Hey traders,
Last week felt like one long staring contest with the market. Volume dried up, charts looked tired, and small caps just didn’t offer much. Days like that test your patience more than your skills.
But right in the middle of the lull, something shifted. Solar stocks—names I hadn’t paid attention to in months—started moving.
Not quietly either. Complete Solaria, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPWR) jumped over 30%.
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ),
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN),
Out of nowhere, this entire corner of the market that had been completely ignored started showing signs of life.
When that happens, I don’t ask if I should pay attention—I just start watching.
Because when a cold sector gets hot, there’s always a reason, and more often than not, there’s opportunity.
So what triggered the move?
Part of it came from policy. On May 12, a budget bill passed that maintained essential tax incentives supporting solar projects, revitalizing investor confidence in the sector.
At the same time, oil prices quietly started creeping up. West Texas Intermediate: WTI crude oil rebounded above the $60 level after a slump in early May.
Rising oil doesn’t always spark a rush into solar, but when the right headline meets a price move in energy, it creates a story.
And in slow markets, stories move stocks.
All of that hit within a few days, and suddenly, a sector that felt dead started flashing green.
What’s interesting here isn’t just that solar moved. It’s how it moved.
Not one stock, but several, with decent volume and some follow-through. It wasn’t a meme-fueled pump or a random low float getting lucky.
As a trader, those are the shifts that matter. Most people wait for a single ticker to break out.
They chase a breakout alert or try to scalp a chart they saw on Twitter. That’s usually too late.
But when you train yourself to watch the sector first, you start seeing the setups earlier. One name moves. Then another. Then a low float connected to the same space joins the party.
At that point, you don’t need to guess—you just need to react.
That’s why I watch Exchange-Traded Fund: ETF charts, if the ETF starts breaking out, it usually means momentum’s building across the group.
For solar, it’s Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN).
When TAN starts perking up, especially with strong volume, it’s like a fire alarm for the whole group.
That’s your signal to scan sympathy plays, pull up recent runners in the space, and get your plan ready.
A few traders asked me how I knew solar would run. I didn’t. I don’t predict. I just prepare.
You don’t need to follow every headline or read every economic report. But skimming market news each day helps you stay in tune.
You’ll start noticing themes pop up—multiple articles about solar, or EVs, or AI tools—before they show up in the charts.
This market still rewards preparation over prediction, especially when it slows down.
A quiet week doesn’t mean you should force a trade or go all in on garbage. It means you should stay alert. A little awareness goes a long way.
One real catalyst can shift an entire sector—and if you’re ready, you’re already ahead.
That’s what happened with solar. The move might not last, but this pattern shows up again and again.
The next shift might come from a totally different place.
What’s next?
I’m watching EV names ahead of Tesla’s investor day on June 12.
Sometimes Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) doesn’t move much, but sympathy names like Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) or Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID) get more action when something unexpected gets announced.
AI still holds power too. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings recently gave the whole theme another kick. Semiconductors, infrastructure plays, and even random chatbot stocks start bouncing anytime NVDA holds strength.
And biotech, as always, waits in the wings. One FDA approval or buyout rumor and names you’ve never heard of can double before lunch.
You don’t need to be early for everything. But staying aware of what’s perking up—and understanding why—gives you an edge most traders ignore.
Sometimes, that’s the only edge you need.
—Jack
P.S. I post my sector watchlists and setups every week inside Seven-Figure Cycles. If you want to see the ideas I’m prepping—before the move happens—you’ll find them there.