ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary A good friend of mine introduced me to the phrase – now we’re cooking with gas! In today’s context, this phrase refers to some startling developments in the rolling crash in the stock market. The technical damage was thorough, unrelenting, and nearly merciless. Chaos in economic policy chaos has fully transferred into … Read more
Stock Market Commentary And so a bear market ends, for the S&P 500 at least. The stock market enjoyed a strong follow-through day supported by previous oversold conditions. To represent the most recent technical developments, I created a well-defined area for the bear market called the “area of agitation”. The S&P 500’s breakout above this … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The current administration’s policy of long-term growth through short-term pain in the form of austerity came into clear focus last week. I earlier introduced this concept in “Growth Scare or Overreaction – An Oversold Market or Something Worse?“. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out the strategy in detailed economic … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: On a weekly basis, the stock market seems to flip its abiding theme. One week after I accused the stock market of sleepwalking, buyers roused the major indices out of their slumber with a new and sudden display of strength. A 13.9% post-earnings surge from Meta Platforms, Inc (META) seemed to set … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Put all the headlines aside. Last week was all about the technicals. Picture-perfect support unfolded for the major indices and stopped bearish momentum dead in its tracks. Suddenly, the stock market went from the verge of confirming a short-term top from early February to looking ready to make a run at challenging … Read more
Stock Market Commentary: Yesterday’s surge in the Japanese yen (FXY) may have exhausted enough sellers to clear the path for some holiday cheer in the stock market. Suddenly, the market seemed to transition from the heavy burdens of a stubbornly hawkish Fed to the alluring hopes from a lack of (scheduled) negative catalysts for the … Read more
Stock Market Commentary I earlier wrote about a promising divergence between anxiety and breadth in the stock market. However, I cannot help rubbernecking the market’s crashes and accidents. They tell dramatic stories about the folly in price action that can come with easy monetary policy and free money. The market goes through cycles of excitement … Read more
Stock Market Commentary A great stock market divergence continued last week. However, the market overall is looking more and more resilient as it continues to digest inflation fears. Even the biggest victim of the great divergence, the NASDAQ (COMPQX), remains well above its lows for the month. A very dovish session with Federal Reserve Chair … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market continued its streak of trickiness. Buyers and sellers played a fierce bear-bull battle starting with one of the biggest fake-out one-day rallies since last September 2nd’s near parabolic run-up. Fresh money flowed into funds to start the month of March to for gains of 2.4% on the S&P 500 … Read more
Stock Market Commentary What a week to start the year’s trading. It started with a definitively bearish end to extended overbought conditions. Overbought conditions bullishly resumed in the middle of the week despite an insurrection in Washington D.C. The week ended with a confirmation of the freshly bullish sentiment in the market. The trading action … Read more