Above the 40 (July 14, 2017) – S&P 500 Hits All-Time High Alongside Historic Volatility

AT40 = 63.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 59.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.5 (volatility index) (since 1990, only TWO days have been lower, both in December, 1993!) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary The volatility index, the VIX, closed at … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Ride the Wave Against the Japanese Yen

The Japanese yen (FXY) is the one major currency that has been notably weaker than the U.S. dollar for most of the past month. USD/JPY peaked in December, 2016, but it looks like the sell-off bottomed out in April. Source: FreeStockCharts.com This yen weakness has been particularly evident against strong currencies, like the euro (FXE), … Read more

Gold and Silver Speculators In Full Retreat

A year ago, speculators accumulated net long contracts on gold that exceeded anything seen since at least 2008. Starting in late 2015, silver speculators set several such records with the latest set just three months ago. Now, speculators in gold and silver are in full retreat. Net longs seem headed for zero for both precious … Read more

Above the 40 (July 13, 2017) – The S&P 500 Shows Off Again

AT40 = 59.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The stock market continued its healing process from its last bout of mild indigestion. Most impressive is the S&P 500 … Read more

The Bank of Canada Confirms Easy Money Ain’t Gettin’ No Easier

I greatly under-estimated the confidence of the Bank of Canada (BoC) when I mapped out the possibilities for a currency market that highly anticipated a rate hike from the Bank. In its latest statement on monetary policy, the BoC increased its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 0.75%. The Bank … Read more