A Split Personality Market Emerges from the End of Overbought Conditions – Above the 40 (February 19, 2021)

Stock Market Commentary The week ended with a split personality. While the S&P 500 meandered and the NASDAQ flattened, small caps rebounded convincingly. Financials also forged ahead. As a result, the recent end to overbought conditions may only signal (mild) bearish conditions for a portion of the stock market. The Stock Market Indices The S&P … Read more

Canadian Dollar: Central Bank Optimism Gives Currency A Fresh Boost

Currency markets were excited for less than an hour over the latest Monetary Policy Report (MPR) from the Bank of Canada. Before the dust settled, USD/CAD, the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar, reached a near 3-year low. Economic optimism from Canada’s central bank gave the Canadian dollar a fresh boost. Bank of Canada Governor … Read more

More Virulent Strain Threatens to Dampen Market Cheer for U.S. Pandemic Relief

Conditions rapidly changed since my last Above the 40 post describing the historic territory for overbought conditions. Bad and good news headlines are battling for mindspace where a new more virulent strain of coronavirus threatens to undercut what could have been market cheer from the new pandemic relief in the U.S. Distress from a New … Read more

Overbought Trading Resumes With Fresh Momentum for the Reopen Trade – Above the 40 (November 13, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 74.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (Day #1 overbought, 3 of last 4 days ooverbought) AT200 = 68.1%% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 3-year high and holding breakout above post financial crisis downtrend) VIX = 23.1 Short-term Trading Call: neutral … Read more

Bearish Indices and Bullish Reopen Stocks Create Abrupt Rotation – Above the 40 (November 9, 2020)

AT200 (T2107) surged 10 percentage points to close near a 3-year high and a breakout above the post financial crisis downtrend.

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 67.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (high of 75.1%) AT200 = 63.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 3-year high and breakout above post financial crisis downtrend) VIX = 25.8 (as low as 22.4) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary … Read more

Why Stock Market Signals Outweigh Headlines: Lessons from A Pandemic

The Misdirection The New York Times (NYT) created buzz with a report alleging that members of the Trump administration enabled “elite traders” to profit off the coronavirus-driven collapse in the stock market. While the administration confidently reassured the public about the coronavirus (COVID-19), members of the administration reportedly shared their concerns about “uncertainties” at a … Read more

A Bullish Divergence for Stocks Even As President Falls to the Coronavirus – Above the 40 (October 2, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 41.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ranged from 25.8% to 42.8%) AT200 = 42.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (ranged from 39.2% to 45.5%) VIX = 27.6 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary Last Friday was the kind of … Read more

How to Invest in the Soaring Rate of U.S. Homeownership

Accelerating Homeownership Rates The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated many trends that were underway going into 2020. Rising homeownership rates in the U.S. hopped onto the trend. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Homeownership Rate for the United States [RSAHORUSQ156S], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; July 29, 2020. The above (adjustable) graph shows the … Read more

Canadian Dollar: GDP and COVID-19 Advantage over the U.S. Dollar

The Bank of Canada (BoC) released its latest Monetary Policy Report on July 15, 2020. Neither the report nor the press conference contained any surprises. The BoC did not change interest rates, kept the crank turning on its Quantitative Easing (QE) program, and promised to “hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound … Read more

Australian Dollar: A Fading Pandemic Supports A V-Shaped Recovery

“Other scenarios for the recovery phase can readily be envisaged. Given the relatively rapid decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Australia, it is possible to contemplate an upside scenario where most domestic restrictions on activity are relaxed a little sooner and the economy recovers somewhat faster than in the baseline scenario. The greater … Read more