The Fed Further Stretched Overbought Conditions – The Market Breadth

stretch (credit: Lynn Friedman on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary For traders like myself who follow market cycles from extreme fear to extreme euphoria, last week’s trading action was astonishing. The stock market was already well overbought and stretched going into Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting. Yet, buyers STILL managed to go into extreme stretch mode. The Federal Reserve essentially declared the death … Read more

Bulls Explode Out of Oversold Trading Conditions – The Market Breadth

bulls explode out of oversold trading conditions

The bear market intrusion to the oversold period gave way to an explosion of bullish trading action this week. The maximum drawdown of October for the S&P 500 (SPY) was 4.0% well above the average for the month. This extreme move provided the perfect setup for the sharpness of the current oversold bounce. The rubber … Read more

Trading While Trouble Abounds – The Market Breadth

trouble abounds (Credit: Sad Dog by Ink Hog, https://www.flickr.com/photos/34191996@N07/3859862007)

Stock Market Commentary “This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades.” This statement from Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), concluded his commentary on the bank’s Q3 earnings report. These words on Friday morning fittingly concluded a sobering week that started with tragedy and war raging in Gaza and … Read more

Jackson Hole Redux: Stock Indices Are Back Where They Started – The Market Breadth

Jackson Hole redux (Credit: Welcome to Jackson Hole Sign by Latham Jenkins on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The annual Jackson Hole confab of central bankers starts this coming Thursday. Almost like technical poetry, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ are back to the highs directly preceding Jackson Hole 2022. Depending on your perspective, this Jackson Hole redux either represents a bullish confirmation of the market’s resilience after 18 months … Read more

Buyers Push Against Topping Indices, Restart Overbought Conditions – The Market Breadth

push (Credit: Uphill Push by the_alien_experience on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The stock market delivered a gift on Friday as I scrambled to de-risk following the Bank of Japan’s drama on monetary policy. I braced for selling into bearish pressure and instead was pleasantly greeted by a broad push higher for stocks from the open. After the dust settled on the day, I … Read more

Now Overbought, the Summer of Loving Stocks Stares Down the Fed – The Market Breadth

stares down (Credit: Animal Kingdom - The Stare Down by Jeff Krause Photography on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary On Thursday, good economic news scared Wall Street yet again. Initial jobless claims came in well below “expectations” and set off a cascade of reactions. Interest rates shot up and the stock market dropped down. The stubborn strength of the labor market allows the Federal Reserve to stay hawkish and keep its … Read more

Bulls Fail Again at the Overbought Threshold – The Market Breadth

overbought threshold (Credit: Frustration by Leo Laporte on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The summer of loving stocks is staring down its second major test just two weeks after its first major test. Like the first test, the latest test is happening in the wake of the stock market’s failure to break through the overbought threshold on market breadth. Unlike the first test, the important … Read more

Key Endorsements for the 2023 Run-Up In Stocks – The Market Breadth

endorsements (Credit: Air salute by The U.S. Army on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: The summer of loving stocks may have begun. In a list of debt ceiling winners and losers, Vox failed to list the stock market as one of the biggest winners. The lingering and residual angst accompanying the manufactured drama of the debt ceiling released its hold on the market’s bias to go … Read more

A Bear Market Swan Song for the NASDAQ? – The Market Breadth

swan song (Credit: The Song of the Swan 2 by David Hoffman '41)

Stock Market Commentary: Flying on the wings of an AI (artificial intelligence) gold rush, the NASDAQ may have delivered the swan song for its bear market. The latest rush of buying, sent the NASDAQ above its bear market line for the first time since last August. The path to this breakthrough was fraught with yet … Read more

Apple Drags A Mixed-Up Market Higher – The Market Breadth

apple drags (Credit: astronomy_blog on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: In the previous week, the stock market put on a display of strength ahead of the Federal Reserve’s May decision on monetary policy. That bravado was temporarily undermined by the final blow to First Republic Bank (FRC). After a one-day pause, presumably to contemplate the implications of the lack of a coherent … Read more