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: 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
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
Stock Market Commentary: The stock market held up surprisingly well last week given the intensifying Russian assault on Ukraine and the accelerating economic sanctions pressing upon Russia. Yet, similar to my concerns for the suffering Ukrainian people, I have increasing doubts that this market “stasis” can last much longer. Specifically, the downtrending 20-day moving averages … Read more
The news headlines rang out today that Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin gave the orders to send “peacekeeping” troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine. Stock market futures reacted instantly. Yahoo had a particularly dramatic headline declaring that futures “tanked.” Reflexively, I checked CNBC to review the preliminary damage: S&P futures down 1.8% and the NASDAQ … Read more
There was a hopeful narrative going into the last week’s Federal Reserve meeting that Fed Chair Jerome Powell and company would emerge more dovish. The stock market’s sell-off this year could frighten the Fed into standing down from its earlier insistence about tightening monetary policy. Not only did Powell stride into the press conference unbowed … Read more
Identify Parabolic Trading I often warn about the dangers of chasing parabolic trading action in stocks and currencies. Since parabolic trading tends to end with steep price reversals, traders need to know how to identify trouble. A parabolic price run-up is an extreme uptrend. It is usually brief and features frequent, often consecutive, trading days … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The post-oversold divergence resolved to the downside. The downward pressure was evident across a wide swath of stocks, and big cap stocks were only strong enough to keep the S&P 500 (SPY) aloft for a day (at an all-time high). Now, the stock market looks toppy and heavy enough to dip back … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The November jobs report suggested that the employment rate fell to levels last seen before the pandemic. However, the 210,000 additional jobs is well below the 1,000,000 additional jobs estimated by the U.S. household survey. This great divergence is a good metaphor for the uncertainty causing sharp and wide gyrations in the … Read more
August through October are the most dangerous months of the year for the S&P 500 (SPY). The historical drawdowns create a well-known pattern of trading that Jim Cramer of CNBC has referenced several times for at least a month. While this year’s August failed to fulfill its destiny, September delivered on its promises with heavy … Read more
After two bullish engulfing patterns, Uber Technologies, Inc (UBER) finally carved out a more lasting, even if sloppy, bottom. A business update at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference provided the catalyst. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi delivered good news across several operational metrics. He also reported that UBER may get to profitability in the current quarter. After … Read more