by Jason Bodner
January 27, 2026
Pilots flying through dense cloud covers find their vision becomes unreliable. The horizon disappears, depth perception collapses, and instinct can betray even experienced aviators. In those moments, survival depends on instruments. The gauges don’t care what the sky looks like. They simply report realities.
Markets spend a lot of time in clouds this thick. Last week delivered another head fake – centered in Greenland and Davos. After Monday’s holiday, equities sold-off sharply on Tuesday. President Trump’s comments about Greenland as a potential acquisition unsettled most markets, almost immediately. The narrative turned fast and loud. “Sell America.” Risk was rising while certainty vanished. Fear flourished.
Less than 24-hours later, however, the narrative reversed, as Trump softened his tone in talks with global leaders in Davos, dismissing any military involvement and delaying tariffs, and then floated a framework for a future deal on Greenland. Suddenly the market exhaled. The story became a call to “Buy America.”
It’s hard to keep up with these news reversals, so maybe we should quit trying to decipher the volatile changes in headlines each day. Trying to invest by reacting to news is chaotic, stressful, and deeply inefficient. Headlines jerk our emotions, whip capital around, and waste our time glued to screens.
TV addiction is fantastic for the news business, but it’s not so great for building wealth through stocks.
The problem is not information itself. It is the priority we give it. If you strip away the headlines, the stock market is not a story-telling engine. It is a marketplace. Buyers and sellers meet every day. Capital flows in and out. Over time, those movements reveal who is in control and where true conviction exists.
Capital flows are the market’s boiler room. Prices alone can mislead. Viewed through money flows, the market looks less like a highlight reel and more like an MRI. Prices reflect trends, and flows explain why.
These distinctions matter, especially during weeks like the one just past. Headlines focused on Greenland, but the data did not care about Greenland. If you overlaid headlines on the charts, the correlation would be far weaker than most people expect. Markets did not sell because of rhetoric, nor did they buy because of reassurance. They moved because capital continued doing what it had already been doing.
Let’s start with the Big Money Index (BMI). After deleveraging in November, markets found a footing. Once prices stabilized, inflows quietly took control. The BMI climbed steadily into year end, paused briefly and then moved back toward the 70-level. This is not a sign of fear. It is a sign of accumulation.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
This matters because the BMI is not measuring opinions. It is measuring behavior. Large institutions do not chase the headlines. They allocate capital based on mandate, probability, and opportunity. When the BMI rises, it reflects sustained buying pressure across thousands of stocks.
ETF activity reinforces this message. Volumes remain healthy and trends remain constructive. A rising market paired with a rising BMI and solid participation is historically a supportive back-drop for equities. This combination does not align with panic or instability. It aligns with confidence.
Zooming out to equity and ETF flows makes the picture even clearer. Inflows are decisively outpacing outflows. During the shortened, headline heavy week of January 20 through January 23, inflows exceeded outflows by roughly two to one. This is not what fear looks like. It is what commitment looks like.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
Breaking flows down by market capitalization (stock valuation) adds another important layer. Since January 1, inflows outweigh outflows by nearly three-to-one, with a noticeable tilt toward small-cap and mid-sized companies. This kind of rotation does not happen in fragile markets. It happens when investors are willing to look beyond crowded leadership and search for new opportunity.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
This is a familiar pattern. Early year strength often shows up first outside of mega-cap leadership. It reflects risk tolerance, not risk aversion. Once again, headlines suggest turbulence. Capital suggests calm.
Sector leadership requires context in January. Part of my process includes a year-to-date performance list, which resets every January 1. Sector rankings can shift quickly early in the year. Some view this fact as a flaw. Others see the benefit. It removes the ability to hide and surfaces leadership immediately.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
So far in 2026, Energy, Materials, and Industrials have taken the lead, which is interesting. What matters more is the breadth underneath. Inflows are not isolated. Energy, Materials, Industrials, Staples, Real Estate, Financials, Discretionary, and Health Care have all attracted meaningful capital.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
Broad participation is the hallmark of durable markets. Strong advances are not built on one stock, one-sector or one-story. They are built when capital spreads out and finds opportunity across many sectors.
Technology adds a wrinkle. While parts of technology have performed well, the sector as a whole has been choppy since October. Mega-cap leadership lost momentum, which feels uncomfortable, especially for portfolios heavily weighted in large-cap and mega-cap technology. But discomfort is often where rotation begins.
Market money doesn’t disappear… It just moves from one sector to another. When leadership narrows, capital often looks elsewhere. Small and mid-sized companies benefit. Breadth improves.
These are not necessarily signs of weakness – just signs of transition – and this is why I return to the same framework here, again and again. The daily news is for entertainment, but data is for investing. Anchoring decisions to flows instead of feelings, make markets less emotional and far more navigable.
Flying through clouds without instruments is dangerous. Investing through headlines is no different.
As Chester I. Barnard said, “Where you stand determines what you see.”
All content above represents the opinion of Jason Bodner of Navellier & Associates, Inc.
Also In This Issue
A Look Ahead by Louis Navellier
President Trump Takes on Davos…and the World
Income Mail by Bryan Perry
An Opportunity to Own SpaceX Pre-IPO
Growth Mail by Gary Alexander
Black Swans May Shock Us, But the Market Ignores Them
Global Mail by Ivan Martchev
Unintended Consequences (and Fed Chair Announcement) Alert
Sector Spotlight by Jason Bodner
How to See Clearly While Flying Through Dense Market Fog
View Full Archive
Read Past Issues Here
Jason Bodner
MARKETMAIL EDITOR FOR SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Jason Bodner writes Sector Spotlight in the weekly Marketmail publication and has authored several white papers for the company. He is also Co-Founder of Macro Analytics for Professionals which produces proprietary equity accumulation and distribution research for its clients. Previously, Mr. Bodner served as Director of European Equity Derivatives for Cantor Fitzgerald Europe in London, then moved to the role of Head of Equity Derivatives North America for the same company in New York. He also served as S.V.P. Equity Derivatives for Jefferies, LLC. He received a B.S. in business administration in 1996, with honors, from Skidmore College as a member of the Periclean Honors Society. All content of “Sector Spotlight” represents the opinion of Jason Bodner
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Jason Bodner is a co-founder and co-owner of Mapsignals. Mr. Bodner is an independent contractor who is occasionally hired by Navellier & Associates to write an article and or provide opinions for possible use in articles that appear in Navellier & Associates weekly Market Mail. Mr. Bodner is not employed or affiliated with Louis Navellier, Navellier & Associates, Inc., or any other Navellier owned entity. The opinions and statements made here are those of Mr. Bodner and not necessarily those of any other persons or entities. This is not an endorsement, or solicitation or testimonial or investment advice regarding the BMI Index or any statements or recommendations or analysis in the article or the BMI Index or Mapsignals or its products or strategies.
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