Above the 40 (December 7, 2018) – Right Back Where the Stock Market Started, But Worse

AT40 = 25.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 23.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (just off a 32-month low)VIX = 23.2 (as high as 24.7)Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish CommentaryI am surprised the stock market has yet to close in oversold conditions. AT40 (T2108), the … Read more

Above the 40 (November 16, 2018) – A Week-Ending Sigh of Relief As Market Avoids Oversold Conditions

AT40 = 34.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 31.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 18.1 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The countdown to “hedge fund d-day” is finally behind the market. via GIPHY So far, the results are encouraging while the market … Read more

General Electric’s Removal from the Dow (Re)Exposed the Index’s Key Flaw

The big index news of last week was General Electric (GE) getting dumped by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index. The index managers at the Dow picked Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) to replace GE. Source: FreeStockCharts.com I wish the entire Dow index could follow after GE. Traders do not use the Dow for anything … Read more

T2108 Update (November 10, 2016) – Trump Trades: Divergences and Rotations

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are … Read more

OPEC’s Latest Stumbles Create the Next Opportunity for an Oil-Driven Pairs Trade

In a previous post on the stock market, I noted how commodity-related plays were apparently benefiting from a sagging U.S. dollar index (DXY0). I failed to note that oil was (and is) a glaring exception. Oil futures fell around 9% for the week. This plunge was enough to completely reverse last month’s rally for United … Read more

Black Friday 2013: A Likely Last Stand for Bears for the Year

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 27, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Black Friday in the U.S. is the day after Thanksgiving when shoppers descend upon stores scrambling to find bargains for Christmas gifts. For some reason, the stock market also opens for … Read more

T2108 Update (April 3, 2013) – A New Beginnnig for T2108

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are highly likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades … Read more

Reasons to Bet On A 2013 Recovery for Skullcandy

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 24, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In early October, I ended the trade in Skullcandy (SKULL) playing a bounceback from Morgan Stanley’s devastating downgrade, but noted I would remain a buyer on dips (see “Skullcandy Recovers Losses … Read more

A Trading Plan For Herbalife: A Pullback Likely Before A New Trading Range

“This is the hedge-fund equivalent of Stalingrad. Someone is going to lose big. And the victor will be so bloodied that the word victory will sound hollow… For a short-seller who is as risk-averse as me watching this is pure hedge-fund porn.” From “Bill Ackman enters the city of Stalingrad,” John Hempton of Bronte Capital, … Read more

Another Fiscal Cliff For Japan Coincides With Another Visit to Historic Yen Levels

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 11, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In August, 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan stepped down from power to resolve gridlock over the budget of the Japanese government. On September, 7, 2012, current Finance Minister Jan Azumi made … Read more