Chart Review: A Cautious Eye on Cyclicals – Materials and Industrials

Cyclical stocks continue to worry me even as the S&P 500 treads water. Charts across a wide swath of related stocks show inabilities to break critical resistance and in some cases, are outright breaking down. Here are several representative charts along with brief commentary. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Industrial Select Sector … Read more

T2108 Update – August 16, 2011

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag.) T2108 Status: 17% (Day #9 of the current oversold period). VIX Status: 33 General (Short-term) Trading Call: Only add … Read more

Flowserve Loses All Its QE2-Inspired Gains

Late August has become a benchmark for the success of the Federal Reserve’s last money-printing campaign given at that time Chairman Ben Bernanke first floated the suggestion that another round of quantitative easing (QE2) was on its way (see speech at Jackson Hole, WY, August 27, 2010). I am also using this date as a … Read more

T2108 Update – July 8, 2011 (Attack of the Topping Patterns!)

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page.) T2108 Status: 74%, 5th overbought day. VIX Status: 16. General (Short-term) Trading Call: Continue closing bullish trades (longs), add to bearish trades on a close below 1333 on the S&P 500 … Read more

T2108 Update – June 17, 2011

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page.) T2108 Status: 21% and neutral (ending 2 days of oversold conditions). VIX Status: 22; higher than the start of last oversold period (19). General (Short-term) Trading Call: Hold, assuming trading longs … Read more