Above the 40 (September 14, 2018) – Stock Market’s Unenthusiastic Rebound from Stretched Conditions

AT40 = 51.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.1 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary I flipped cautiously bullish last week. As I suspected, the prospects for a bounce were not as good as the previous … Read more

Above the 40 (September 7, 2018) – A Shaky and Stretched Stock Market Redux

AT40 = 48.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 53.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.9 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary Almost a month ago, the stock market was in a similar technical position to the one it is in now. At … Read more

Above the 40 (June 29, 2018) – Sellers Reward A Weak Stock Market Bounce With A Bearish Fade

AT40 = 48.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 50.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.1 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The market’s gains the last two days validated my expectation for a relief bounce. I used this bounce to make more bearish … Read more

Above the 40 (June 15, 2018) – A News-Packed Week Hands Victory to Stock Market Bulls and Bears

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.0 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary Once again, a tried and true bearish signal delivered. However this success came with a tremendous caveat: a simultaneously … Read more

Above the 40 (May 25, 2018) – A Loitering Stock Market

AT40 = 64.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 52.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The churn continues on the S&P 500 (SPY) while AT40 (T2108) loiters around just under its overbought threshold of 70%. The lethargic … Read more

Financially Vulnerable: A Critical Test for Financial Stocks

This week, I blithely accumulated call options on Goldman Sachs (GS) ahead of and after the Federal Reserve’s latest declaration on monetary policy. I assumed that the Fed’s calming influence would remind market participants that the economy is fine and the prospects are good. Under that scenario financial stocks would do well as long-term interest … Read more

Four Fed Rate Hikes This Year? Still Not Likely.

I heard commentary after the Fed’s proclamation on monetary policy on March 21st that the Fed is “one vote away” from 4 rate hikes this year. Yet, something strange happened along the way to over-speculation on the number of rate hikes in 2018: the traders putting their money on the line on the 30-Day Fed … Read more

Above the 40 (March 19, 2018) – A Sharp Edge Cuts A Churning Stock Market

AT40 = 42.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (traded as low as 37.6%) AT200 = 47.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.0 (traded as high as 21.9) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I described how the stock … Read more

Above the 40 (January 17, 2018) – The S&P 500 Invalidates Its Reversal But Not Cleanly

AT40 = 66.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – Day #1 of an overbought period AT200 = 63.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.9 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) made a resounding comeback from the previous day’s reversal. The move … Read more

Above the 40 (May 31, 2017) – The S&P 500 Makes A Signature Close to May Trading

AT40 = 43.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 52.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.4 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary And just like that, the stock market made it even harder for me to keep a bullish bias on … Read more