ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The bearish to bullish reversal ended for home builder stocks with a return to bear market territory. Today, October 9, 2025, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) dropped under the threshold that defines a bear market: 20% below the all-time high (see chart below). The 2.6% slide on the day is part of a … Read more
Stock Market Commentary We now have a stock market melt-up alongside a government melt-down…and financial markets could not care less. In fact, the stock market can hardly get more bullish with the long-term, mid-term, and short-term uptrends each flashing green and pointing upward. Still, I cannot help checking my peripheral vision for signs of caution. … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary What happened in the housing market for September, 2025? A rate cut fail unfolded as a resumption of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve failed to revive the stocks of homebuilders. This market reaction suggests that housing market data will remain soft for some time to come. Here is a … Read more
Stock Market Commentary After a month of churning, market breadth is wavering again. This slip is just about the only sign that the market cares at all about looming risks from a potential government shutdown. Even the volatility index (VIX) dropped 8.6% on Friday and remains just below where it closed right before the tariff … Read more
Stock Market Commentary In a flashback to August’s opening trading salvo, September trading started with a sharp pullback. The decline fit the standard theme of “professional” traders and investors returning from summer vacations to take profits from a market levitating on low volume vapors. However, sensing redux price action, the market’s persistent buyers jumped right … Read more