Above the 40 (July 27, 2018) – Stock Market Weaknesses Confirm Earlier Bearish Divergence

AT40 = 49.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 53.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.0 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) managed to gain on the week, but it was not easy. Each day of the week delivered new … Read more

Housing Market Review (July, 2018) – A Wobbly Edifice As Builders Break Down And Data Weaken

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the May Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. When I wrote June’s housing market review and described a “struggling flicker,” the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was once again bouncing off the bottom of 2018’s trading range. … Read more

Above the 40 (July 20, 2018) – Bored With Economic Wars: The S&P 500 Meanders Through Minefields

AT40 = 57.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = N/A% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary I remain fascinated by the S&P 500’s increasing resilience to worsening macro-economic headlines. The apparent boredom with the headlines about trade wars, … Read more

Above the 40 (July 6, 2018) – Bears Overstay Their Welcome

AT40 = 60.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Until Friday’s 0.8% gain on the S&P 500 (SPY) in the wake of another strong jobs report, I was still expecting the … Read more

A Low Risk Way to Play Cramer’s Call for A Bottom In General Electric

General Electric (GE) has become THE disaster and rescue story in the U.S. stock market this year. Since it’s near-death experience in the financial crisis, GE ground out a slow but steady recovery before peaking in the summer of 2016 in the middle of a head and shoulders topping formation. That top fell well short … Read more

Above the 40 (June 29, 2018) – Sellers Reward A Weak Stock Market Bounce With A Bearish Fade

AT40 = 48.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 50.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.1 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The market’s gains the last two days validated my expectation for a relief bounce. I used this bounce to make more bearish … Read more

Above the 40 (June 22, 2018) – Stock Market Bears Increase the Pressure

AT40 = 63.1% ƒof stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 13.8 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I described how growing global trade wars are creating widening divergences in … Read more

Above the 40 (June 15, 2018) – A News-Packed Week Hands Victory to Stock Market Bulls and Bears

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.0 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary Once again, a tried and true bearish signal delivered. However this success came with a tremendous caveat: a simultaneously … Read more

Above the 40 (June 8, 2018) – A Promising Stock Rally Comes Up Short of Important Threshold

AT40 = 69.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (“almost bullish”) Commentary Friday started out in bearish fashion. Apple (AAPL) took a broadside from yet another one of those … Read more

Housing Market Review (May, 2018) – A Fresh Flicker of Life As Sentiment Turns Without A Change in Data

The fundamentals have changed little. Sentiment is making a dramatic shift. The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in April, 2018 for March, 2018. At the time, I lamented a dissonance of decelerating housing data and diverging home builder stocks. Over a month later, the deceleration is a little less pronounced while the divergence … Read more