Above the 40 (January 9, 2019) – Stocks Make Important Breakouts Even As Indices Face Major Tests

AT40 = 46.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (1-month high)AT200 = 20.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (3-week high)VIX = 20.0Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary Just as the last oversold period exceeded expectations to an extreme downside, the rebound out of the oversold period is … Read more

Strong Sales for LGI Homes Set Up Earnings Reports for Lennar and KB Home

LGI Homes (LGIH) released a strong sales report that granted investors in home builders a much needed sigh of relief. On January 7, 2019 (mislabeled as the 4th in the press release), LGIH announced: …an all-time record for home closings during a single month with 884 homes closed in December 2018, representing year-over-year growth of … Read more

Above the 40 (December 6, 2018) – Arresting Developments At Another Oversold Edge

AT40 = 31.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 25.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (just off a 32-month low)VIX = 21.2 (as high as 25.9)Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish CommentaryI have become convinced that 2019 is going to deliver another one of those poor trading … Read more

Housing Market Review (October, 2018) – Trend Breaks And A Plunge-Worthy Housing Slowdown

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the May Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. When I wrote June’s housing market review and described a “struggling flicker,” the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was once again bouncing off the bottom of 2018’s trading range. … Read more

Housing Market Review (September, 2018) – Data Weigh Heavy On A Breakdown for Home Builders

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the May Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. When I wrote June’s housing market review and described a “struggling flicker,” the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was once again bouncing off the bottom of 2018’s trading range. … Read more

Book Value Home Builders Belie The Stock Market’s Stellar Q3

The S&P 500 (SPY) printed its best quarter since the fourth quarter of 2013. While the index gained 7.2% for the third quarter of 2018, home builders went in the exact opposite direction. The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) tumbled 7.4% for Q3 and is now down a whopping 20.9% year-to-date. The selling accelerated … Read more

Housing Market Review (June, 2018) – A Struggling Flicker As New and Existing Home Markets Diverge

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the last Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. Breakouts transformed into new tops and now the struggling flicker comes from home builder stocks holding support. The short-term path ahead looks like chop at best, especially with the latest … Read more

Above the 40 (June 27, 2018) – S&P 500 Breakdown Confirms Earlier Bearish Signals

AT40 = 48.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 50.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.9 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The trading action this week confirmed the bearish change in trading that occurred when AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above … Read more

Above the 40 (June 13, 2018) – A Fed Buzzkill Ends Ambitions for An Overbought Market

AT40 = 66.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ended 1-day overbought) AT200 = 55.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary Flipping short-term bullish was fun while it lasted…all of two days. The Federal Reserve hiked interest … Read more

Housing Market Review (May, 2018) – A Fresh Flicker of Life As Sentiment Turns Without A Change in Data

The fundamentals have changed little. Sentiment is making a dramatic shift. The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in April, 2018 for March, 2018. At the time, I lamented a dissonance of decelerating housing data and diverging home builder stocks. Over a month later, the deceleration is a little less pronounced while the divergence … Read more