And Then There Was Just One – The Market Breadth

and then there was just one (credit gato-gato-gato)

Stock Market Commentary: And then there was just one. The S&P 500 (SPY) is once again the lone index of three that still trades just outside the clutches of the bear. The signs were flashing red last week as the bear market looked like it warmed right back up. The technicals of market breadth combined … Read more

Did the Bear Market Warm Up For A Comeback? – The Market Breadth

Did the Bear Market Warm Up For A Comeback? (Credit: Bear Stretches by aaaceto)

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

The Bear Market Ended With A Bullish Counter – The Market Breadth

bear market ended: sleeping bear

Stock Market Commentary: The bear market ended with a bullish counter, yet I noticed no celebratory or indicative headlines on CNBC. CNBC’s Fast Money included technical discussions but gave no reference to what I consider to be two major technical developments. The NASDAQ closed above its bear market line and joined the S&P 500 and … Read more

Inflation Readout Drives A Fakeout and Ends One Bear Market – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary: The stock market threw a big fakeout, the biggest I have seen in a long time. Just yesterday, a synchronized failure at key resistance levels from the major indices combined with a drop from overbought conditions to convince me to get (cautiously) bearish on the stock market. The read on July CPI … Read more

Resolution After A One-Day Overbought Period – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary: The stock market took one more day to get resolution on the technical signals flashing from market breadth. A drop from overbought conditions triggered a bearish market signal. Failures at important resistance from the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, and IWM each reinforced the bearish signal. However, the relatively mild trading action and … Read more

Overbought Without Resolution – The Market Breadth

AT50 (MMFI) gapped higher into overbought territory and held on despite a fade into the close.

Stock Market Commentary: The suspense at the overbought threshold ended without resolution. In a surprising, and even bizarre, display of performance divergence, small caps led the way higher while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ ended the day flat. Moreover, IWM and the NASDAQ faded from important resistance at their bear market lines. Additionally, the … Read more

The Suspense Continues At the Overbought Threshold – The Market Breadth

Suspense

Stock Market Commentary: Get used to it. The economy continues to unfold in unexpected ways. An exceptionally strong July jobs report threw some cold water on the breathless expectations on Wall Street for a recession. As one journalist commented on Marketplace, today’s economic context is a strange one with so many talking about a recession … Read more

Market Breadth Last Did This 17 Months Ago

AT50 (MMFI) closed right on top of the overbought threshold. You just can't make this stuff up. Market breadth was last at these levels 17 months ago.

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

What Recession? Market Shows Love As Apple Leads the Way – The Market Breadth

What Recession?

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

Jay Powell Launches Stocks: “We Are Not In A Recession” – The Market Breadth

ELaNa 19 Launch

Stock Market Commentary: The stock market overcame a serious setback with an impressive rebound. The rally started before Jay Powell announced the Federal Reserve’s latest decision on monetary policy and pushed higher afterward. The market seemed determine to launch as the opening gap up immediately erased the previous day’s loss. Buyers never looked back and … Read more