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 week’s trading was punctuated by a single day with an all-time high on the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ in the wake of strong readings on the May S&P Global US Services PMI and the May ISM Non-Manufacturing Index. Unfortunately, that price milestone failed to change the contour of market breath … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A plunge in market breadth on Wednesday made me expect a more bearish take on the markets for my next blog post. A sharp rebound led by strong earnings from various retail companies, quickly changed the narrative from a continued NVDA hangover to a bullish divergence and then a bullish setup. Friday’s … Read more
Stock Market Commentary I looked to last week’s earnings from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) with great anticipation. The indices gathered momentum with all-time highs and seemed to point to a big moment for NVDA. NVDA did indeed have a big moment, but it helped precious few. In fact, NVDA’s gain looked like a net loss. Buyer’s … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The simple and quiet breakout for the stock market found follow-through last week. Both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ hit fresh all-time highs during the week. The April CPI (consumer price index) report paved the way on Wednesday’s all-time highs. A softer than “expected” number revived hopes for a rate cut … Read more
Stock Market Commentary I saw a simple test for distinguishing bearish and bullish signals after META’s post-earnings swoon last month. A quick rebound following failed tests at resistance complicated the picture. The price technicals and dynamics returned to simple as a synchronized yet quiet breakout unfolded last week across the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ. … Read more
Stock Market Commentary In the prior week a post-earnings pricequake from Meta Platforms (META) dominated the stock market headlines. Last week, an Apple buyquake dominated the headlines and week-ending trading after the company announced a record $110B buyback. The subsequent gain in AAPL turned my simple test dividing bearish and bullish trading action into a … Read more
When Jim Cramer gets exorcised about something, I sit up and pay attention. As a student of market extremes, Cramer’s extremes offer their own special trading signals. At the onset of the pandemic, I wrote about “Cramer in turmoil” as a demonstration of how quickly financial narratives can change in response to market extremes, revealing … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Can a bullish divergence create a bottom for stocks? The stock market ended last week with an emphatic “YES!” A wild week got treacherous after Thursday’s META pricequake. Investors rushed for the exits after Meta Platforms (META) reported earnings. The sympathy selling went far and wide. Fortunately, earnings from Alphabet (GOOG) and … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week was a week like few other for the volatility index, the VIX. In my last Market Breadth I made the case for the VIX mattering again. A VIX follow-through demonstrated even more strength and resilience. The resulting closing high for the year is a firmer bearish signal for the stock … Read more
Stock Market Commentary While I watch the tense trading unfold in NVDA, the VIX, the volatility index, has suddenly returned to my radar as an indicator of interest. Thursday’s stock market setback came with a surging VIX that closed at a new high of the year. The regular programming of the volatility faders actually failed … Read more