ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Suddenly, the persistent selling in Autozone (AZO) despite the stock market’s rally makes sense. I just finished marveling at the way sellers took over in AZO after the stock experienced an impressive 6.9% post-earnings gain to a fresh all-time high. A downgrade from Wedbush suddenly put the selling in perspective. Now the chart looks like … Read more
AT40 = 63.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 60.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 14.0Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The stock market started the new decade with wild swings. After starting the first trading day of the decade with a 0.8% gain … Read more
It was just two weeks ago when I pointed out an important technical change in the U.S. dollar against the South African rand (USD/ZAR). The USD/ZAR currency pair proceeded to decline nearly straight down until it reached toward the July lows. Based on the strong rebound underway, I am assuming the rally in the rand … Read more
A turn-around in a beaten down stock needs to start somewhere. In mid-September, I painfully put Jumia (JMIA) in the bearish column. The stock lost another 52% in just two months before finally bottoming. JMIA ended 2019 with a higher low and a higher high as part of a confirmed breakout above resistance at its … Read more
Meritage Homes (MTH) reported earnings two days before October 25th when iShares US Home Construction (ITB) first challenged its climactic January, 2018 high. At the time, MTH was in the middle of an impressive post-earnings rebound. At its intraday, post-earnings low, MTH perfectly tested support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). However, the moment of truth … Read more
AT40 = 65.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 59.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (just under the high for 2019 of 60.2%)VIX = 13.4Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary A week after my last Above the 40 post, the volatility index (VIX) is my … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary When I wrote the Housing Market Review for November, the stocks of home builders were on the edge of conquering their moment of truth. The iShares US Home Construction (ITB) soon rolled over and confirmed a breakdown below support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). ITB is now in a precarious position where … Read more
The stock market has floated higher on the good tidings of easy monetary policies around the globe. The Federal Reserve recently suggested that it will be on hold for the foreseeable future. These accommodative conditions are positive for precious metals, but both gold and silver topped out in early September. In hindsight, the run-up into … Read more
A Breakout and Reversal The price of cocoa has had a wild two months. Last month’s breakout quickly turned into a fade and an outright sell-off in December. The result for the iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) is a complete reversal of the breakout, a return to the bottom of the previous consolidation range, … Read more
AT40 = 65.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 59.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (just under high for 2019 of 60.2%)VIX = 12.5Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The bearish divergence finally ended between a range-bound AT40 (T2108) and an S&P 500 (SPY) steadily … Read more