Sellers Tightened Resistance Looming Over the Trading Action – The Market Breadth

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

Watch Currencies, Not Stocks, As Geo-Political Tensions Continue to Rise

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

Hawkish Yet Uncertain: A Toxic Elixir from the Fed for Stocks

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

How to Identify Parabolic Trading in Stocks and Currencies

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

Oversold Conditions Loom Ahead of the Fed – The Market Breadth

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

No Longer Oversold, But Still An Ugly Stock Market – The Market Breadth

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

Bullish Bearishness: Jim Cramer’s October Jitters

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

Uber Technologies Survives A Sloppy Bottom in Its Stock Price

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

How to Trade A Bullish Engulfing Pattern: Uber Technologies

The Bullish Engulfing Pattern A bullish engulfing pattern is a candlestick chart pattern used in technical analysis. According to SwingTradeBot, the chart pattern “forms when a small black candlestick is followed by a large white candlestick that completely eclipses or engulfs the previous candlestick’s real body.” Most importantly, the pattern can signal the end of … Read more

A Surprisingly Consistent Relationship for JETS and Traveler Throughput

The Relationship At its height last March, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) still could not close all its pandemic-driven losses. JETS was a 5.9% gain from finally returning to where it last traded at its 200-day moving average (DMA) (the blue line in the stock chart below). Similarly, the number of travelers at U.S. … Read more