ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary Unlike the months long process of declining market breadth, the resolution into an oversold trading period came swift, fast, and in a hurry. I thought my wait for an oversold trading period would last more days and weeks. Instead, a further plunge in market breadth combined with other important price signals to … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock chickens have come to roost on declining market breadth. The stock market indices still generally appear fine, but an ever growing swath of individual stocks have fallen further and further behind. Last week in particular, sellers delivered an extended beating on individual stocks. The signs of waning confidence in the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market struggled for months against the downtrend line on market breadth. The struggle ended last week. My favorite technical indicator of breadth AT40 (T2108) broke out and closed the week at 61.9%. Now I start a countdown toward a test of the overbought threshold. However, several sectors dampened the week’s … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The Spring selling season looked like it started strong for new home sales. The data for April reveal a story evolving differently. Absolute inventories rose for both existing and new homes and yet sales declined. Housing starts also suffered a setback. Median prices of homes soared, especially for new homes, … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week delivered another key test of support levels for the stock market. The major indices passed their individual tests, but the week ended with no resolution. Bulls and bears are battling between short-term ranges that are chopping and churning traders. With the stock market resigned to this kind of chop, patient … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week featured an intense barrage of earnings reports. The collective response on the major indices was a major yawn. The S&P 500 finished flat for the week. The NASDAQ and the iShares Trust Russell 2000 Index ETF both softened by 0.4%. Financials were a notable exception as the Financial Select Sector … Read more
Stock Market Commentary After today’s open, the rolling interruption to the reopen trade started to look like the beginning of a real pullback. Sellers got about 90 minutes to enjoy the pressure before buyers took control. The back and forth between selling pressure and buying relief has taken a toll on a swath of the … Read more
I am late to the resurgence of Microstrategy (MSTR), but I am finding some valuable lessons in the technical story. MSTR caught fire from an aggressive decision to protect cash reserves with investments in Bitcoin (BTC/USD). As a result, Microstrategy has enjoyed significant price appreciation from the current Bitcoin rally. Along the way, the uptrend … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The split personality of the stock market resolved into major breakdowns in the stock market on Tuesday…for about 30 minutes. Apparently increasing inflation fears gave way to the soothing words of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Fed’s semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Buyers quickly met the latest sharp and … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The week ended with a split personality. While the S&P 500 meandered and the NASDAQ flattened, small caps rebounded convincingly. Financials also forged ahead. As a result, the recent end to overbought conditions may only signal (mild) bearish conditions for a portion of the stock market. The Stock Market Indices The S&P … Read more