ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
This year was supposed to be the year of retail. Last week’s sell-off not only took down a broad base of stocks, but also it plunged retail stocks in aggregate into under-performance against the S&P 500 (SPY). Moreover, home builders broke down in a very bearish way and thus put my “buy the dip” strategy … Read more
AT40 = 55.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 60.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.8 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Last Friday, the S&P 500 (SPY) rolled over a volatile dollar on its way to another all-time high. The volatility index, the … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in November, 2017 for October, 2017. At the time, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) traded at a 10+ year high with the angst of tax reform left far behind in the rear view mirror. The day after my post, Toll Brothers (TOL) reported earnings that … Read more
Perhaps it is the pressure of having member companies whose stock trade on public markets. Perhaps it is a coincidental divide in politics. Whatever the explanation, the split in opinion on the impact of Republican tax reform on the housing market became even more stark this week as The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in October, 2017 for September, 2017. At the time, I lamented having too small an exposure to home builders while the entire sector rallied nearly non-stop. I was counting on seasonal patterns to deliver at least one buyable dip ahead of the seasonally strong period starting in … Read more
The angst may already be fading away. Last week, I chronicled the carnage across the stocks of home builders that erupted in response to the Republican plan for tax reform that includes a reduction in the cap on the mortgage interest deduction. The sell-off that likely had roots in the extreme displeasure emanating from the … Read more
In my last review of the housing market, I ran out of time to comment on an emphatic statement from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) regarding its failure to influence the Republican plan for tax reform. The tax plan coming out of the GOP side of the House of Representatives includes a provision … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in September, 2017 for August, 2017. At the time, I described a growing rift between the data and the stocks of home builders. Instead of stumbling, housing stocks received a fresh breath of life and kicked up the momentum another notch higher in October. The iShares U.S. … Read more
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in August, 2017 for July, 2017. At the time, I described a change in tone that made me wary and even got me anticipating a larger pullback. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) was struggling below its 50-day moving average (DMA) since a 2-month period starting … Read more
AT40 = 71.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – overbought day #2 AT200 = 58.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.5 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary It looks like an overbought rally is truly underway. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks closing above their … Read more