Iron Ore Stocks, Australian Dollar Fall After Chinese Steel Mills Resist

Iron Ore Resistance Iron ore prices have been on a tear this year, and China’s steel mills are not going to take it anymore. According to Reuters: “…eight steel mills will create an investigation group, led by Baowu and assisted by the others, to look into the pricing methodology of imported iron ore, to coordinate … Read more

Forex Critical: Economic Fireworks Push Monetary Policy Further Into Retreat

The euro vs the U.S. dollar (EUR/USD) reversed its 200DMA breakout, but it still has higher highs and higher lows since the April/May double-bottom.

In the background of the growing euphoria in the U.S. over imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve is the growing weight of the steady descent of the economy in the eurozone. European Weakness The week started with the stock market’s first opportunity to respond to the declared truce in the trade war between the … Read more

Stock Market Indices Break South On Expanded Border Tensions – Above the 40 (May 31, 2019)

AT40 = 23.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (hit a low of 20.7%)AT200 = 36.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (2 1/2 month low)VIX = 18.7Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary So much for the potential for follow-through on bullish divergence! Perhaps the failure is … Read more

Oversold Conditions Loom As Indices Conveniently Test 200DMA Supports – Above the 40 (May 29, 2019)

AT40 = 25.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 39.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 17.9Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40DMAs, broke through 30% and closed at 25.2%. My favorite technical indicator is … Read more

Reserve Bank of Australia Paves the Way to A Rate Cut and Currency Markets Yawn

For weeks and longer I read key pundits write about the need for rate cuts in Australia. I was quite skeptical: I even concluded in February that a rate cut was NOT imminent. In a move that surprised me, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe effectively promised an imminent rate cut in … Read more

Above the 40 (April 23, 2019) – Exhausted No More, Buyers Shoot All-Time Stock Market Highs

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 53.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 12.3Short-term Trading Call: neutral (change from bearish) Stock Market Commentary It was one of those amazing endings. First round of the NBA playoffs. The Portland Trailblazers up 3 games to … Read more

Why the Australian Dollar and Japanese Yen Matter for Stock Traders

The Australian dollar (FXA) tends to be correlated with the S&P 500 (SPY). The Japanese yen (FXY) tends to be inversely correlated with the S&P 500 (SPY). The exceptions to these relationships are notable because the inevitable return to these relationships usually present unique trading opportunities. The drivers of these relationships are related to trader … Read more

Forex Critical: The Australian Dollar Buckles Under Economic Pressures

It is time to abandon my bullish expectations for the Australian dollar (FXA). On March 6th Philip Lowe, the chair of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), reminded financial markets that the near future holds the same likelihood for a rate cut as it does a rate hike: “There are plausible scenarios under which the … Read more

Above the 40 (February 22, 2019) – An Extended Overbought Rally Slowly Grinding Resistance Away

AT40 = 85.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (20th overbought day)AT200 = 47.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (4-month high which reverses the October, 2018 breakdown)VIX = 13.5Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The waiting game continues within a bullish cloak. An extended overbought rally … Read more

Forex Critical: Australian Dollar Weakens On the Risk of A Rate Cut…That Is Not Imminent

After reading the February 6th Address to the National Press Club of Australia by Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), I am not so sure the market “got it right.” The following statement alone was used to suggest that the RBA might cut rates in the near future: “Looking forward, there … Read more