This morning we expected strength across the board, with AI and tech leading while the data blackout kept traders leaning on sentiment and liquidity. By the close, that script played out almost line-for-line. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both notched fresh records, while the Dow slipped slightly, weighed by healthcare and financials. Underneath, breadth improved again: the Russell 2000, utilities, and transports all posted solid gains… a healthy rotation signal.

Commodities stayed pretty bullish too. Gold surged nearly 2% to $3,985, confirming risk-hedge appetite even as yields climbed to 4.16%. Oil rebounded 1.5%, halting last week’s slide and sparking chatter that energy might be back in play after the OPEC+ cut headlines. The interesting part? Everything rose together — stocks, gold, oil — the kind of “all-green” day that usually says investors are chasing momentum, not safety.

Globally, the upbeat tone spread: Europe closed higher on dovish ECB comments, and Asia’s tech names tracked the U.S. surge. The dollar eased slightly, while bitcoin held near record highs. For the Fed, today’s action makes next week trickier… markets are trading as if the cut is a lock, even though the 10-year’s move up hints the bond market’s not fully buying it. For now, liquidity rules… and as long as the shutdown keeps data quiet, the market gets to write its own narrative.

China isn’t just leading in electric cars anymore… It's quietly taking over the truck market too. In Rest of World’s deep dive, we learn that electric heavy trucks already made up 22% of China’s freight market in H1 2025, and that Chinese fleet operators say operating costs are 10–26% lower vs diesel rivals. Chinese firms like BYD, Sany, and CNTC are already exporting electric trucks globally to places like Mexico, Italy, and Poland.

That dominance comes from decades of strategic policy: subsidies, mandates, battery ecosystem scale, and aggressive infrastructure buildouts (like battery swapping systems on major corridors). These pieces give China a moat many Western players can’t touch. 

For traders, this is a macro lever not just a green story. If Chinese e-truck exports accelerate, that means downward pressure on diesel demand, upward pressure on battery and charging plays, and a shift in supply chains from fossil to electric. This is more than industrial policy,  it’s strategic disruption with global ripple effects.

In this edition of We Study Billionaires, host Trey Lockerbie sits down with fund manager Derek Pilecki for a grounded take on what’s working (and what’s not) in today’s market. Pilecki, a Buffett-style value investor, breaks from the crowd by arguing that the best opportunities now lie in boring, cash-heavy businesses trading at deep discounts while everyone chases momentum and AI. He sees the biggest edge not in predicting the next hype cycle, but in being patient where capital has fled… think financials, old-economy cyclicals, and select energy names.

Pilecki also gives a timely reminder that interest rate normalization isn’t the death of equities, it’s a return to sanity. For traders, the message is clear: discipline beats excitement in a market this top-heavy. The episode’s biggest gem? His checklist for surviving late-cycle euphoria: focus on valuation, dividend strength, and managements that can actually allocate capital wisely.

It’s an old-school mindset with new-world urgency. A needed reset for investors tired of watching mega-caps melt higher while everything else drifts.