ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
My now wavering bullish case for the Canadian dollar (FXC) took a major hit with the November, 2019 Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada reported worsening unemployment rates both sequentially and year-over-year. November’s 5.9% unemployment rate was an increase from October’s 5.5% and the 5.6% in November, 2018. The chart below suggests an end to the … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary The stocks of home builders are starting to fail their moment of truth. A Moment of Truth Looming Ever Larger On October 25th, the iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB) hit a 21-month high that coincided exactly with a major multi-year peak and post-recession high from January, 2018. The sellers showed … Read more
The Bank of Canada changed its tune from the its last pronouncement on monetary policy. At that time, the Bank was very confident about the Canadian economy even as it mapped out the downside risks of the U.S. vs China Trade War. The Trade War remains unresolved three months later, and the Bank of Canada … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I finally conceded to a sustained rally in the stocks of home builders. I noted how this stubborn rally moved counter to unimpressive data. In September, several data points finally came together to support the strong sentiment in financial markets. Low interest rates dominate the story … Read more
AT40 = 67.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (13-month high)VIX = 13.7Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Overbought Overrules Times like these remind me of the significance of the overbought line. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In the last Housing Market Review, I discussed my slow and reluctant acceptance of a stock market that was effectively front-running the seasonally strong period for the stocks of home builders (starting in October/November). I also showed the near consistent dichotomy between builders excelling at selling lower-priced homes to buyers trying to … Read more
An Inescapable Truth In June, 2018, I made the following claims and observations (with fresh emphasis): “…at the end of the day, Trump is determined to drive the U.S. trade deficit as close to zero as possible. This cannot happen without some substantial economic disruptions. To the extent the market refuses to price in these … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In the last Housing Market Review, I pointed out how the stocks of home builders were still making a surprising push against the expected seasonal top in their shares. Yet, I still expected iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) to remain constrained to a pivot around its 50-day moving average (DMA). Soon … Read more
AT40 = 58.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = ~52.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.5Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary A week ago, the S&P 500 (SPY) made a new all-time, and I was expecting a trip into overbought conditions. AT40 … Read more
My wait for an entry point to buy Lennar (LEN) continues. On a day with multiple warning signs about the U.S. economy from companies like Csx Corp (CSX), the Census Bureau piled on with lukewarm data on housing starts. While single-family housing starts for June increased month-over-month by 3.5% to 847,000, housing starts decreased on … Read more