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

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

Four Fed Rate Hikes This Year? Not Even Close

New Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had his say with Congress this week and some of the conventional financial media and pundits have been shrill with speculation about the potential for four rate hikes in 2018 as a result of Powell’s word choices and tone. This number of hikes is reportedly one more hike than … Read more

Above the 40 (February 28) – An S&P 500 Breakdown Helps Drag Market to Edge of Oversold

AT40 = 25.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 43.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.9% Short-term Trading Call: neutral (caveats below!) Commentary As I feared was likely, the S&P 500 (SPY) wasted no time in breaking its 50-day moving average (DMA) support. … Read more

Above the 40 (February 27, 2018) – The Bulls’ Steamroller Abruptly Runs Out of Gas

AT40 = 31.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 18.6 (17.7% gain) Short-term Trading Call: bullish (caveats below!) Commentary During the thick of the sell-off earlier this month, I stated with tongue-in-cheek that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome … Read more

Above the 40 (February 23, 2018) – Bulls Warm the Steamroller Right Back Up

AT40 = 36.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 50.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.5 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (awaiting confirmation of bullish breakout) Commentary Something woke the bulls and buyers back up enough to get the steamroller warmed up again. The … Read more

Above the 40 (February 20, 2018) – A Stubborn Cloud Over the Stock Market’s Recovery

AT40 = 28.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 20.6 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary In the last Above the 40, I noted some warning signs developing on the S&P 500 (SPY). The trading week started … Read more

Above the 40 (February 13, 2018) – Oversold Conditions End In the Face Of A Critical Test

AT40 = 20.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ends 3-day oversold period) AT200 = 44.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 25.0 (smallest range since February 1, 2018) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary It was a reluctant push, but AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks … Read more

Above the 40 (February 12, 2018) – Stocks Cling to Oversold Conditions

AT40 = 18.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (oversold day #3) AT200 = 43.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 25.6 (range from 24.4 to 29.7) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary My favorite technical indicator made a valiant effort, but it could not quite break … Read more