ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary The edginess of the stock market continued this week. After “turnaround Tuesday” delivered broad based gains for the market, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony in front of Congress produced a familiar fade in the shadow of a bear market. Surprisingly, the buying was enough to end oversold conditions. Yet, the major indices … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Central banks are scrambling in the face of what is becoming a summer of discontent. Last week was chock full of news from monetary policy. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England (BoE), and even the Swiss National Bank all took action against inflation. The European Central Bank (ECB) held an (underwhelming) … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The rumors were true. The Federal Reserve decided to pump up interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) (0.75%) instead of the 50 bps originally anticipated by financial markets. The historic move was the largest point increase since 1994. During the press conference explaining the latest decision on monetary policy, Chair Jerome … Read more
A month ago I laid out the case and conditions for bottoming across the collection of ARK funds. The key pivot rested with the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). It still is the first and only of the pre-pandemic ARK funds to break its pandemic era closing low. Over the past month, ARKF struggled mightily … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Good employment news came in the form of the May jobs report. The unemployment rate stayed flat at 3.6% while the U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs. Both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate are essentially back to the pre-pandemic levels of February, 2020. The labor force participation rate remains 1.1% … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: With the prospects of a bottom for this bear market, I am getting a little more interested in individual stock narratives. The bear market rubble is extensive. The gems are dispersed across a wide area. These stock charts provide one framework for sifting through the trash and the opportunity. {note: in this … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its May policy meeting. While reporting on the minutes suggest the content contained nothing new, the stock market found rally material anyway. Perhaps it was a relief rally from the fallout in social media stocks. The broad-based buying pushed the stock market out of a … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: “The U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong, despite recent mixed data. Recent developments have increased the risk of a future adverse outcome. Our fortress principles are designed to withstandany operating environment.” JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM), Investor Day 2022, Firm Overview, page 12 Starting from oversold conditions, the market was looking for … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: For a second straight day, retailers put pressure on the stock market. As retailers increase the pain of this bear market, bullish traders and investors lost one more place to “hide”. The Stock Market Indices The S&P 500 (SPY) plunged 4.0% and immediately dashed the prospect of leaving behind the price range … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reminded the market one more time about the Fed’s determination to fight inflation with normalized monetary policy, and the market cared for the briefest of moments. After the anti-inflation dust settled, the major indices closed trading on a strong note. For example, the extended oversold period came … Read more