The Turkish Lira’s Comeback Slams Into Emerging Market Weakness

When I last wrote about the Turkish lira in mid-January, USD/TRY had pulled back sharply off a parabolic run-up. The iShares MSCI Turkey (TUR) was also at the beginning of a dramatic bottoming pattern that was later confirmed with a close above its 50-day moving average (DMA). Source: FreeStockCharts.com When the Central Bank of the … Read more

The Trump Volatility Trade: Nordstrom, Intel, Cognizant Technology, and Biotech

President Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, February 28th. Traders will no doubt have notepads ready to jot down the latest corporate targets of Trump’s wrath and praise. Trump’s words and tweets move markets, yet recent impacts have not lasted and have even worked in reverse of expectations. It is … Read more

A Fresh Gold Versus Bonds Pairs Trade With the Dollar Playing Wildcard

It is hard to believe that just six weeks ago I proposed a pairs trade of gold versus bonds with the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) toying with resistance at its 50-day moving average (DMA) and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) doing the same. Now, GLD has already hit the next line of resistance … Read more

Above the 40 (February 22, 2017) – The S&P 500 Still Finds Overbought Elusive

AT40 Status: 65.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 70.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 11.7 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The struggle for the overbought threshold continues. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages … Read more

The U.S. Dollar Fails To Benefit From Expectations for An Earlier Fed Rate Hike

Perhaps the shift was not large enough. Perhaps it was the magnetism of the 50-day moving average (DMA). After the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its last meeting on monetary policy, the U.S. dollar index (DXY0) promptly weakened. The dollar closed the day marginally lower after trading for a small gain in the morning. … Read more

Housing Market Review – The Confidence of A Coiled Spring (January, 2017)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in December for November, 2016. At that time, the iShares US Home Construction (ITB) had cracked through support at its 200-day moving average (DMA) as part of a post Fed rate hike pullback. That close turned out to be the last bottom for ITB, and it set … Read more

Above the 40 (February 9, 2017) – The S&P 500 Celebrates “Phenomenal” Tax News

AT40 Status: 58.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 68.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 10.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary “We’re way ahead of schedule, I believe. And we’ll be announcing something, I believe, in the next two or three … Read more

Above the Forty (AT40 – February 3, 2017): The S&P 500 Bids to End Bearish Divergence

AT40 Status: 60.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 68.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 11.0 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Nothing says “strong sentiment” like a stock market that actually rallies on a strong U.S. jobs report: the fear of … Read more

T2108 Update (January 30, 2017) – Disruption Junction Beckons S&P 500 Bears

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about T2108, see my T2108 Resource Page. T2107 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 200DMAs.) T2108 Status: 53.9% T2107 Status: 65.4% VIX … Read more

The British Pound’s Freshly Greased Slippery Slope

The UK’s FTSE 100 remains a big post-Brexit winner. This headline from the Telegraph for January 10, 2017 says it all: “FTSE 100 records longest run of closing highs since 1984 as Brexit fears hurt pound.” The FTSE 100 was created in 1984. Never since that time has the index notched nine straight all-time highs … Read more