Housing Market Review (October, 2018) – Trend Breaks And A Plunge-Worthy Housing Slowdown

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 (October 19, 2018) – Swirling Signals from 200DMA Drama And Bearish Breakdowns

AT40 = 16.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – 3rd day of oversold period following 4-day oversold period AT200 = 33.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.9 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Friday was a day with a head-spinning mix of reassuring and ominous … Read more

Above the 40 (October 18, 2018) – A Second Oversold Period Gives 200DMAs A Fresh Challenge

AT40 = 15.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – 2nd day of oversold period following 4-day oversold period AT200 = 33.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (up 6 percentage points) VIX = 20.1 (15% increase) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The 200-day moving averages (DMAs) still … Read more

Above the 40DMA (October 16, 2018) – Critical Stock Market 200DMAs Pass the Oversold Test

AT40 = 20.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – ended a 4-day oversold period AT200 = 39.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (up 6 percentage points) VIX = 17.6 (drop of 17.3%) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The average oversold period lasts 5 days. The latest … Read more

The Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen Are Still Useful S&P 500 Signals

I often use the Australian dollar (FXA) versus the Japanese yen (JPY) as a proxy for the market’s risk tolerance. If AUD/JPY is rising, the market is bullish. If AUD/JPY is falling, the market is bearish. The correlation is not as consistent as I would like, so I use it with caution, caveats, and context. … Read more