Above the 40 (April 13, 2018) – The Bears Engulf An Otherwise Uplifting Week for the Stock Market

AT40 = 45.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 44.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) gained 2.0% for the week. Yet the week felt like a loser given the way it ended. The … Read more

Above the 40 (March 19, 2018) – A Sharp Edge Cuts A Churning Stock Market

AT40 = 42.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (traded as low as 37.6%) AT200 = 47.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.0 (traded as high as 21.9) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I described how the stock … Read more

Above the 40 (March 7, 2018) – A Lagging S&P 500 Stops Short Even As Trade War Tripwire Defuses

AT40 = 39.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.8% Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary “Dear President Trump: We are writing to express deep concern about the prospect of broad, global tariffs on aluminum and steel imports. … Read more

Trading An Iron Ore Top: Prices Stall Amid Record Chinese Imports and Inventories

Iron ore may have reached a new inflection point with a price rally coming to a halt in January and some related stocks consolidating near multi-year highs. When I last made an iron ore trade in September, 2017, I was responding to a surprise projection from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that suggested a … Read more

The Speculations of Morgan Stanley

The raging bull market has helped facilitate instant excitement any time a company announces a cryptocurrency-related project or product. Xunlei Limited (XNET) is one of several companies that have enjoyed such a boost. XNET soared from just over $4 to $25 in less than two months on the heels of crypto-news. Source for charts: FreeStockCharts.com … Read more

Retailers Continue Positioning for a Strong Recovery in 2018

The reports on U.S. holiday shopping are coming fast and furious. The early tally looks quite bullish, and retail stocks responded. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) jumped 1.1% today to a new high for the year. Surprisingly, trading volume of 3.7M shares remained well below the 90-day moving average of 5.0M. Source: FreeStockCharts.com Reuters … Read more

Housing Market Review (November, 2017) – A Tax-Driven Day of Angst Transforms Into Another Unrelenting Rally

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in October, 2017 for September, 2017. At the time, I lamented having too small an exposure to home builders while the entire sector rallied nearly non-stop. I was counting on seasonal patterns to deliver at least one buyable dip ahead of the seasonally strong period starting in … Read more

Above the 40 (October 16, 2017) – A Quiet Bearish Divergence Out of Overbought Territory

AT40 = 69.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – ended 12 straight days overbought AT200 = 59.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.9 Short-term Trading Call: bullish (see caveats below) Commentary AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages … Read more

Housing Market Review – A Growing Rift Between the Data and the Stocks (September, 2017)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in August, 2017 for July, 2017. At the time, I described a change in tone that made me wary and even got me anticipating a larger pullback. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) was struggling below its 50-day moving average (DMA) since a 2-month period starting … Read more

Above the 40 (August 25, 2017) – No Follow-Through for the S&P 500’s Reflex Bounce

AT40 = 38.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.3 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) is suddenly struggling at its 50-day moving average (DMA). The big reflex bounce from Tuesday, August 22nd has … Read more