The Microcap Minute Classroom. Module 6, chapter 4: RRG with single stocks <div class="learn" markdown="1"> **What you will learn** - How to plot individual companies on an RRG instead of sectors - Why single stocks bounce around more than sectors - How to read Apple's position against the S&P 500 - What a cluster of similar stocks on the map tells you </div> So far our map carried sectors, big baskets holding hundreds of companies. But nothing stops you from putting individual stocks on an RRG. Instead of "technology" as a basket, you can plot Apple itself, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, all measured against the S&P 500. On StockCharts you simply type the tickers into the RRG tool, with the S&P 500 index, $SPX, as the benchmark in the middle. It is the difference between tracking whole school houses in a sports competition and tracking individual players. Houses move steadily because one player's off day barely matters. Individual players swing wildly. ## Why single stocks are jumpier A sector fund averages hundreds of companies, so one company's shocking news barely ripples the basket. A single stock has no such cushion. One earnings report, one product delay, one lawsuit, and the price can jump 10% in a day (for a $3 trillion company like Apple, that is about $300 billion of value moving, roughly 25 lakh crore rupees, on one piece of news). On the RRG this means: - Single-stock tails are longer and loopier than sector tails. - A stock can visit all four quadrants within a few months. - Rotations are faster and reverse more often, so the clockwise pattern is less reliable than with sectors. ## A worked example: Apple versus the giants Picture an RRG with the S&P 500 index, $SPX, at the centre and six dots: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META). Our capture, weekly over three years, shows this: - **Microsoft** in Improving, tail climbing up and right toward the Leading border: still behind the market over the measured period, but closing the gap fast. - **Apple** in Leading, with its tail curling underneath it: ahead of the S&P 500, though the bend warns that no lead is guaranteed. - **Nvidia** and **Amazon** in Weakening, tails bending down: still ahead of the market, but their leads are shrinking. - **Alphabet** and **Meta** in Lagging, Meta sitting near the Improving border: behind the market, with Meta showing the first flicker of recovery. <p class="credit">Chart courtesy of <a href="https://www.stockcharts.com">StockCharts.com</a></p> The settings panel shows the recipe: benchmark $SPX, weekly period, three year range. The reading rule is identical for stocks and indices: every dot is judged against the benchmark at the centre, and its quadrant describes a gap with the market, not whether a price went up or down. The notebook sentence: "Among the giants, momentum currently favours Microsoft, Meta is stirring in Lagging, and Nvidia and Amazon are cooling." Again, pure description. No instruction. ## The cluster trick Here is a genuinely useful habit. If Apple alone swings into Lagging while Microsoft and Nvidia stay firmly in Leading, the weakness is probably Apple-specific: something about that one company. But if the whole technology cluster sinks into Weakening together, while Coca-Cola and other defensive names rise into Improving, that smells like a broad sector rotation, the crowd moving houses, not just one player having a bad day. One stock moving tells you about the stock. A group moving together tells you about the market's mood. Professionals use exactly this as a check: a sector's members must confirm the sector's own rotation. The RRG lets you see both on one map, which is exactly why it earned a place in this classroom. Use this page alongside the RRG: the RRG shows Apple's position in the race, this page shows the raw performance numbers behind it. <div class="try" markdown="1"> **Try it yourself** In the StockCharts RRG tool, replace the sector list with these tickers: AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, GOOGL, AMZN, META, against $SPX. Take a screenshot or sketch the positions. Write one sentence per stock: quadrant, tail direction, plain meaning. Save it and redo the exercise in two weeks to see what rotated. </div> <div class="takeaways" markdown="1"> **Key takeaways** - You can plot single stocks on an RRG with $SPX (the S&P 500 index) as the benchmark at the centre. - Single stocks rotate faster and reverse more often than sectors; their tails are noisier. - A stock's quadrant describes its gap with the market, never whether you should own it. - A whole cluster rotating together signals a broad mood shift; one stock rotating alone signals company-specific news. </div>. I am Ritu, a synthetic voice, and the words I am reading are Ayush Agrawal's.

# RRG with single stocks <div class="learn" markdown="1"> **What you will learn** - How to plot individual companies on an RRG instead of sectors - Why single stocks bounce around more than sectors - How to read Apple's position against the S&P 500 - What a cluster of similar stocks on the map tells you </div> So far our map carried sectors, big baskets holding hundreds of companies. But nothing stops you from putting individual stocks on an RRG. Instead of "technology" as a basket, you can plot Apple itself, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, all measured against the S&P 500. On StockCharts you simply type the tickers into the RRG tool, with the S&P 500 index, $SPX, as the benchmark in the middle. It is the difference between tracking whole school houses in a sports competition and tracking individual players. Houses move steadily because one player's off day barely matters. Individual players swing wildly. ## Why single stocks are jumpier A sector fund averages hundreds of companies, so one company's shocking news barely ripples the basket. A single stock has no such cushion. One earnings report, one product delay, one lawsuit, and the price can jump 10% in a day (for a $3 trillion company like Apple, that is about $300 billion of value moving, roughly 25 lakh crore rupees, on one piece of news). On the RRG this means: - Single-stock tails are longer and loopier than sector tails. - A stock can visit all four quadrants within a few months. - Rotations are faster and reverse more often, so the clockwise pattern is less reliable than with sectors. ## A worked example: Apple versus the giants Picture an RRG with the S&P 500 index, $SPX, at the centre and six dots: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META). Our capture, weekly over three years, shows this: - **Microsoft** in Improving, tail climbing up and right toward the Leading border: still behind the market over the measured period, but closing the gap fast. - **Apple** in Leading, with its tail curling underneath it: ahead of the S&P 500, though the bend warns that no lead is guaranteed. - **Nvidia** and **Amazon** in Weakening, tails bending down: still ahead of the market, but their leads are shrinking. - **Alphabet** and **Meta** in Lagging, Meta sitting near the Improving border: behind the market, with Meta showing the first flicker of recovery. <p class="credit">Chart courtesy of <a href="https://www.stockcharts.com">StockCharts.com</a></p> The settings panel shows the recipe: benchmark $SPX, weekly period, three year range. The reading rule is identical for stocks and indices: every dot is judged against the benchmark at the centre, and its quadrant describes a gap with the market, not whether a price went up or down. The notebook sentence: "Among the giants, momentum currently favours Microsoft, Meta is stirring in Lagging, and Nvidia and Amazon are cooling." Again, pure description. No instruction. ## The cluster trick Here is a genuinely useful habit. If Apple alone swings into Lagging while Microsoft and Nvidia stay firmly in Leading, the weakness is probably Apple-specific: something about that one company. But if the whole technology cluster sinks into Weakening together, while Coca-Cola and other defensive names rise into Improving, that smells like a broad sector rotation, the crowd moving houses, not just one player having a bad day. One stock moving tells you about the stock. A group moving together tells you about the market's mood. Professionals use exactly this as a check: a sector's members must confirm the sector's own rotation. The RRG lets you see both on one map, which is exactly why it earned a place in this classroom. Use this page alongside the RRG: the RRG shows Apple's position in the race, this page shows the raw performance numbers behind it. <div class="try" markdown="1"> **Try it yourself** In the StockCharts RRG tool, replace the sector list with these tickers: AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, GOOGL, AMZN, META, against $SPX. Take a screenshot or sketch the positions. Write one sentence per stock: quadrant, tail direction, plain meaning. Save it and redo the exercise in two weeks to see what rotated. </div> <div class="takeaways" markdown="1"> **Key takeaways** - You can plot single stocks on an RRG with $SPX (the S&P 500 index) as the benchmark at the centre. - Single stocks rotate faster and reverse more often than sectors; their tails are noisier. - A stock's quadrant describes its gap with the market, never whether you should own it. - A whole cluster rotating together signals a broad mood shift; one stock rotating alone signals company-specific news. </div>

That was chapter 4 of module 6. The text, the pictures and the exercise are on the lesson page. Thank you for listening.