Clase de Plata Weekly | Sat, Oct 31, 2026
Intel Sank Chips, Safe Stocks Won
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Clase de Plata Weekly | Sat, Oct 31, 2026
Chips ran early in the week, then big tech stumbled. By Friday, money hid in safer stocks. The S&P 500 fund SPY fell 0.55% for the week, its third losing week in a row.
SPY (a fund that tracks the S&P 500) closed Friday at 755.78.
The week in 3 bullets
Chips ran, then the Fed held. Anthropic's IPO filing lifted chip stocks three days in a row. Boeing sank 10.71% after pushing a 737 goal to early 2027. Wednesday the Fed kept rates at 3.75%–4%. SPY closed Wednesday at 772.39, the high of the week.
Big tech split. After Wednesday's close, Microsoft rose 4.1% but Alphabet fell 6.8%. Thursday, Alphabet ended down 12.64% over how much it's spending on AI. The economy still grew 3.4% in Q3 (July to September).
Friday, Intel crashed. Intel fell 28.58% on a weak holiday-quarter outlook. Chip stocks (SMH) fell 6.98%. Money moved to energy, up 1.88% after Exxon and Chevron beat, and staples (everyday-stuff companies), up 1.41%. SPY fell 1.77%.
For the week: SPY -0.55%, QQQ (a Nasdaq 100 fund) -1.97%, staples (XLP) +1.31%. Still, 82% of S&P 500 companies that have reported beat estimates.
Next week: prices and events
Prices to watch:
SPY 750.36: our line (Friday's low). If it holds, watch 761.46 (Friday's high). Lose 750.36, and that idea's done.
Options traders price Monday's normal move for SPY at 750.74 to 760.82.
USO (an oil fund) 168.84. GLD (a gold fund) 355.86, as gold hit a one-year low. TLT (a bond fund) 81.84.
Bitcoin slid to about $76,500 after hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, a crypto exchange.
Big events (times PT):
Sun: Clocks fall back. The market still opens at 6:30 AM PT.
Mon: Check Point and Estée Lauder report before the open. A factory report (ISM) at 7:00 AM. Apple and Clorox report after the close.
Rest of the week: TBD.
Our theme changed. Chips lost to staples two days straight. Over Oct 29–30, SMH fell about 8% and XLP rose about 3%. The new theme: safety over chips.
Scanner Spotlight: $INGR (Ingredion)
Our latest long-term pick, from Sunday, Oct 25 (6 days old).
What we saw (Oct 25, using Oct 22 prices): INGR, a staples company, was $95.70, down 13.2% this year. It passed 5 of 7 Graham value checks. Its P/E (price vs. a year of profit) was 10.4, and it pays a 3.5% dividend. Its Graham number (a rough fair-value price) was $121.85.
What it might mean (our view): Money is moving into staples, and INGR looks cheap next to its fair-value price. It has plenty of cash vs. bills (current ratio 2.8).
What it can't tell us: Its 10-year profit record and growth weren't in our data. Today's price: TBD. Cheap can get cheaper.
Riskier pick: $SFD (Smithfield Foods)
Smithfield is a big pork and packaged meats company that went public on Jan 28, 2025. It closed at $18.55 on Oct 29.
Why it could grow: It makes a profit, has low debt, and trades at just 0.49 times its sales. Its packaged meats made $230M in Q3.
The big risk: Margins are thin, so small cost jumps hurt. Sales are flat, and the stock is down 30.2% in 3 months. It hasn't found a bottom yet.
How to play it safer: Keep it small and buy slowly in pieces. Don't put more than a small slice in one food stock.
Beginner Lesson: Own more than one kind
One stock can fall a lot in one day.
Friday, Intel fell 28.58%. Chip stocks fell 6.98%. But energy rose 1.88% and staples rose 1.41%.
If all your money was in chips, Friday hurt. If you owned a mix, the winners softened the losers.
Process over prediction. No chasing.
This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Clase de Plata is not a registered investment advisor. Do your own research.
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