only hatched from the eggs brought from Mexico but had gone on to produce their own eggs in the United States.
Conservationists are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to monitor animals on the brink of extinction, track the breeding of reintroduced species and collect data on the impact of climate change and other threats.
Herpetologists are building on the AI-powered tools already used to analyze datasets of bird sounds, hoping that it might help build audio landscapes to identify amphibians and track their behavior and breeding patterns, said Zachary Principe of The Nature Conservancy, which is working with the museum on the red-legged frog project. The tools could also help scientists analyze tens of thousands of audio files collected at universities, museums and other institutions.
Scientists working to restore the red-legged frog population in Southern California hope to soon be provided with satellite technology that will send audio recordings to their phones in real time, so they can act immediately if any predators — in particular bullfrogs — are detected.
Herpetologist Bennet Hardy holds a leaping red-legged froglet in a restoration pond on a ranch outside of El Coyote, Mexico.Gregory Bull / AP
It could also help track the movement of the frogs, which can be difficult to find in the wild, especially because cold-blooded creatures cannot be detected using thermal imagery.
The AI analysis of the pond audio has saved time for Hollingsworth and the others, who previously had to painstakingly listen to countless hours of audio files to detect the calls of the red-legged frog — which resembles the sound of a thumb being rubbed on a balloon — over the cacophony of other animals.
“There’s tree frogs calling, there’s cows mooing, a road nearby with a motorcycle zooming back and forth,” Hollingsworth said of the ponds’ audio landscape. “There’s owls, there’s ducks splashing, just all this noise”
The red-legged frog is the latest species to see success from binational cooperation along the near-2,000-mile border spanning California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Over the years, Mexican gray wolves have returned to their historic range in the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico, while the California Condor now soars over skies from Baja to Northern California.
Based off the latest count, scientists estimate more than 100 adult red-legged frogs are in the Southern California ponds, and tadpoles were spotted at a new site.
The team plans to continue transporting egg masses from Baja, where the population has jumped from 20 to as many as 400 adult frogs, with the hope of building thriving populations on both sides of the border. Already the sites are seeing fewer mosquitos that can carry diseases like dengue and Zika.
A restoration pond in Baja that Peralta’s organization built recently teemed with froglets, their tiny eyes bobbing on its aquatic fern-covered surface. They could, one day, lay eggs for relocation to the U.S.
“They don’t know about borders or visas or passports,” Peralta said of the frogs. “This is just their habitat, and these populations need to reconnect. I think this shows that we can restore this ecosystem.”
The Trump administration’s latest allegations of mortgage fraud have raised questions about a long-standing housing issue known as owner-occupancy mortgage fraud. But that type of fraud can be difficult to prove, experts say.
President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Monday night that he was removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. He cited allegations made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that Cook committed mortgage fraud by claiming homes in two different states as her primary residence at the same time.
Cook’s attorney on Tuesday said Cook will file a lawsuit to challenge her removal.
“President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook,” the lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement.
The Department of Justice has also recently targeted Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James with similar mortgage fraud allegations.
Here are the key things to know about owner-occupancy mortgage fraud, according to experts.
The main reason a borrower could be motivated to claim a primary residence on a mortgage application is to get a lower interest rate for that home.
Typically, mortgages for a primary residence have lower interest rates and homeowner’s insurance costs, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH.
Mortgage interest rates are generally 0.5% to 1% higher for investment properties than for primary homes, according to Bankrate. Homeowners also typically pay about 25% more for insurance as a landlord compared with a standard homeowners policy, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Owner-occupied means “you’re going to live there the majority of the time,” Gumbinger said. But there are limited exceptions, including for military service, parents providing housing for a disabled adult child or children providing housing for parents, according to Fannie Mae.
If a homeowner changes primary residences, they need to inform their mortgage lender that the original property is no longer owner-occupied, Gumbinger said.
There are also federal and state tax benefits for primary residences, according to Albert Campo, a certified public accountant and president of Campo Financial Group in Manalapan, New Jersey.
For example, when an owner sells a home and makes a profit, they can take a capital gains exemption worth up to $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly, as long as they meet certain IRS rules, including owner occupancy for two of the past five years.
For tax purposes, a homeowner can have only one primary residence at a time.
When a taxpayer owns more than one home, proving which one is the primary residence is “always based on facts and circumstances,” Campo said. For example, a primary residence is typically where an owner spends most of their time, votes, files their tax returns and receives mail, he said.
A 2023 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that more than 22,000 “fraudulent borrowers” misrepresented their owner-occupancy status, out of 584,499 loans originated from 2005 to 2017. The data was based on a subsample from more than 15 million loans originated during this period.
Typically, the fraudulent borrowers took out larger loans and had higher mortgage default rates, the authors found.
However, this type of fraud may be “difficult to detect until long after the mortgage has been originated,” the authors wrote.
“There is a difference between the court of law and the court of public opinion,” Jonathan Kanter, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis and a former assistant attorney general, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week when asked about Cook. “In the court of law, this is small ball and very difficult to prove.”
“You’d have to establish not only that she filled out the form incorrectly, but she had the specific intent to deceive, to defraud banks, as opposed to just making a mistake,” he said.
During fiscal year 2024, 38 mortgage fraud offenders were sentenced in the federal system, according to the United States Sentencing Commission’s interactive data analyzer. That number is up slightly from 34 offenders in 2023, but down from 426 offenders in 2015, the earliest date in that tool’s dataset. The U.S. Sentencing Commission data does not break out the types of mortgage fraud.