ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Currency markets were excited for less than an hour over the latest Monetary Policy Report (MPR) from the Bank of Canada. Before the dust settled, USD/CAD, the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar, reached a near 3-year low. Economic optimism from Canada’s central bank gave the Canadian dollar a fresh boost. Bank of Canada Governor … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary In recent months a divergence in the housing market emerged between rangebound home builder stocks and strong housing data. In October, new home sales recorded a third straight month at the 1 million mark. Since new home sales hit an August peak, the stocks of home builders have also largely … Read more
“One-Twenty Two” is a different narrative for students and fans of financial markets. This blog often examines the investing and trading implications of extremes in financial markets. By definition, an extreme condition marks a top or a bottom in prices and invites contrary thinking. For example, the cyclical concepts of “overbought” and “oversold” measure temporary … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary A divergence in the housing market is emerging between slowing home builder stocks and strong housing data. The housing boom in the U.S. continued to make its mark in the middle of the pandemic-induced recession. While new home sales took a bit of a pause in October, housing starts, existing … Read more
The stock market convincingly followed through on last week’s bullish divergence that indicated strengthening stock market breadth. At the time of the bullish divergence, AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs), powered higher even as the S&P 500 (SPY) lost 1.0%. The index also suffered a 50DMA breakdown. … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The pandemic recession ended for housing in July. August demonstrated that an all-out housing boom is underway. I was expecting the housing data to start normalizing. Instead, demand pushed ever higher and supply tightened further. Housing Stocks Toll Brothers (TOL) started last week with a preliminary report on net new … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The pandemic recession is over as far as the housing market is concerned. The case for V-shaped recoveries was evident in the last Housing Market Review. The recovery completed in August with important new highs in existing and new home sales and in home builder sentiment. Ultra-low interest rates support … Read more
Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 72.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (1st day overbought)AT200 = 42.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 22.2Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary The last overbought period ended in June. The volatility index (VIX) did not drop much … Read more
Accelerating Homeownership Rates The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated many trends that were underway going into 2020. Rising homeownership rates in the U.S. hopped onto the trend. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Homeownership Rate for the United States [RSAHORUSQ156S], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; July 29, 2020. The above (adjustable) graph shows the … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The housing downturn ended almost as quickly as it began. V-shaped recoveries are evident across a spectrum of data, especially in home builder sentiment and new home sales. Home builders continue to describe extremely strong demand that, in many cases, goes beyond the release of buying power pent-up by the … Read more