Forex Critical: The Organized Chaos of the Turkish Lira

The British pound (FXB) is not the only currency trading in well-defined chaos. The Turkish lira stumbled into the week in the wake of the political uncertainty and forex chaos caused by the cancellation of the results of Istanbul’s recent municipal elections. USD/TRY soared at one point about 3%. The renewed political uncertainty reportedly comes … Read more

Above the 40 (April 18, 2019) – Exhausted Buyers and Reluctant Sellers Make A Stock Market Dribble

AT40 = 58.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 52.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 12.1Short-term Trading Call: bearish Stock Market Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) ended the previous week looking ready to lunge for its all-time high. Surprisingly, buyers decided to take a rest, … Read more

Above the 40 (February 1, 2019) – An Overbought Stock Market Aspires to Test 200DMA Resistance

AT40 = 83.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (6th overbought day)AT200 = 34.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 2-month high)VIX = 16.1Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Starting in November or so, I developed an expectation for a January sell-off based in anticipation of earnings warnings … Read more

Above the 40 (November 7, 2018) – Exclamation Points for the End of Oversold Trading Conditions

AT40 = 40.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 37.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.4 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Financial markets made their votes very clear after the U.S. 2018 midterm election. via GIPHY Apparently, today’s rally in the S&P 500 … Read more

Above the 40 (October 4, 2018) – Extremes Prime Prospects for Market Bounce But Oversold Conditions Loom

AT40 = 33.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (was as low 31.9%) AT200 = 47.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.0 (was as high as 15.8) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 is only 1.0% off its all-time high, yet extremes and … Read more

Above the 40 (September 21, 2018) – A Suspect Breakout for the S&P 500

AT40 = 52.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.8 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The stock market is not quite out the (short-term) woods yet. Last Wednesday I pointed out why the latest bearish divergence forced … Read more

Above the 40 (September 19, 2018) – A Bearish Divergence Intrudes On the Stock Market’s Surface Calm

AT40 = 48.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.8 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (downgrade from cautiously bullish) Commentary I am not even going to try to explain why emerging markets and trade-sensitive stocks started this week … Read more

Above the 40 (August 31, 2018) – A Pause for FOMO

AT40 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I discussed the early signs of a potential run-up driven by the “fear of missing … Read more

The U.S. Dollar Idles While Rate Hike Odds and Trade Pressures Creep Higher

I am riding the long U.S. dollar index (DXY) trade based on two simple drivers: 1) a U.S. Federal Reserve pacing for four rate hikes in 2018, and 2) an expanding trade war, especially against China, which on balance will create more demand for U.S. dollars especially relative to those currencies who stand to lose … Read more

Above the 40 (July 6, 2018) – Bears Overstay Their Welcome

AT40 = 60.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Until Friday’s 0.8% gain on the S&P 500 (SPY) in the wake of another strong jobs report, I was still expecting the … Read more