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 Last week featured an intense barrage of earnings reports. The collective response on the major indices was a major yawn. The S&P 500 finished flat for the week. The NASDAQ and the iShares Trust Russell 2000 Index ETF both softened by 0.4%. Financials were a notable exception as the Financial Select Sector … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A great stock market divergence clarified itself last week. Growth stocks, especially the expensive and/or speculative kind, took a back seat to industrial and consumer names and other stocks primed to benefit most from the global economies reopening on a fresh wave of liquidity. This divergence renders a generalized view of the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Sellers beat a hasty retreat from the stock market as another bearish signal enjoyed a fleeting existence. The last bearish period lasted about three days. The previous bearish period barely survived a day. The stock market’s ability to quickly wipe away bearish signals is impressive. The buying force over the last week … Read more
Stock Market Commentary After the stock market ended its last overbought period, I hesitated to drop my short-term trading call back to bearish. Three days later and the market has yet to snap back into overbought trading conditions. As the major indices levitate, my favorite breadth indicator, AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above … Read more
Analysts (metaphorically) took note of Facebook (FB) teetering on a key support at its 200-day moving average (DMA) and rushed to the rescue. Two analyst reports helped confirm support with a 3.9% gain following Friday’s 2.3% gain. Another analyst report after hours should keep the rocket fuel burning going into earnings next week. The Analysts … Read more
The stock market has enjoyed overbought trading conditions for the last 13 trading days and 14 of the last 15. I consider the stock market overbought when AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs), trades above 70%. Overbought periods are times of mixed feelings. The stock market tends … Read more
Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 79.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (Day #10 overbought) AT200 = 76.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 3-year high and holding breakout above post financial crisis downtrend) VIX = 20.8 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Instead of Monday, … Read more
Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 46.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 51.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (8-month high) VIX = 32.5 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary The stock market looked like it was warming up from a period of cooling … Read more
The Warning The CNBC headline warned investors: “Widespread overconfidence is putting investors in a dangerous situation, Invesco’s Kristina Hooper warns.” I typically skip right past such headlines. Yet my recent switch to a cautiously bearish short-term trading call made me more receptive to the big tease. I expected to read stock market predictions about the … Read more
Some sporting goods retailers have to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Hibbett Sports (HIBB) looks like one of them. Soaring Sales Results Hibbett Sports provided early sales guidance for its fiscal second quarter that delivered surprisingly strong results (all comparables are year-over-year unless otherwise stated): Total store sales for the quarter: over +70%; for the first … Read more