Speculating On Innovation ETFs Versus Big Cap Tech: ARKK vs IPO vs QQQ

speculate (Credit: Booby Stare-Down by Scott Ableman on Flickr)

This year has been a surprisingly good year for speculating. The race to the end of 2023 looked like it priced in a lot of good news, but the good news (in price action) continues apace year-to-date. Thus, I decided to take a fresh look at last year’s claim: “Renaissance IPO ETF A Less Volatile … Read more

How to Use ChatGPT to Test Theories on Stock Prices

Percentage of days IWM experiences a gain based on the combined performance of QQQ and IWM (February 12, 2019 to February 8, 2024)

I have a good friend that comes up with interesting theories about relationships in the stock market. Recently, he claimed that “more often than not”, on a day where the big cap stocks gain and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) does not gain, IWM will experience a daily gain on the next trading day. … Read more

How A Bear Finds A Sector Full of Ugly Stocks – The Market Breadth

ugly stocks (Credit: "Jenn's Ugly Face" by lorenabuena is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/2.0/jp/?ref=openverse.)

Small caps were hit particularly hard in today’s follow-through to tech stocks pushing against technical limits. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) went from a breakout above its 50-day moving average (DMA) despite a surge in interest rates and oil prices to a sharp 50DMA breakdown along with a further spike in interest rates and … Read more

How to Change from FOMO to No Regrets in the Stock Market

no regrets (Credit: Relaxing on the Beach by evanforester on Flickr)

(An audio version of this blog post is available on SoundCloud) A no regrets decision is a high quality decision. When backed by a systematic framework, preferably something like the decision chain which I use in my consulting practice, a decisionmaker has reasonably and practically exhausted all available options to improve the inputs to the … Read more

Buyers Push Against Topping Indices, Restart Overbought Conditions – The Market Breadth

push (Credit: Uphill Push by the_alien_experience on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The stock market delivered a gift on Friday as I scrambled to de-risk following the Bank of Japan’s drama on monetary policy. I braced for selling into bearish pressure and instead was pleasantly greeted by a broad push higher for stocks from the open. After the dust settled on the day, I … Read more

Deciphering the Bearish Case: Is it Time to Short ITB?

Uptrend in ITB: An Observation of 20-Day and 50-Day Moving Averages The calendar for the seasonal trade in home builders has come to an end. Yet, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) looks as strong as ever. The uptrend in ITB is well-defined by a primary uptrend in the 20-day moving average (DMA) (the … Read more

Why Wall Street Wants A Recession

Jerome Powell at the Reservation Economic Summit

That sigh of disappointment was Wall Street looking for signs of a weakening labor market in the June jobs report. Instead, that report showed job creation remains robust in the economy. Not only did the unemployment rate remain steady at a low 3.6% with the economy adding 372,000 jobs (far more than “consensus” expectations), the … Read more

Are We There Yet? The ARK Funds Fight for Bottoming Levels

When Cathie Wood anticipated a “doozie of a correction” in early 2021, she surely did not expect a complete collapse in the mania and bubble she had enjoyed during the first year of the pandemic. However, the cash machine betting on the downtrend in the ARK Funds may finally stop operations soon. Last week, one … Read more

On the Way to Oversold, Fed Faces Test of Resolve – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary: Trading extremes led to a snapback rally as expected. However, the rally was short-lived as bear market action quickly resumed. The stock market looks like it is on the way to oversold trading conditions as March closing lows failed to hold as support. Fear is palpable as traders and investors scramble to … Read more

Trading Around Soaring Interest Rates

In “Jim Bianco: “Arguably One of the Worst Forecasts In Fed History’” I wrote about the prospects of trading soaring interest rates with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). I have recently and belatedly faded rallies in TLT by buying puts and taking small profits on the way back down. (TLT goes up when … Read more