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: Unlike the prior week, last week was all about the fundamentals, and the fundamentals made a huge difference. After failing to break through picture-perfect resistance levels, especially the 20-day moving averages (DMAs) (the dotted lines in the charts below), the indices were left vulnerable to selling pressure. The pressure started with Federal … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: After much resistance to Fed hawkishness, the U.S. stock market gave way to fresh bearishness. The major indices dropped into new depths of the bear den. The stocks below are snapshots of the latest deterioration in the price action and decline in the technical health underlying the stock market. The ARK funds … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock chickens have come to roost on declining market breadth. The stock market indices still generally appear fine, but an ever growing swath of individual stocks have fallen further and further behind. Last week in particular, sellers delivered an extended beating on individual stocks. The signs of waning confidence in the … Read more
The Follow-Through Intro The stock market followed a rare stumble with a broad-based rebound from “oversold enough” conditions. Stocks were generally up across the board as buyers rushed in to grab “bargains.” AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs), jumped from 37% to 46%. My favorite technical indicator … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The Federal Reserve seemed to change the rules of the game. To-date, easy money policies and stubborn dovishness in the face of rising inflation was a formula for higher asset prices, reflation and inflation-friendly trades, and even rising fears of an over-heating economy. Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell shifted the … Read more
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell served up the alley-oop and James Bullard delivered the slam dunk. While the latest statement on monetary policy had nothing to say about a hawkish turn at the Fed, Powell served up notice during the press conference. Powell noted growth and inflation prospects that exceeded prior expectations, which in turn … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The Spring selling season looked like it started strong for new home sales. The data for April reveal a story evolving differently. Absolute inventories rose for both existing and new homes and yet sales declined. Housing starts also suffered a setback. Median prices of homes soared, especially for new homes, … Read more
For this update, I have to reach all the way back to the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when the stock market was rebounding from its ultimate March lows. Given the oversold trading conditions, I was in the habit of sifting through the rubble looking for bargain buys. AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC), a company … Read more
Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 82.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (overbought day #2)AT200 = 16.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 28.0Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Winners and losers are becoming more and more distinct in the stock market. While skeptics and bears … Read more
Given my interest in the housing market and housing-related stocks, I have followed the culture of collapse in the mortgage REIT (real estate investment trust) sector with a mixture of horror, dread, astonishment…and buying interest. Some companies in this sector have already gone out of business thanks to aggressive margin calls during the worst part … Read more