Look for Stronger Corners of the Market Than Gold

Back in March, fear controlled the markets…

The conflict in the Middle East and Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz fueled investor panic.

On March 24, CNN’s Fear and Greed Index sat in “extreme fear” territory. And the State Street SPDR S&P 500 Fund (SPY) faced a 4% loss over the previous month.

Today, things are very different…

Since March 24, SPY has surged by about 13%. And we’ve watched it hit new all-time highs along the way. CNN’s Fear and Greed Index has also swung into “greed” territory.

Even the world’s largest physically backed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) of a traditional “safe haven” asset briefly crawled higher. But a key factor “under the hood” means there are better opportunities out there today…

The Chaikin Money Flow Indicator Caught Wall Street Making Moves
I’m talking about gold – specifically SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).

On March 24, the ETF had dipped below its long-term trend line.

But the next day, I noticed another drastic shift in GLD… Its Chaikin Money Flow indicator dipped into negative territory. This is a measure of the buying activity from the so-called “smart money” on Wall Street.

Notably, the dip into the red came after a year of almost total support for GLD from the smart money.

GLD’s Chaikin Money Flow remained in negative territory for most of the past few weeks. But the ETF’s share price gradually increased.

Put simply, even as the big institutions on Wall Street cashed out, GLD gradually climbed into mid-April. The ETF rallied as much as 10% from March 24. It has since pulled back again and is up just 3% since the Chaikin Money Flow turned red.

You can see the price action in the chart below…

Of course, this isn’t a mistake. Our Chaikin Money Flow indicator worked exactly as it should.

But we need to look at other parts of this chart as well…

Notice that GLD shifted deeply into “overbought” territory as the share price grew – a sign that investors had piled in too quickly for the rally to last – and the smart money continued to leave.

During this movement, the fund’s relative strength versus the S&P 500 Index slipped. In fact, you can see that GLD’s relative strength has fallen deeply into the red as well.

Gold’s incredible growth in 2025 and into early 2026 made plenty of investors a lot of money. And the metal still has some long-term, macroeconomic tailwinds behind it.

But investors’ unchecked enthusiasm for gold seems to have calmed down for now. As such, the move here looks clear to me…

Look for Stronger Corners of the Market Than Gold
In plain terms, it looks like institutional investors on Wall Street took profits on GLD after an incredible run higher.

Of course, the big institutions also have their eyes on hotter corners of the markets. As the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index and S&P 500 rip higher, Wall Street hunts for other places to make big gains.

That’s where the Power Gauge comes in to help find these areas…

For example, our system says industries like semiconductors, energy equipment and services, and even marine transportation are all “strong” right now. So these corners of the market are full of individual stocks with “bullish” or better ratings.

Of course, I’m not saying that Wall Street’s interest in GLD is over. But I’m currently more interested in areas where the smart money is piling in.

So for now, we can find better opportunities today than gold.

Good investing,

Ethan Goldman

Source: Daily Wealth