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: The recession that Wall Street wants remains elusive according to the August jobs report. The data show the labor participation rate increased with job growth and a minimal increase in the unemployment rate: a recipe for the (mythical?) economic soft landing. The reaction in the stock market reflected the duality in interpreting … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Now I see why there was so little fanfare about the end of the bear market. Last week’s trading looks like a warm-up for a bear market comeback. The S&P 500 and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) printed bearish confirmations of resistance at their respective 200-day moving averages (DMAs) (the blue … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Market breadth was last this high 17 months ago. At that time, my favorite technical indicator was on its way down as a part of another buy-the-dip moment for the pandemic-inspired rally in the stock market. This time, market breadth is sitting right on top of the threshold of overbought conditions. The … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Once again, Apple Inc (AAPL) became a poster child of market sentiment. When AAPL pulled away from resistance at its 50-day moving average (DMA) (the red line below), the move looked like a tease with bear market conditions still in force. Two weeks later, AAPL emerged vindicated as a 3.3% post-earnings gain … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The synchronized breakout looked impossible just yesterday. Apple (AAPL) reversed course with a 2.1% loss that seemed to confirm recent strength was just a bear market tease. Rumors spread through the market that Apple will announce a hiring slowdown and reduced spending. Today, all was forgotten as the major indices all enjoyed … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week’s scene from the summer of discontent included hand-wringing over the June inflation report. However, almost “quietly”, Apple Inc (APPL) pulled off a technical breakout contrary to the current bear market (especially for technology stocks). The previous week, AAPL confirmed a breakout above resistance at its 50-day moving average (DMA) (the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: “The U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong, despite recent mixed data. Recent developments have increased the risk of a future adverse outcome. Our fortress principles are designed to withstandany operating environment.” JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM), Investor Day 2022, Firm Overview, page 12 Starting from oversold conditions, the market was looking for … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: The latest bear market bounce was an even closer call than the last one. This time around, Apple Inc (AAPL) failed to lead the S&P 500 away from the brink. AAPL closed below its October, 2021 low the previous day and warned technicians that the stock’s leadership was failing. So when AAPL … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: In the middle of last week, the S&P 500 was poised to hit bear market territory. Conditions were ripe with the stock market trading in deeply oversold territory and other indices toiling deeply in bear markets; a sharp rebound could happen at any time for any excuse. Both the S&P 500 and … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Last week delivered a series of confirmed breakouts that served to uphold bullish belief in the stock market. Even as the overall rally looks to continue, the market’s most troubled corners showed weakness at the end of the week. These holdouts failed to break through important resistance levels. Some of these growth … Read more