Above the 40 (February 21, 2018) – Exhausted Buyers Fail to Break Through the S&P 500’s Cloud

AT40 = 28.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 47.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 20.0 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (downgrade from cautiously bullish) Commentary Buyers are starting to look exhausted. Based on the topsy-turvy reaction to the minutes from the last meeting … Read more

Above the 40 (February 14, 2018) – A Bullish Tech Breakout Underlines the End of Oversold Conditions

AT40 = 27.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.3 (drop of 22.9%) Short-term Trading Call: bullish PROLOGUE Valentine’s Day, February 14th, was a great day in the stock market and a fantastic validation of my strategizing … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Watch the Japanese Yen Fall to A New Edge

A month ago, I described the Japanese yen (FXY) as a currency on edge given a sharp and abrupt response to a feared tightening cycle from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). So far, no tightening cycle has launched, but the yen has steadily strengthened over the last month. For example, USD/JPY broke down below support … Read more

Above the 40 (February 8, 2018) – The Simple Stock Trades for the Latest Oversold Period

AT40 = 12.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (day 1 of the second oversold period in 4 days) AT200 = 39.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 2-year low) VIX = 33.5 (range from 24.4 to 36.2) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (with oh so many … Read more

Above the 40 (February 6, 2018) – Market’s Oversold Conditions Quickly End – More to Come?

AT40 = 23.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 47.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 30.0 (19.7% decrease, intraday high of 50.3) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The first oversold period in about two years ended after just one day. As a reminder, … Read more

Above the 40 (February 5, 2018) – An Oversold Stock Market Weighed Down By Historic Volatility

AT40 = 19.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – first oversold day after 19 percentage point plunge AT200 = 45.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 37.3 (115.6% increase! The largest since at least 1990) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish – oh so many caveats … Read more

Forex Critical: The Japanese Yen On Edge

I wrote little about the Japanese yen (FXY) over the past year or more. It’s time to pay closer attention. As every forex trader knows by now, on Tuesday, January 9th the Bank of Japan (BoJ) slowed down its purchase of bonds with more than 10 years maturity. The yields of these bonds ticked up … Read more

Forex Critical: Australian Dollar – Speculators Quickly Flip Bearish

Speculators have remained overwhelming bullish on the Australian dollar (FXA) for almost two years. Last week, they made a quick switch to net bearish positioning. Net contracts went from 40,720 net long to 12,660 net short. Open interest fell from 157,029 to 105,270, so it appears that bullish speculators made a hasty retreat rather than … Read more

The Australian Dollar Flips the Script After Strong Jobs Report

Less than a week ago, a disappointing GDP report helped to dampen enthusiasm for the Australian dollar (FXA) following a policy statement from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Now, the script has flipped after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a strong employment report for November, 2017. While the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4%, … Read more

Above the 40 (November 17, 2017) – The Stock Market Sharply Switches to A Bullish Divergence

AT40 = 47.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.4 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) failed to follow-through on Thursday’s snapback rally, but a bullish divergence kept the short-term prospects looking good. … Read more