ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
I am surprised Fed futures traders still firmly expect a rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve in June. Source: CME FedWatch Tool After the stock market sell-off in the wake of more Trump turmoil, the market pegged the odds of a June rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve at 64.6%. Above 50% means … Read more
Ahead of the May decision on monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve, I concluded that the stars had aligned for a potential (sharp) relief rally for the SPDR® Gold Shares (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV). In that post, I extrapolated from the market’s waning enthusiasm for two more rate hikes in 2017. … Read more
Market expectations for a June rate hike remain as solid as ever. However, expectations for two more rate hikes in 2017 have wavered. A day ahead of the release of the next decision on monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Fed Fund futures pricing in two rate hikes by December (assuming 25 basis point … Read more
AT40 = 47.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 60.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish) Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) ended last week on a sour note. The index hit its first 42 trading day … Read more
Last week, I noted that silver speculators returned to “maximum bullishness” but warned… “Just like the plunge on March 2nd, the key for SLV is the follow-through. On March 3rd, a small relief rally fell short of 200DMA resistance; two days later SLV gapped down on its way to a 50DMA breakdown. I am guessing … Read more
AT40 = 46.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 62.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The timetable for a May end to this period of extremely low volatility looks like … Read more
Do not tell silver speculators that the Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy. The latest CFTC Commitments of Traders (CoT) report showed that silver speculators ran net long contracts to a new high, levels not seen since at least 2008. The increase in open interest confirmed the bullishness of silver speculators. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitment … Read more
AT40 = 35.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.5 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) finally flipped the switch on the bearish threshold I have described since the last bullish breakout … Read more
AT40 = 47.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 62.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.6 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked its interest rate as expected by 0.25%. The accompanying statement was remarkable only for being … Read more
Last week I registered my surprise at silver speculators rushing to increase net long contracts to near multi-year highs. This move happened ahead of what was expected to be a parade of Fed-speak clearing the path for a March rate hike. The surge stood out even more given gold’s surge did not bring net long … Read more