US stocks advanced, lifted by a rally in tech stocks as investors absorbed generally solid economic data and watched for developments from Beijing, where President Donald Trump was engaged in a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

US stocks advanced, lifted by a rally in tech stocks as investors absorbed generally solid economic data and watched for developments from Beijing, where President Donald Trump was engaged in a high-stakes meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping

499 Detalks [CN] 226: US Stocks & Crypto Hotspot Dialogue: Storage Chips’ AI Feast, Bubble Debate & Tech Giants’ Showdown Time：18, May, 2026, 21:00 (UTC+8) We will explores the dramatic crossroads facing US equities in May 2026 — where AI-related stocks now account for a record 45% of S&P 500 market cap. We move beyond single-project analysis to unpack the macro and industry frontier: the growing resonance between Nasdaq and crypto markets. Host: Charis @charis_em , 499 Core Member Guest Speakers: 问月wmoon @_wmoon , StableStock Op Manager @StableStock 兔兔 @0xMilkRabbit , Dev/Creator Alpha @MoneraAnalyst , CIO of Monera Digital @Monera_Digital Key discussion topics include: -- Seeking Alpha : With mega-cap valuations stretched, what are the most compelling US stock picks or sub-sectors right now? -- US Stocks & Crypto Resonance: As Wall Street institutions pour in via ETFs and other vehicles, if Nasdaq tech stocks correct on high valuations, will capital flow into crypto as a value refuge? Space Link: Telegram Group:

【2026.5.15】The difference between the implied volatility of 1-month 25-delta put and call options on US tech stocks (i.e., option skewness) has decreased significantly (bottom right of the chart). While a decrease in option skewness is generally a positive sign, it is currently near historical lows, indicating excessive optimism and an underestimation of risk. Any extreme extreme in anything is a sign of a reversal, and option skewness nearing historical lows often foreshadows potential increases in short-term market volatility. Once external factors cause disruptions that fail to further drive market expectations, extreme optimism can turn into extreme disappointment. Therefore, when option skewness is at historical lows, leverage should be appropriately reduced and hedging protection increased. Similar to the VIX, extremely low volatility itself may only be noteworthy, but if several fatal combinations occur simultaneously (e.g., low volatility + high valuation + pessimistic options market + tightening PQ liquidity), especially in the RXM/SPX range... As previously discussed, this reflects the true risk appetite of market participants, meaning that option pricing is currently extremely cautious (low ratio). Meanwhile, market valuations are high, and volatility remains low (VIX remains low). Liquidity is tightening (PQ) (see the chart below for several dimensions).

【Monthly dialogue with Julius Bär】we discuss: Epic cross‑asset volatility, sharp unwinds in US and China tech stocks, precious metals and cryptocurrencies. But the Yuan rising strongly, gold/silver should continue to be a key allocation in any portfolio.

Here is a quick breakdown of some of Rex Shares' Covered Call Income ETFs: $FEPI - FEPI owns the 15 biggest U.S. tech stocks and writes covered calls on each one to generate weekly income — big tech exposure with a 25%+ distribution rate. Inception Date: October 11, 2023 Expense Ratio: 0.65% AUM: $673M Distribution Rate: 25.21% Distribution Frequency: Monthly Distribution Per Share (Last): $0.9044 Top 10 Holdings: Intel $INTC 9.82% AMD $AMD 9.46% Micron $MU 9.16% Alphabet $GOOGL 7.51% Oracle $ORCL 6.82% Nvidia $NVDA 6.76% Amazon $AMZN 6.64% Tesla $TSLA 6.63% Broadcom $AVGO 6.54% Apple $AAPL 6.53% $AIPI - AIPI owns the top AI stocks and writes covered calls on each one to generate monthly income — pure AI exposure with a 34%+ distribution rate. Inception Date: June 4, 2024 Expense Ratio: 0.65% AUM: $393M Distribution Rate: 34.84% Distribution Frequency: Monthly Distribution Per Share (Last): $1.0518 Top 10 Holdings: Crowdstrike $CRWD 10.58% Nvidia $NVDA 10.08% Palantir $PLTR 7.80% Astera Labs $ALAB 7.33% Datadog $DDOG 6.53% Intel $INTC 5.52% AMD $AMD 4.76% Micron $MU 4.48% IonQ $IONQ 4.13% Qualcomm $QCOM 4.05% $CEPI - CEPI owns the top crypto-related stocks and writes covered calls on each one to generate monthly income — crypto equity exposure with a 42%+ distribution rate. Inception Date: December 4, 2024 Expense Ratio: 0.85% AUM: $100M Distribution Rate: 42.00% Distribution Frequency: Monthly Distribution Per Share (Last): $1.1707 Top 10 Holdings: AMD $AMD 7.30% Micron $MU 6.86% Applied Digital $APLD 6.57% IREN Ltd $IREN 6.35% MicroStrategy $MSTR 5.83% Marathon Digital $MARA 5.66% Riot Platforms $RIOT 4.84% Taiwan Semiconductor $TSM 4.75% Nvidia $NVDA 4.63% Cipher Mining $CIFR 4.48% Disclsoure: Rex Shares is a partner of WOLF Financial. This is only for informational purpoases, make sure to dig in for yourself and do your own research

The records show Trump purchased between roughly $247,000 and $630,000 of Palantir stock in early 2026, including multiple buys in March. He later promoted the company in an April Truth Social post during a sharp selloff in tech stocks.

Hedged my BTC spot holdings here, because 1. I'd rather invest more in tradfi tech stocks than crypto after BTC does a 100% pump, I need to derisk my portfolio a bit. 2. after Binance delists the QLC it makes no additional noting incentive for me to hold a large amount of BTC