ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Excitement over earnings almost trumped technicals today. The S&P 500 tipped over and then faded back ever so slightly from its 50-day moving average (DMA). Earnings news typically trumps technicals, but I was pretty convinced looming overhead resistance would hold firm no matter then news given the weak buying volume coming into today. Buying volume … Read more
After summarizing Fastenal’s dour commentary on non-residential construction, I pointed out that a retest of former resistance would make an attractive entry point on the stock. As planned, I initiated a (swing) trade on Fastenal (FAST) as it probed the 50DMA support over the past several days. Today, FAST bounced off the 50-day moving average … Read more
Looking for signs of life in the commercial real-estate (CRE) business has now become an earnings season ritual for me. If construction activity serves as a leading indicator of CRE’s future health, then Fastenal’s report on fourth quarter and annual earnings demonstrates once again that CRE continues to deteriorate, not improve. Fastenal (FAST) reported “…continued … Read more
Fastenal (FAST) is a $5.8B market cap industrial company that supplies components and parts for construction and manufacturing. FAST reported earnings yesterday that again confirmed a recurring theme of weakness in non-residential construction. This area has often been called “the next shoe to drop” that will presage further weakness in the economy. This drop has … Read more