Above the 40 (September 8, 2017) – Lingering Tensions for the Stock Market

AT40 = 44.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.1 (up 4.9%) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The market has made no progress since my last Above the 40 post which covered the volatility and fizzle from … Read more

U.S. Concrete: A Missed Opportunity

When I described U.S. Concrete (USCR) as a strong play on the U.S. economy, I noted I would wait for a dip in the stock before picking a spot to buy. That opportunity came a lot faster than I expected as USCR dipped down on rising volume to the top of its previous trading range. … Read more

Housing Market Review – A Notable Change In Tone (August, 2017)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in July, 2017 for June, 2017. The month from there marked a significant change in tone for home builders. The change in tone starts with the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) and its failure to hold support at its 50-day moving average (DMA) for the first … Read more

The Future of Housing: The Senior Sell-Off Still Gives Way to Aging In Place

A month ago, Trulia published an article on the potential for renting out the spare rooms of Baby Boomers to millennials called “Boom-mates: How Empty Nesters Could Help Ease a Housing Shortage.” It was an interesting twist on the concept of multi-generational housing that generated a lot of related headlines. I took interest in the … Read more

Above the 40 (August 17, 2017) – The S&P 500 Leads A Sharp Market Rejection

AT40 = 31.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 46.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 15.6 (32.5% increase) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Looks like I was over-optimistic to switch my short-term trading call from neutral to bullish. Now I am right back … Read more

Above the 40 (August 9, 2017) – A Stock Market Pushing Against A Bearish Divergence

AT40 = 45.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 53.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.1 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral (first day of downgrade) Commentary The stock market had a weak open but a strong close. On the heels of ratcheting … Read more

Allergan Signals Higher Prices Potentially Ahead for Teva Pharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) lost 24% last Thursday after reporting disappointing earnings. From the Seeking Alpha transcript of the conference call: “All of us at Teva understand the frustration and disappointment our shareholders are feeling… In our U.S. Generics business, we experienced accelerated price erosion and decreased volume, mainly due to customer consolidation, greater competition as … Read more

Forex Critical – Key Trends Continuing for the Aussie, Loonie, and Yen

The latest CFTC data on the Commitments of Traders (CoT) showed some key trends continuing: new heights of bullishness on the Australian dollar (FXA) and the Canadian dollar (FXC), and on-going depths of bearishness for the Japanese yen (FXY). Speculators increased net longs on the Australian dollar for the 8th week in a row. Speculators … Read more

Above the 40 (July 21, 2017) – A Stock Market Soaring High But On the Edge

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 60.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.4 (volatility index) (2nd lowest VIX since at least 1990!) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) is soaring high since its impressive breakout two … Read more

Above the 40 (July 13, 2017) – The S&P 500 Shows Off Again

AT40 = 59.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The stock market continued its healing process from its last bout of mild indigestion. Most impressive is the S&P 500 … Read more