It was essentially opposite day in the markets, with oil and precious metals reversing course on Middle East rumors. Meanwhile, China’s stock market reopened to locals and saw a sharp downside reversal, while U.S. stocks moved higher on the back of semiconductors, software, and cybersecurity. 👀

Today's issue covers the undertone of uncertainty, Hindenburg Research’s allegations against Roblox, and which crypto-linked stocks are leading. 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 9 of 11 sectors closed green, with technology (+1.87%) leading and energy (-2.61%) lagging.

And here are the closing prices: 

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $SAR, $ALCE, $OTRK, $WW, $PDYN 📉 $RBLX, $SRRK, $WGS, $TOST, $SEDG*

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

Semiconductor stocks are all the rage right now, with Nvidia’s fresh breakout putting it less than 5% away from retaking the “most valuable company in the world” title. 👑

Optimism about tech stocks isn’t limited to semiconductors, though. The software sector ($IGV) and cybersecurity sector ($HACK) ETFs also broke out to new all-time highs today. 📈

Although earnings season is right around the corner and global tensions remain high, investors and traders are wondering how bad things could possibly be if three of the largest parts of the largest sector of the market are breaking out to fresh highs.

Still, there remains an undertone of concern in the market, with the Volatility Index ($VIX) sitting above 20 with the major stock market indexes just below all-time highs. It demonstrates a willingness to continue investing but with the backdrop of protection against the many events expected to cause volatility in the weeks and months ahead. 🛡️

Stocktwits co-founder and CEO @HowardLindzon shared this interesting dichotomy on Twitter and during today’s “Trends With Friends” live stream…prompting some funny responses.

Lance Saville on Twitter responded to Howard’s prompt below with a bear chasing a man on a bike…that pretty much sums up the market vibe right now as investors and traders try to figure out what’s ahead for Q4. 😂

Stocktoberfest is back with an intimate event for executives, influencers, and the most active investors in financial markets on October 20-22. 🤝

Network with industry thought leaders like Howard Lindzon, Michael Batnick, Brian Shannon, Michael Parekh, and many more during the 2-day palooza.

Less than 15 tickets remain, so grab your seat now, and we'll see you in beautiful Coronado, CA! 😎

Short seller Hindenburg Research disclosed a new short position in the online gaming company Roblox, alleging that it inflated key metrics. 😮

At the core of its thesis, Hindenburg alleges that the company conflated its daily active users (DAUs) with the number of people visiting its platform (not a measure of unique individuals accessing Roblox).

The short seller said it found multiple instances of bots from different countries " farming” goods in games on Roblox, causing its usage metrics to be inflated by 25% to 42%. It also estimates engagement hours are inflated by over 100%. 🫨

Independent sources could not verify these claims yet. And the company responded, saying “The financial claims made by Hindenburg Research are simply misleading. The authors are, admittedly short sellers... We firmly believe that Roblox is a safe and secure platform and in the financial metrics we report.”

Still, some retail investors and traders seem to believe these claims could be true. At the very least, they don’t see a path toward long-term growth for the company.

Stocktwits sentiment is currently in “extremely bearish” territory, even as shares rebounded from a 9% initial decline to close down just 2%. In the long term, however, the stock remains stuck in a range that’s frustrated bulls and bears alike for the last two years. 🐻

Even with Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market taking their time to break out, several stocks are already leading the charge in anticipation of the move.

Retail brokerage Robinhood jumped 10% to its highest level in nearly 3 years after Barclay’s raised its price target on the stock, helping spark a technical breakout many traders had been waiting for. 🔺

With the equity markets at all-time highs and crypto coming back, many are betting that Robinhood’s transaction revenue could surprise to the upside and propel the stock even higher afterit reports earnings on October 30th.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy closed at a new all-time high as investors continue to bet on the company’s aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy. Bernstein analysts are the latest to chime in, setting a $290 price target for the stock… representing roughly 64% upside from current levels. 😮

In the meantime, Bitcoin continues to wrestle with resistance in the mid $60k region, with many betting this 7-month consolidation will eventually break out to the upside. What the catalyst will be remains to be seen.

While we’re talking about crypto, it’s worth noting that Crypto.com has received a Wells Notice from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Today’s version of our Litepaper newsletter outlines what it all means. 🕵️

My presentation, “Social Sentiment's Growing Role in Navigating Markets,” will explain how investors and traders use Stocktwits’ unique social data to stay ahead of the market’s top trends. And don’t worry, I’ll leave the politics to the other speakers, lol. Register here, and I’ll see you then! 👍

Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits nor is this investment advice. See disclosure.

Economic data: India Interest Rate Decision (12:30 am ET), Fed Logan Speech (9:15 am ET), EIA Energy Inventories (10:30 am ET), Fed Barkin/Goolsbee Speeches (10:30 am ET), Fed Logan Speech (10:45 am ET), Fed Williams Speech (11:00 am ET), Fed Barkin Speech (12:15 pm ET), Fed Jefferson Speech (12:30 pm ET), September FOMC Minutes (2:00 pm ET), Fed Collins Speech (5:00 pm ET), and Fed Daly Speech (6:00 pm ET). 📊

Pre-Market Earnings: Helen of Troy ($HELE) and Byrna Technologies ($BYRN). 🛏️

After-Hour Earnings: Applied Digital ($APLD), E2Open Parent Holdings ($ETWO), Intrusion ($INTZ), and Richardson Electronics ($RELL). 🎧

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls and more straight from the Stocktwits app or website. You’ll find them on the calendar page and individual symbol pages once they’re set to begin! We’ll see you there. 👍

🍻 Join us in NYC on October 9th for a live Stocktwits<>CMT Association event

💾 Largest water utility company in the U.S. targeted in cyberattack

🍔 McDonald’s sues top meat packers for allegedly colluding to inflate the price of beef

🔋 Uber gives users option to only hail full-electric cars, launches AI chatbot for EV-curious drivers

📰 OpenAI announces content deal with Hearst, including content from Cosmopolitan, Esquire and the San Francisco Chronicle

🌪️ Hurricane Milton could cause as much as $175 billion in damage, according to early estimates

🎧 Trends With Friends: Is the next big trade In China or India?

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