ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The S&P 500 has rebounded sharply from its March lows with a 6% gain in a little over two weeks. The short-term uptrend has met very little resistance as buyers have interpreted the recent sell-off as an opportunity to accumulate shares. This move has also flipped T2108, the percentage of stocks trading above their 40-day … Read more
As I watched the U.S. dollar swiftly reverse course after some early post-employment numbers strength, I concluded that this was the final confirmation I needed that the dollar is going much lower from here. I made a point to review my list of commodity charts and then did a quick check of EWZ, the iShares … Read more
A month ago, I took issue with a UBS downgrade of Amazon (AMZN) and tried to demonstrate how this analyst action and commentary could be twisted into a blueprint for a buying opportunity. At the time, I noted that a test of the November lows on a 13% drop could produce the 8% upside potential … Read more
The stock market is officially tired of worrying about the latest crises around the globe. On Friday, the S&P 500 essentially recovered all of its post-quake losses. The last three days of buying featured low volume (no news there), but the index was still able to hurtle over the presumed resistance at the 50-day moving … Read more
Last week, I suggested that the nuclear power crisis in Japan could usher in a watershed moment for solar energy and its constituent stocks. For all of two days, most solar stocks soared. For example, First Solar (FSLR) gained 14%. However, March 15th marked a sort of peak in the market’s concern over Japan’s nuclear … Read more
One of the many interesting features of the stock market since it broke down on March 10th is that the news has often been a distraction to underlying developments in the market. Following the charts has been relatively more effective than following the news in creating a (short-term) trading strategy. T2108, the percentage of stocks … Read more
A week ago I used F5 Networks (FFIV) as a model to suggest that Finisar (FNSR) and JDS Uniphase (JDSU) showed some promise to bounce from critical support levels. I drew out the specific price points at which buys made sense and included some stops. The promise quickly led to a letdown as both FNSR … Read more
NOW things get even more interesting for the U.S. dollar. In dramatic fashion, a tremendous surge in buying in the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen shortly after the close of the U.S. market on Wednesday set the dollar hurtling through its long-term support line. This break was long in the making and something I … Read more
Tuesday’s expected gap down and steady buyback created a LOT of amazing charts. Many stocks I have reviewed bounced with picture-perfect accuracy off key support levels like 50DMAs and 200DMAs. The chart of the dollar index also caught my attention (as it so often does). For the past two days, the U.S. dollar has clung … Read more
The Federal Reserve meets and decides monetary policy on Tuesday right in the middle of the most tumultuous time for global financial markets perhaps since the March, 2009 lows. As the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is furiously printing money to buttress its financial system and promote calm, I fully expect the Fed to issue a … Read more