The broader market on this particular morning was mixed and leaning negative, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq trading firmly in the red and tech experiencing a notable pullback. The view, however, is that there is no reason to panic over a session like this. We are in arguably the most bullish market environment seen in over two decades of trading, and within that context red days and pullbacks are simply a normal feature, not a warning sign. The disciplined response is the same as always: have a trade plan, respect your stop losses, and follow your rules. A down day is not a reason for concern, especially when the underlying news flow remains so strong.

The defining theme of this market is artificial intelligence, viewed as the greatest technology in the history of mankind. The headlines reinforce this daily — including news around memory-chip makers tied to Anthropic, and a particularly compelling headline about Nvidia pushing into robotics. The most interesting development is what might be called the "unintended consequences" of AI: applications nobody originally suspected. We now have a company that used to do nothing but image generation building toward a full-body MRI replacement, and just that morning an extreme small-cap stock using AI for drug discovery spiked over 500% (and was still up 250% intraday).

The analogy offered is to Viagra and the microwave oven — both technologies that achieved their greatest success for purposes they were never originally intended for or even dreamed of. Robotics and AI drug discovery fall into this same category. These are "phase two" AI developments that go well beyond the familiar uses people already rely on every day — chatbots, research assistance, report writing, and coding. The result is a wave of stocks that are already trading high but keep climbing higher. A prime example cited was SanDisk, flagged as a strong idea about a week and a half earlier, which gapped up massively on a Thursday and kept running purely on the insatiable demand for semiconductors and chips.

The overall characterization of the current environment is a "chaser's market" — a momentum-driven market that is perfect for short-term traders but less comfortable for long-term investors who dislike the wild volatility. It is described as a "target-rich environment," so abundant with opportunities that some days the hardest part is simply choosing which stock to trade. The strategy that follows from this is to focus on stocks that already have momentum behind them.

First Pick: Intel (INTC)

Intel was trading up nearly 4% (about 3.75%) on the day despite the mixed broader market, eventually reaching $139.11, a gain of around 3.9%. It is up roughly 278% so far on the year.

The bull case. Intel is framed as the resurgence of a great American company. There is personal history here — Intel chips were used to build PCs and servers back in the 1990s. The company "lost its way" but has "found its way back," and has been performing strongly since the prior fall. Several catalysts are stacking up:

- A government investment in the company, which originally prompted the idea being shared.
- A partnership with Apple. With Apple's new machines already announced and the older ones sold out, Apple is expected to have a strong second half of the year — and Intel is partnered with it.
- The return of semiconductor manufacturing to the United States, something previously said could never be done; the argument is that it simply took the willingness to want to do it domestically.
- A relentless, near-constant news flow: a new partnership every couple of days, positive mentions from the president, and Michael Dell publicly tying Dell to Intel. This steady drumbeat of news is precisely what keeps momentum flowing into the stock.

Intel is loved here specifically as a trade.

The technical setup. Intel is also compared to "the Nvidia of the '90s" given its dominance in that era. On the chart, the recent action formed a bull pennant shape — a sideways-to-downward consolidation following a big upside run — which could alternatively be read as a bull flag, including a downside dip to the 100–102 region. Either interpretation carries the same theme: consolidation after a major piece of fundamental news. The stock then gapped up and broke out, and is now on pace to hold above its initial highs near 132.75. The bullish hope is a clean breakout above those highs with the trend continuing.

Key technical levels:
- A white trend line remains in play.
- The 5-day EMA (dark blue, representing one week) sits around 129, lining up closely with the trend line.
- A breach below that would point to the 21-day monthly EMA (teal) near 118 as the next supportive area.
- RSI, the momentum measure, is on pace for new relative highs along with price — exactly what a bull wants to see; the next milestone would be a push above the 70 threshold into overbought territory.
- The volume profile (over the past three months, capturing the rapid ascent) shows a point of control around 117, the heaviest trading area. The general node runs roughly 106 to 123, marking the potential support zone. The most recent session also showed another heavy volume spike.

Second Pick: Citigroup (C)

Citigroup was up almost 2% on the day and roughly 25% year-to-date, eventually noted as up 85% (over a longer measure), with earnings scheduled for July 14th.

The bull case. This pick was deliberately chosen as a more conservative, balancing idea, in contrast to the typically aggressive short-term ideas and especially the very aggressive third pick. Citigroup is described as a "safe play." Over the past year it has risen substantially but not to an extreme degree, trending steadily upward with a clean breakout and without extreme volatility. The argument is that, barring some black-swan event, the worst-case scenario for Citigroup is that it simply drifts into consolidation — you get bored and move on to the next trade — rather than suffering a sharp collapse.

The name showed up on scans the prior Monday and held up all week. A particularly attractive quality is its disconnect from the overall market: even on a day when the market is down (around 1.9%), it is encouraging to see a steadily uptrending stock buck the trend.

Macro and catalyst tailwinds:
- A new Fed chair. While the prior week's meeting was not quite what traders wanted, the expectation is that the new chair — specifically hand-picked by Trump — will be given a little time and then pressured constantly for rate cuts. Lower rates increase banking activity and help the bottom line.
- An upcoming earnings catalyst in roughly two to three weeks. Stocks like this typically run up into earnings.

The technical setup. There is some wry amusement that a stock up around 85% qualifies as the "safety play" — a reflection of the world we are currently living in. On the chart, the recent theme is an upward channel. Price broke above a downward-sloping blue trend line off the highs near 135–136, producing a steady climb. Before that, it bottomed near 121. Notably, a gap that formed was never filled — not even close — which stands out as significant.

Key technical levels:
- A fairly well-established range now exists for potential support if a breakdown occurs.
- Intraday highs of 147.96 formed in the last session are a standout area.
- The 5-day EMA (dark blue) sits near 143, very close to the trend line — a support area if bullish, a breakdown point if bearish.
- The 21-day monthly EMA (teal) comes in near 135.70.
- A major difference from the Intel chart: Citigroup's RSI is already in overbought territory and on pace for new relative highs. Entry into overbought territory within a trending market is typically regarded as a sign of further bullishness to come — a notable development.
- The volume profile shows the closest node at 122–132, the smallest of three highlighted nodes but the most relevant to current activity, marking potential support on any decline.

Third Pick: Butterfly Network (BFLY)

Butterfly Network is the very aggressive, speculative pick. On the day it was giving back gains, down a bit more than 19%, trading at $7.22 — but for perspective, it was still up about 30% over the prior five trading days. It is a much cheaper stock than the other two names, which is precisely why it produces such large percentage moves.

The catalyst and bull case. The stock hit the radar via a Midjourney tweet. Midjourney was essentially an AI picture generator — the familiar tool where you type in text and get generated images — and it is now applying that technology to full-body scans, specifically a portable, full-body MRI replacement scanner announced the prior Thursday. The announcement was a partnership between Butterfly Network and Midjourney. Adding credibility, Elon Musk commented "very cool technology" directly beneath the tweet, which served as a validating signal.

The move's dynamics: the announcement landed on a Thursday ahead of a three-day weekend, during an overall quiet stretch. Butterfly became the "trader stock du jour" and got way overheated, as people rushed in on that slow pre-holiday day, driving it well ahead of itself. There was actually relief at seeing it pull back that morning rather than gap and go, because the pullback represents the chasers — the people who piled in expecting a massive gap up into the following week — getting flushed out.

The key going forward: whether the stock can hold its previous breakout level, roughly where it closed the prior Wednesday. If it pulls back to that level and holds, a second attempt could set up a longer-term trade — in contrast to the very short "6-hour trade" the name offered from Thursday afternoon to that morning. The idea is acknowledged as highly speculative. But if the technology plays out as it appears it will, advances like this in medical technology, diagnostics, and life extension are exactly what allow us to live in the greatest time in history — a domain of personal excitement, including work with peptides for life extension.

The technical setup. After the upside gap, the established lines so far are highs and lows of 7.10 and 8.94, marking a breakout from a rising wedge shape. The gap would be filled down at 6.14 — areas to watch in the shorter term.

Key technical levels:
- The 5-day EMA, the closest one, sits at 6.89. Because moving averages are inherently lagging indicators, price has crossed well above it, and the average will likely catch up in the coming days.
- RSI broke back below the 70 level, but the green uptrend remains in play.
- The volume profile's closest node is 5.30 to 5.70 — again the smallest one.
- There was a big volume spike in the last session, and a smaller volume spike again on the current day; though dwarfed by the previous one, trading in the name remains very heavy.

Risk note. Beyond the technicals, there are FDA regulation concerns to weigh, including how billing will be handled for this new technology — meaningful uncertainties to monitor.

Summary of the Three Ideas

Taken together, the three picks were deliberately structured across a risk spectrum. Intel is a momentum trade riding a resurgence narrative, a flood of partnership and political news, and a clean technical breakout with bullish RSI room still left to run. Citigroup is the conservative, steadily uptrending bank play — already overbought but with that condition read as bullish in a trending market — supported by rate-cut expectations under a new Fed chair and a near-term earnings catalyst on July 14th. Butterfly Network is the cheap, highly speculative AI-diagnostics play, prone to violent percentage swings, where the decisive question is whether it can hold its prior breakout level to set up a second, longer-term move — tempered by genuine FDA and billing-regulation risks.