The U.S. Dollar Index Flirts With A Fresh Multi-Year Breakout

The U.S. Dollar index hit 100 on an intraday basis for the first time since March 16th, the day after the index closed at a 12-year high. The index faded back to a close of 99.73 at the end of the U.S. trading day. Source: FreeStockCharts.com The U.S. dollar’s steady, albeit slow, strengthening is happening … Read more

The iShares US Home Construction ETF Hangs Tough Although the South Softens

While I have been talking up warnings on the deterioration in the underlying technicals of the S&P 500 (SPY), I continue to like the relative performance of iShares US Home Construction (ITB). Source: FreeStockCharts.com ITB is up 9.2% for the year while the S&P 500 is essentially flat year-to-date with a 0.3% gain. One of … Read more

T2108 Update (November 20, 2015) – A Surprisingly Strong And Contrary Week for the S&P 500

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are … Read more

Russia Versus Oil: Potential Technical Implications of A New Divergence

In recent months, I have been in the habit of fading rallies in Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX) using Direxion Daily Russia Bear 3X Shares (RUSS) for quick, short-term trades. That streak may be on the verge of ending. Source: FreeStockCharts.com As the chart shows, RSX looked like it was ready to resume its downtrend … Read more

A Bottom For Commodities – The Reserve Bank of Australia Says No; Fortescue Says Yes

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 19, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) “…the changing nature of China’s development implies that the potential for commodity prices to rise from here is somewhat limited.” – Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) at … Read more