The Fed’s Clarity Extends the Pain for Gold and Silver

Ahead of the May decision on monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve, I concluded that the stars had aligned for a potential (sharp) relief rally for the SPDR® Gold Shares (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). In that post, I extrapolated from the market’s waning enthusiasm for two more rate hikes in 2017. … Read more

Above the 40 (May 2, 2017) – Tech Stocks Snatch Center Stage As the Rest of the Market Awaits the Fed

AT40 = 58.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 61.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.6 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary At the end of April, I noted how the stock market headed into May trading with a mix of alerts. … Read more

Gold and Silver Lag A Market Wavering On Two More Rate Hikes for 2017

Market expectations for a June rate hike remain as solid as ever. However, expectations for two more rate hikes in 2017 have wavered. A day ahead of the release of the next decision on monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Fed Fund futures pricing in two rate hikes by December (assuming 25 basis point … Read more

The Turkish Lira Is Slowly Overcoming Its Recent Headwinds

The verdict is almost in: the Turkish lira is overcoming its headwinds. After the results of Turkey’s constitutional referendum in mid-April, the Turkish lira bounced around in indecision. Against the U.S. dollar, the indecision ended in conjunction with the April 28th release on monetary policy from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT). … Read more

Above the 40 (April 28, 2017) – A Confirmed Fade from Overbought Raises A Mixed May Alert

AT40 = 58.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 62.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.8 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The last week of trading for April transitioned readily from the French Fly that sent financial markets into celebratory dances … Read more

Housing Market Review – Lumber Issues Loom Over Another Series of Strong Data (April, 2017)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in March, 2017 for February, 2017. At that time, the iShares US Home Construction (ITB) was at the bottom of what turned out to be a very shallow pullback from a near 10-year high. The subsequent recovery has been grinding and slow, but ITB now trades above … Read more

Above the 40 (April 26, 2017) – A Stretched Stock Market Loses Bid for Overbought Status

AT40 = 68.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 65.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs), pushed into overbought territory today with … Read more

Iron Ore Reverses A Major Breakout While Bulls Stick By the Australian Dollar

The list of asset prices that have completely reversed their post-election gains continues to expand. Last week, iron ore officially joined that list…and the sell-off continues apace. On Tuesday night, April 18th, Business Insider reported: “According to Metal Bulletin, the spot price for benchmark 62% fines fell 4.6% to $63.20 a dry tonne, extending its … Read more

Above the 40 (April 13, 2017) – The S&P 500 Suffers A Convincing End to Bullish Divergence

AT40 = 38.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.0 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The 50-day moving average (DMA) is no longer golden. It figures that on a day … Read more

Above the 40 (April 11, 2017) – The Stock Market’s Persistent Yet Uncomfortable Bullish Divergence

AT40 = 54.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 64.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 15.1 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The stock market has become incrementally more dangerous, yet buyers and bulls continue to succeed … Read more