ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary According to Investopedia, the Santa Claus rally “describes a sustained increase in the stock market that occurs in the last week of December through the first two trading days in January.” With the legendary rally still a week away, the S&P 500 (SPY) finds itself priced exactly where it was at the end … Read more
Stock Market Commentary In last week’s decision on monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell directly and fully acknowledged inflationary pressures in the economy. Perhaps lost in the inflation buzz was Powell’s quick commentary on financial stability during the Q&A session: “…asset valuations are somewhat elevated, I would say.” Of course, various folks in the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market wilted toward oversold territory ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest pronouncements on monetary policy. However, the relief from hearing exactly what everyone expected was so large that the S&P 500 (SPY) gained 1.6% and almost hit a new all-time high. The move fooled a lot of people (see below). … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The post-oversold divergence resolved to the downside. The downward pressure was evident across a wide swath of stocks, and big cap stocks were only strong enough to keep the S&P 500 (SPY) aloft for a day (at an all-time high). Now, the stock market looks toppy and heavy enough to dip back … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market’s dip into oversold territory lasted a day. Subsequent trading has carved out a new divergence. Big cap stocks like Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) helped bullrush the S&P 500 into an all-time high while a wide swath of stocks were left behind. Accordingly, market breadth is languishing again. The following stocks charts … Read more
Credit Suisse downgraded Peloton Interactive (PTON) from outperform to neutral. The analyst at Credit Suisse also slashed their price target from $112 to $50. Despite a price target higher than the previous day’s closing price of $40.70, PTON still fell 5.4% to $38.51 and a 19-month low. So why did PTON sink on an analyst … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market’s dip into oversold territory lasted the typical one day. The immediate wake was ugly. The follow-through revealed a new divergence. The resulting oversold bounce carved out the S&P 500 for special status as the winner of the divergence. The index hit an all-time high while the majority of the … Read more
Between an accelerated share buyback program and executives using their own money to buy shares, Chegg, Inc (CHGG) finally looks ready for a price bottom. On November 29th, Chegg made the following proclamation in concert with the $300M acceleration of share repurchases: “The accelerated share repurchase demonstrates the strength of our balance sheet, and it … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market rebounded out of oversold trading conditions but ended the week in ugly fashion. The combination produced fascinating snapshots of an ugly oversold bounce. Expensive growth stocks are rapidly falling out of favor while a convergence of negative headlines and uncertainties is painting plenty of ugly all over the stock … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The November jobs report suggested that the employment rate fell to levels last seen before the pandemic. However, the 210,000 additional jobs is well below the 1,000,000 additional jobs estimated by the U.S. household survey. This great divergence is a good metaphor for the uncertainty causing sharp and wide gyrations in the … Read more