Housing Market Review (September, 2018) – Data Weigh Heavy On A Breakdown for Home Builders

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

Acuity Brands: The Business Uncertainties from Tariff and Wage Inflation

I last mentioned Acuity Brands (AYI), a lighting and building management solutions company with $3.7B in net sales in 2018, three months ago. At that time, I described a good risk/reward setup to go long the stock post-earnings. AYI shot nearly straight up from there. The stock broke through resistance at its 200-day moving average … Read more

Above the 40 (October 4, 2018) – Extremes Prime Prospects for Market Bounce But Oversold Conditions Loom

AT40 = 33.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (was as low 31.9%) AT200 = 47.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.0 (was as high as 15.8) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 is only 1.0% off its all-time high, yet extremes and … Read more

Retail Rally Comes to A Screeching Halt

Toys R Us refuses to die. The hedge funds that own the debt of the bankrupt toy retailer decided to cancel an auction of assets and instead plan to revive the brand and even open new retail outlets. The prospects of another Toys R Us revival could become symbolic: the timing coincided with what looks … Read more

Above the 40 (September 28, 2018) – An Over-Stretched Market With Notable Anchors

AT40 = 41.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 51.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.1 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The stock market is stretched yet again based on AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages … Read more