Five anonymised historical charts were dealt to every player. The Monkey Index returned -0.31% across the same tape.
75 desks completed all five charts.
The first rumblings of the 2018 trade war had rail freight pinned down, with the street convinced that shipping volumes had peaked. The spring bounce never arrived, and sellers quietly kept control.
Analog chips were seen as the dull, cyclical plumbing of tech, but steady demand from factories and cars kept quietly carrying the sector higher. After a strong autumn climb, the buying finally paused for breath.
A botched plan to split DVD rentals from streaming had already triggered a furious customer revolt, but investors still assumed the boycott was mostly talk. This was the week management confirmed subscribers were genuinely leaving, and the floor gave way.
Tech had collapsed and the energy crisis made Big Oil the only refuge left standing, but cooling crude had investors wondering if the trade was finally exhausted. The steady grind carried on regardless.
With safe-haven dividend payers in heavy demand across a sluggish recovery, money had been piling into defensive stalwarts all winter. After nearly three months of one-way traffic, the rally finally paused for breath.