Above the 40 (October 13, 2017) – Stock Market Lift-Off Turns Into Drift

AT40 = 72.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – overbought day #12 AT200 = 60.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.6 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary A week ago I described “lift-off” for an extended overbought period for the stock market. However, the market … Read more

A Wilting British Pound Reverses Gains from A Hawkish Bank of England

It looks like speculators flipped the script to go net long on the British pound (FXB) just in time to catch a peak. Source: FreeStockCharts.com As the chart above shows, GBP/USD just broke down below support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). The move looks like an exclamation point following the full reversal of the … Read more

Above the 40 (September 29, 2017) – Stock Market Powers Up for A Potential Overbought Rally

AT40 = 71.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – overbought day #2 AT200 = 58.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.5 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary It looks like an overbought rally is truly underway. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks closing above their … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Flip the Script on the British Pound

Speculators are net bullish on the British pound (FXB) for the first time in almost two years. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders While the net long position is barely above zero, the flip of the script is still significant given how little time speculators have spent bullish on the pound since at least 2008. … Read more

Iron Ore Pairs Trade Lags Commodity’s Plunge

The market must be expecting an imminent rebound in the price of iron ore. Almost two weeks ago, I proposed a pairs trade going short Rio Tinto (RIO) versus long BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) as a way to play the top in the price of iron ore predicted by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). … Read more

Above the 40 (September 26, 2017) – Stocks Knock On Overbought’s Door

AT40 = 68.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (high of 69.4%) AT200 = 57.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.2 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I noted how the stock market bent but stubbornly refused to … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Abandon Shorts on the British Pound

In one fell swoop, the Bank of England’s (BoE) hawkish posturing flushed shorts out of the British pound (FXB). The net short position of speculators has not been this low ever since the latest wave of currency bearishness began against the British pound. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders This rapid closure of shorts helps … Read more

Rio Tinto Vs. BHP Billiton: A Pairs Trade for the RBA’s Top In Iron Ore

On September 19th, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released the minutes from its last meeting on monetary policy (September 5, 2017). Iron ore was perhaps the biggest headline coming out of those minutes. Surprisingly, the RBA called a top in the price of iron ore (emphasis mine): “Iron ore prices had been supported at … Read more

A Closer Look At Lane’s Drive That Weakened the Canadian Dollar

There is nothing like a significantly stronger currency to get central banks to take pause. I cannot recall in recent memory a time where a little known (or under-appreciated?) Deputy Director of the Bank of Canada made a notable impact on the Canadian dollar. Such an event occurred on Monday, September 18th. Deputy Director Timothy … Read more

The British Pound and Carney Are Deja Vu All Over Again

“There’s already great speculation about the exact timing of the first rate hike and this decision is becoming more balanced. It could happen sooner than markets currently expect… …The need for internal balance – to use up wasteful spare capacity while achieving the inflation target – will likely require gradual and limited interest rate increases … Read more