Five anonymised historical charts were dealt to every player. The Monkey Index returned -0.01% across the same tape.
59 desks completed all five charts.
Lockdowns had shuttered factories and rail volumes had collapsed, leaving the street convinced that freight was in for a long industrial freeze. Once the stay-at-home goods boom gathered pace, the rally had no trouble finding another gear.
Diagnostics was the trade of the first COVID summer, balancing the rush for testing kits against a freeze on normal hospital care. Back near record highs, the market took a breather and the shares quietly held their ground.
A bruising legal fight with Apple was finally over, but trade tensions with China left the market wondering when the 5G handset boom would actually arrive. Buyers decided not to wait.
Donald Trump had just won the White House and deregulation was suddenly on the table, sparking a furious rotation back into old energy. The post-election trade was not done yet.
At the height of the COVID crash, selling was so indiscriminate that even defensive tobacco stocks were being dumped just to raise cash. This is the week the panic peaked and the shares found a floor.