ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) hit its last peak on January 14, 2021 at $38.61. I was too busy trading around last week’s bearish action to notice that EWZ twice hit and bounced off the 20% correction point of $30.88. With my short-term trading call flipped to neutral, I was more keen to see … Read more
AT40 = 41.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.6 (high of 20.1)Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary A Pause of Recognition I am writing about financial markets at a time when there is renewed pain … Read more
The threat of Chinese resistance to sky high iron prices was just enough to put a halt to a parabolic run-up in prices. After a sharp drop, iron ore prices quickly rebounded and have remained relatively flat for about two weeks. The stocks of related iron-ore companies turned around after an initial sharp sell-off. Last … Read more
Iron Ore Resistance Iron ore prices have been on a tear this year, and China’s steel mills are not going to take it anymore. According to Reuters: “…eight steel mills will create an investigation group, led by Baowu and assisted by the others, to look into the pricing methodology of imported iron ore, to coordinate … Read more
Major central banks typically cut interest rates in response to economic stresses; they ease when the data force them to do so. Some important exceptions in recent history happened 1) in 2016 when Mark Carney’s Bank of England cut rates as a cushion against the potential downsides of the pro-Brexit vote, and 2) when the … Read more
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
AT40 = 47.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 53.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.6 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary I typically consider the market stretched to the downside when AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving … Read more
AT40 = 60.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Until Friday’s 0.8% gain on the S&P 500 (SPY) in the wake of another strong jobs report, I was still expecting the … Read more
AT40 = 65.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 55.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.8 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The stock market is oozing with divergences as a result of global trade wars, especially the escalating spat between … Read more
At the beginning of February, I refreshed my idea to play a top in iron ore with a pairs trade going long Rio Tinto (RIO) and short BHP Billiton (BHP). The timing was fortuitous given it was right before a large sell-off in the stock market. I ended up profitably fading rallies in BHP two … Read more