Lessons from the DexCom Breakout

Five months ago, I made the case for bottom-fishing in DexCom (DXCM) following the news of competitor’s Abbott (ABT) product approval. The trade was looking shaky a few weeks later when the stock made a minor new closing low from that price collapse. November earnings produced the catalyst to confirm the bottom, and the stock … Read more

Above the 40 (March 7, 2018) – A Lagging S&P 500 Stops Short Even As Trade War Tripwire Defuses

AT40 = 39.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.8% Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary “Dear President Trump: We are writing to express deep concern about the prospect of broad, global tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. … Read more

Another Bullish Breakout for Cocoa

On Friday, The iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) soared 3.0% to a 14-month high. It was a breakout the validated months and months of patience betting that in a market with strong demand, extremely low cocoa prices would create the conditions for higher prices in the future. While NIB has persistently rallied since the … Read more

Above the 40 (March 2, 2018) – Trump Pulls the Trade War Tripwire

AT40 = 27.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 44.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.6 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (caveats below!) Commentary President Trump has been talking about taking unilateral trade actions since he was campaigning in 2016. The rhetoric heated up … Read more

Housing Market Review (February, 2018) – Stalled and Toppy

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in January, 2018 for December, 2017. At the time, I described the ominous breakdown of the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB), but I was not yet ready to connect the dots on the bearish implications. I am now. ITB has continued its breakdown by first severely … Read more

Above the 40 (February 16, 2018) – A Cloud Emerges Above the Oversold Bounce

AT40 = 32.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.5 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (downgrade from bullish – see below for more details) Commentary The trading contours in the aftermath of an oversold episode can move … Read more

Above the 40 (February 15, 2016) – S&P 500 Passes A Key Post Oversold Test

AT40 = 31.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.1 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) joined the NASDAQ and PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) by closing above its 50-day moving average (DMA). The move … Read more

A New Breakout for Cocoa as Ghana Falls Short

It was a welcome turn of fortune for iPath® Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB). In a week where global stock markets took a sharp tumble, NIB followed through on an important technical breakout. The week started ominously when NIB sold off and dove back below its 50 and 200-day moving averages (DMAs). After that setback, … Read more

Trading An Iron Ore Top: Prices Stall Amid Record Chinese Imports and Inventories

Iron ore may have reached a new inflection point with a price rally coming to a halt in January and some related stocks consolidating near multi-year highs. When I last made an iron ore trade in September, 2017, I was responding to a surprise projection from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that suggested a … Read more