Tesla's energy storage business expands, latest retail trading trends

Market Trends & Investor Sentiment - Charles Schwab's monthly trading index rose in August, indicating increased trading activity among retail investors [3] - Despite overall pessimism, traders were net buyers of stocks, taking advantage of muted volatility [3] - Investors are showing macro concerns around tariffs, trade policy, and Fed independence, alongside micro concerns about valuations [8][9] - There's a divergence between what investors are saying (pessimistic) and what they're doing (buying) [4] - Older generations (Gen X) tend to be bigger buyers and take on more risk, while meme stocks and cryptocurrency-related investments are gaining traction [12][13][14] - Institutions are seeing net short positions in equity futures and using the cash to buy fixed income futures [17] Stock Performance & Key Sectors - The NASDAQ outperformed the S&P 500 in August, with a nearly 5% increase compared to the S&P 500's approximately 1% move [6] - AI-related stocks like Nvidia and Palantir are driving trading activity, along with Amazon and Microsoft [6][7] - Baskets of net short stocks, nonprofitable tech, and retail favorites have outperformed since the April bottom [15] Company Specific News - Tesla is expanding its energy storage business with new products like the Megapack 3 and Megablock, aiming to balance power usage and store renewable energy [19][20][21][22][23] - Tesla's battery storage revenue increased, with good gross profit margins, even as auto revenue fell 16% year-over-year in Q2 [25] - GameStop's shares are rising after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings for hardware, accessories, and net sales, which increased 5921% million, a 31% increase year-over-year [43][44] - GameStop's Bitcoin holdings are valued at 5286% million at the close of the second quarter [44] - Rubric is boosting its subscription annual recurring revenue guidance for the full year while also lifting its guidance for fullear revenue and free cash flow [47] Economic Indicators & Future Outlook - Fresh inflation data is expected with the Producer Price Index (PPI), with economists forecasting a slowdown to 03% on a month-over-month basis [26] - Chewy is forecasting sales growth of 7% to 8% in Q2, driven by its auto-ship program [26] - Weekly mortgage rate applications have declined for the past three weeks, suggesting slowing demand in the housing market [27]