All Hail NVIDIA and A New Market Call – The Market Breadth

All Hail NVIDIA

Stock Market Commentary There is a deepening irony in my on-going bearishness on the stock market. The sector most visibly responsible for the anti-bearish animal spirits leaning against poor market breadth is the same sector I remain unapologetically bullish about: Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ironic contrast was in full display last week as the bullish … Read more

A BE READY Kind of Day in the Stock Market – The Market Breadth

A Be Ready Kind of Day in the Stock Market

Stock Market Commentary Right after the stock market tempted me to flip from bearish to neutral, January’s CPI (consumer price index) turned brought the bears rushing back to the scene. Inflation’s fizzle turned to sizzle, and the technical picture of the stock market almost flipped on its head. The charts say it all – the … Read more

Bullish Truths Invite Small Cap Stocks to the Party – The Market Breadth

Bullish Truths Invite Small Cap Stocks to the Party

Stock Market Commentary Last week repeated a familiar story. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ closed up for the week. Since the October lows, each index has only suffered one down week. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF was part of the party until the calendar flipped to 2024. The ETF of small caps lost altitude … Read more

Overbought Conditions In Peril As New Year Weakness Continues – The Market Breadth

Overbought Conditions Continue Despite On-Going Weakness - The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary As new year weakness continues in the stock market, a serious tension has emerged in the message of the market between profit-taking versus a sustained top. An extended overbought period raises the stakes for the resolution of this tension. As long as the stock market remains overbought, I will assume the current … Read more

The Extended Overbought Rally Quickly Overcomes Its Third Strike – The Market Breadth

Extended Overbought Rally Quickly Overcomes Third Strike – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary After the stock market rally suffered strike one and strike two, Wednesday’s sudden pullback had all the signatures of a third strike to start the end of the extended overbought rally. Sellers surged in the final 90 minutes of trading that day. However, they failed to sustain the stampede for the exits. … Read more

Picture-Perfect Support for the Bulls – The Market Breadth

picture-perfect support (Credit: KGA Team 6th Grade)

Stock Market Commentary: Put all the headlines aside. Last week was all about the technicals. Picture-perfect support unfolded for the major indices and stopped bearish momentum dead in its tracks. Suddenly, the stock market went from the verge of confirming a short-term top from early February to looking ready to make a run at challenging … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews: An Impressive Year Full of Important Exceptions

Stock Market Commentary The stock market indices enjoyed an impressive year. However, weak and declining market breadth produced numerous exceptions to the strong performance of indices and ETFs. A number of important and well-known individual stocks corrected, collapsed, and crashed in 2021. For some, the tailwinds of the pandemic ran out. For others, investors tired … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews: Snapshots of Santa’s Revenge

Stock Market Commentary It was a close call. The technical deterioration of the previous week put the Santa rally in peril. At the start of trading last week, the Grinch roasted Santa enough to ignite oversold trading conditions. Santa’s revenge came in the form of a sharp rebound out of the 1-day oversold period. Subsequently, … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews: Snapshots from A Manic Market

Stock Market Commentary In last week’s decision on monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell directly and fully acknowledged inflationary pressures in the economy. Perhaps lost in the inflation buzz was Powell’s quick commentary on financial stability during the Q&A session: “…asset valuations are somewhat elevated, I would say.” Of course, various folks in the … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews: Snapshots from the New Normal

Stock Market Commentary A new COVID-19 variant created a new normal for financial markets. The following stock charts provide snapshots of how the market reacted to this new reality. Pandemic-sensitive stocks reacted sharply with a holiday-shortened trading session creating extra urgency for traders. Some of these quick trigger moves should reverse at least a bit … Read more