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

A Serious Setback for the Synchronized Breakout – The Market Breadth

setback

Stock Market Commentary: The synchronized breakout looked impressive, but it already hit a serious setback. Friday’s downbeat day was relatively mild on a percentage loss basis, but the context was important. The economic setback came from the July update for the S&P Global Flash US PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index™) Composite Output Index. The headline says … Read more

A Synchronized Breakout Sends Bear Market Hope Soaring – The Market Breadth

Photo by Joshua Brown on Unsplash

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

Apple’s Bear Market Tease – The Market Breadth

Apple's Bear Market Tease

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

A Time to Shift Into Neutral – The Market Breadth

Automatic car gear in neutral

Stock Market Commentary The stock market failed its test of the summer of discontent. The bear market stayed true to its name and held firm at important resistance levels. This is a time to shift into neutral in deference to the unenthusiastic buying power and the overwhelming technicals. With earnings season underway and the continuing … Read more

A Big Test for the Summer of Discontent – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary The major indices enjoyed important rebounds last week. Despite this summer of discontent, buyers managed to follow through on the previous week’s test of the oversold threshold. The gains are yet another testament to the opportunities in oversold trading conditions. The rebound was strong enough to push market breadth to new heights … Read more

Market Rallies Off Oversold But Steep Downtrends Redefine the Summer of Discontent – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary The summer of discontent is proving more abrupt, sharp, and violent than I expected. The promising rally out of the shadow of the bear stopped cold at the steep downtrends formed by 20-day moving averages (DMAs) (the dotted lines in the charts below). A test of 50DMA resistance (the red lines below) … Read more