ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary The stock market indices enjoyed an impressive year. However, weak and declining market breadth produced numerous exceptions to the strong performance of indices and ETFs. A number of important and well-known individual stocks corrected, collapsed, and crashed in 2021. For some, the tailwinds of the pandemic ran out. For others, investors tired … Read more
Stock Market Commentary In last week’s decision on monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell directly and fully acknowledged inflationary pressures in the economy. Perhaps lost in the inflation buzz was Powell’s quick commentary on financial stability during the Q&A session: “…asset valuations are somewhat elevated, I would say.” Of course, various folks in the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A new COVID-19 variant created a new normal for financial markets. The following stock charts provide snapshots of how the market reacted to this new reality. Pandemic-sensitive stocks reacted sharply with a holiday-shortened trading session creating extra urgency for traders. Some of these quick trigger moves should reverse at least a bit … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Waning market breadth weighed on a broad swatch of stocks last week. I was compelled to let go of some of my worst losing stocks. I feature a few of them in this inaugural Stock Chart Reviews series. My pace of trades will likely slow for the rest of the year unless … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The market took just one more day to resume the momentum of expanding market breadth. An extreme October set up this bullish start to November with fresh all-time highs for major indices. While small caps as a group just missed an all-time high, the surge in small caps drove a bullish expansion … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) bounced back from September’s woes for a 6.9% gain for the month of October. While the gain is extreme, I am even more interested in a different October extreme. Somehow, the index managed to skate through October without a notable drawdown. The maximum drawdown in October for the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A week ago I pointed out the key signs suggesting the bear cycle was likely already ending. Last week, the S&P 500 (SPY) confirmed the end of the bear cycle with fresh all-time highs. Yet, consistent with this year’s theme, market breadth was left behind in catch-up mode. The momentum on both … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The strong start to September which characterized the persistent complacency in the stock market soon gave way to the kind of selling that characterizes one of the most dangerous months of the year. September came to a bearish end with a 4.8% loss on the month for the S&P 500. The index … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week opened with a gap down amid hand-wringing about the potential for contagion from debt problems in China’s property market. However, the week ended like nothing happened. The major indices even managed marginal gains after the dust settled. As is so often the case, the Federal Reserve, under the comforting words … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The weight of deteriorating market breadth was undermining the stock market even as on-going rotations kept the indices floating higher. Last week, the tone made one of those periodic, yet still small, shifts. When news broke that Epic Games won a key provision of its lawsuit against Apple and its Apple Store, … Read more