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 A promising week of post-oversold trading ended in tensions over inflation, interest rates, and Ukraine. Overall, the stock market remains locked in churn. Yet, the view from individual stocks can provide cause for greater alarm. End of the week selling in big cap tech raised a red flag against my overall bullishness … 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 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 I turned bearish on the stock market over two weeks ago. Last week began with confirmation as sellers followed through on a fade from a brief rally. Mid-week, the downward momentum came to a screeching halt as buyers took over most of the trading action. I pointed out the key signs suggesting … 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 stock market is a cauldron of contradictions and divergences. Breakdowns below key support levels abound. Stocks suffer post-earnings fades even after companies report strong results, especially in both beaten up growth stocks and resilient big cap tech. Yet, the S&P 500 just rises above the steady erosion of market breadth with … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week featured an intense barrage of earnings reports. The collective response on the major indices was a major yawn. The S&P 500 finished flat for the week. The NASDAQ and the iShares Trust Russell 2000 Index ETF both softened by 0.4%. Financials were a notable exception as the Financial Select Sector … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The growth tantrum is almost a distant memory. Complacency is more the order of the day as the volatility index sinks further below 20 and the S&P 500 (SPY) hops and skips through all-time highs. Big cap tech is popular again. These stocks are helping to drag both the S&P 500 and … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A week ago, the fading of the growth tantrum further solidified my bullish read on the stock market. Last week, big cap tech took over from the growth tantrum. Buyers passed the baton in impression fashion but left small caps behind. Regardless, market dips are attracting buyers in a rotating fashion. The … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Many stocks rebounded sharply from intraday lows on Thursday. The flurry left behind key bullish signals. Buyers did not disappoint on Friday. They delivered strong follow through on the latest bullish signals even as sections of the market suffered targeted carnage. Indeed, the ability to ignore the targeted carnage was itself another … Read more