ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary A decisive end to the extended overbought period signaled the arrival of bearish conditions last week. Bears boldly sold for one more day before a “stock bulls taunt” forced suddenly hesitant bears into a partial retreat. A sharp market divergence is now taking hold. While the major indices rallied off support and … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A bear market intrusion upset the dynamics of this oversold period. The NASDAQ is back in bear market territory. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 broke down below their respective 200-day moving averages (DMAs) (the blue line in the charts below) and entered “correction” territory which is 10% below the 52-week … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 17, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Almost two months ago, I wrote about Fastenal (FAST), an industrial and construction supplier, describing the stock as expensive but worth buying at lower prices. Within a month, FAST jumped over … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 18, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) On June 5, 2012, Fastenal (FAST) dropped 9.8% in response to its May sales report. This sharply negative reaction got my attention because Fastenal’s industrial and construction supplies business should be … Read more
I continue to keep tabs on the performance of non-residential (commercial) real estate through the eyes of the companies that service this industry. Unlike previous quarters, earnings reports are a bit more mixed about the condition and outlook for non-residential real estate. Current conditions remain poor, but companies are now straining to see some light … Read more
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