ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The Market Breadth Summary Small cap stocks led a market breadth breakout, then faded just short of overbought, leaving me encouraged by momentum but wary of a near-term pullback. The S&P 500 ground to fresh highs, while the NASDAQ lagged by stalling at prior peaks. A clean breakout still awaits for the NASDAQ. CES-driven leadership … Read more
The bearish to bullish reversal ended for home builder stocks with a return to bear market territory. Today, October 9, 2025, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) dropped under the threshold that defines a bear market: 20% below the all-time high (see chart below). The 2.6% slide on the day is part of a … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary What happened in the housing market for July, 2025? The housing data looked as bad as ever, but the stock market has finally responded favorably to the stocks of home builders. This forward-looking display of “green shoots” forms the basis of a “bearish to bullish reversal.” The catalyst for this … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A bearish engulfing top pattern in the S&P 500 now seems like a distant memory. Yet, the melt-up in the stock market faces a new test. Just as the stock market enters its most dangerous months of the year in terms of drawdowns, a bearish divergence has emerged with market breadth. What … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary What happened in the housing market in October, 2024? A reckoning that I anticipated finally came in the form of sharply lower prices for the shares of home builders. After resisting rising mortgage rates for a month, the stock market lost its appetite. Earnings have brought a dose of reality … Read more