Above the 40 (January 2, 2019) – A Fighting Start for Stocks Gets Apple Pie in the Yen

AT40 = 11.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (oversold day #12)AT200 = 12.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 23.2Short-term Trading Call: bullish (with caveats all over again) Commentary $AUDJPY $AUDUSD $GBPJPY flash crashed. Could this ALL be #forex fallout from $AAPL revenue warning!?! pic.twitter.com/WZS10wj7D9 — … Read more

Housing Market Review (December, 2018) – Prices Are Still Too High

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the May Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. When I wrote June’s housing market review and described a “struggling flicker,” the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was once again bouncing off the bottom of 2018’s trading range. … Read more

Above the 40 (December 19, 2018) – A Fed Undeterred Is A Stock Market Not Yet Low Enough

AT40 = 9.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (oversold day #4)AT200 = 14.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (new 34-month low)VIX = 25.6 (no change!)Short-term Trading Call: bullish (caveats below!) Commentary On Tuesday night, basketball great LeBron James, now of the Los Angeles Lakers, experienced an … Read more

Home Builder Sentiment Punctuates the Slowdown in the Housing Market

I normally wait until my monthly Housing Market Review to report housing data, but I made an exception for November’s NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) which measures the aggregate of home builder sentiment. The plunge in sentiment delivered a timely exclamation point to all the other signs of a slowdown I have been observing … Read more

The Fed-Related Chart That Most Concerns the Stock Market

An on-going debate rages about whether or how fast the Fed should hike rates in 2019. Some even question the need for a rate hike in December. Indeed, the market has priced in a “only” a 65% chance of a rate hike next month. I say only because before the October sell-off and November’s weakness, … Read more