Above the 40 (June 8, 2018) – A Promising Stock Rally Comes Up Short of Important Threshold

AT40 = 69.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (“almost bullish”) Commentary Friday started out in bearish fashion. Apple (AAPL) took a broadside from yet another one of those … Read more

Housing Market Review (May, 2018) – A Fresh Flicker of Life As Sentiment Turns Without A Change in Data

The fundamentals have changed little. Sentiment is making a dramatic shift. The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in April, 2018 for March, 2018. At the time, I lamented a dissonance of decelerating housing data and diverging home builder stocks. Over a month later, the deceleration is a little less pronounced while the divergence … Read more

Above the 40 (June 1, 2018) – Uncomfortable Divergences Weigh On the Stock Market’s Manic Rally

AT40 = 62.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 52.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a near 4-month high) VIX = 13.5 (down 12.8%) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary A day like this past Friday makes me want to be bullish about the entire stock … Read more

Above the 40 (May 25, 2018) – A Loitering Stock Market

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 52.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The churn continues on the S&P 500 (SPY) while AT40 (T2108) loiters around just under its overbought threshold of 70%. The lethargic … Read more

Lennar: Holding Critical Support As A Bullish Case Struggles to Reassert Itself

When Lennar (LEN) reported earnings on April 4th the market’s reaction looked just like the refresher the market needed to get housing stocks going again. LEN soared 10.0% on the day. The deal looked sealed when LEN appeared to confirm the surge with another up day. LEN has suffered severe selling pressure ever since. Source: … Read more

Above the 40 (May 18, 2018) – Stock Market Drift Stalls Bearish Signal

AT40 = 64.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 51.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Looks like there was a good reason to wait on flipping my short-term trading call back to (cautiously) bearish. After pointing out … Read more

Above the 40 (May 15, 2018) – Buyer Reluctance and Stock Market Exhaustion

AT40 = 59.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.6 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Here we are again…again. In the last Above the 40 I observed “the stock market looks like it is breaking free, but … Read more

Higher Interest Rates Pound Home Builders Into Bearish Territory

The Housing Market Index (HMI) for May increased to 70 and is just 4 points off its post-recession high set last December. Just don’t tell investors home builders are as confident as ever despite rising rates. Today, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond soared to its highest level in 7 years and settled … Read more

Above the 40 (May 11, 2018) – The Stock Market’s Time to Test Buyers’ Resolve

AT40 = 65.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 51.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.7 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Here we are again. The stock market looks like it is breaking free, but there are major caveats which keep me wary … Read more