Above the 40 (April 7, 2017) – An Incrementally More Dangerous Stock Market

AT40 = 46.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 62.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The timetable for a May end to this period of extremely low volatility looks like … Read more

Silver Speculators Return to Maximum Bullishness

Do not tell silver speculators that the Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy. The latest CFTC Commitments of Traders (CoT) report showed that silver speculators ran net long contracts to a new high, levels not seen since at least 2008. The increase in open interest confirmed the bullishness of silver speculators. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitment … Read more

Eyeing the Stock Market Disconnect As Optimism Keeps Blocking Bears

Nice Save Bears have taken numerous shots yet the bulls have consistently blocked them all. The S&P 500 (SPY) is barely off its all-time highs and has survived all number of setbacks. These setbacks seem to get more and more shallow. Monday, April 3rd, 2017 delivered another classic example. The morning began with very convincing … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Hold Positions Even As Backdrops Shift

In my last posts on the euro (FXE), the Canadian dollar (FXC), and the British pound (FXB), I noted significant trading moves by speculators in foreign exchange as reported by the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders (CoT). The latest CFTC CoT report shows more of the same for these currencies but the backdrops may be shifting … Read more

Above the 40 (March 31, 2017) – Synched Junctures In Financial Markets As A Bullish Divergence Tries to Shine

AT40 = 49.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 63.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.4 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (see caveats below) Commentary On Thursday, March 30 (2017), the S&P 500 (SPY) closed above its downtrending 20-day moving average … Read more

Forex Critical: Pound Bears Hold Firm Ahead Of Brexit’s Article 50 Trigger

A week ago, the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders report revealed that speculators had ramped up net short contracts to highs unseen since at least 2008. These positions were accumulated ahead of announcements on monetary policy from the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Given the British pound soared through these events, I assumed … Read more

Above the 40 (March 22, 2017) – A Bear Pause Before D.C. Puts Its First Official Stamp On the Trump Rally

AT40 = 35.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.8 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The sellers did their best to create follow-through selling to the previous day’s bearish breakdown. As has been the case … Read more

Above the 40 (March 21, 2017) – A (Brief?) Time to Get Bearish On the Stock Market

AT40 = 35.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.5 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) finally flipped the switch on the bearish threshold I have described since the last bullish breakout … Read more

Forex Critical – A Temporary Boost for the British Pound from A Hot Inflation Read

The Bank of England (BoE) has not raised interest rates since the Great Financial Crisis. During this time, there have been several inflation “scares” as inflation levitated well above the Bank’s 2% target. Through it all, the BoE stood resolute in choosing to see through the elevated inflation in order to avoid premature rate hikes … Read more

Trading Cocoa: A Declining Price Takes Its Toll But Brings Opportunity

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 27, 2017. Click here to read the entire piece.) In late August, 2016, I got ready to buy back into the iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) as a part of my strategy to trade its price range at that … Read more