J-Pow’s Hawkish Jawboning Sparked A Fresh Market Jolt – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, aka “J-Pow”, finally decided the time has come to drop the descriptor “transitory” from America’s current experience with inflation (see the 37:00 mark in the video below). J-Pow even acknowledged that “it is therefore appropriate…to consider wrapping up the taper of asset purchases…perhaps a few months sooner” … Read more

A New COVID-19 Variant and A New Normal – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary News of a new 30-spike protein COVID-19 variant sent financial markets into a tumble. The rapid news flow combined with a shortened, holiday trading day to deliver broad-based and intense selling pressure. As the market absorbs this latest blow, it should become clearer that COVID-19 is a new normal. That is, the … Read more

Small Cap Breakout, Pfizer COVID Anti-Viral Boost Bullish Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary The first trading week of November was action-packed. At the start of the week I looked ahead to monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and the October jobs report as key catalysts. While those events were indeed important, the stock market was treated to an overlay of at least two other important … Read more

Flashing A Mix of Signals Going into Housing’s Spring Selling Season – Housing Market Review (February, 2021)

Housing Market Intro and Summary A little over a month after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that the housing market would soon normalize, mortgage rates have increased and the stocks of home builders have generally gone nowhere. The National Association of Realtors projected much stronger growth in existing home sales this year than in … Read more

A Split Personality Market Emerges from the End of Overbought Conditions – Above the 40 (February 19, 2021)

Stock Market Commentary The week ended with a split personality. While the S&P 500 meandered and the NASDAQ flattened, small caps rebounded convincingly. Financials also forged ahead. As a result, the recent end to overbought conditions may only signal (mild) bearish conditions for a portion of the stock market. The Stock Market Indices The S&P … Read more

Sellers Weaken the Stock Market’s Hold On Overbought Conditions – Above the 40 (December 29, 2020)

AT40 (T2108) dropped toward the overbought threshold of 70%.

Stock Market Commentary The refresher for extended overbought conditions quickly transformed back into a close call. Sellers again created weakening overbought conditions for the stock market with the key indicator hitting the threshold. The minor selling in the major indices may mask a broader deterioration in the technical health of the stock market. Unlike the … Read more

More Virulent Strain Threatens to Dampen Market Cheer for U.S. Pandemic Relief

Conditions rapidly changed since my last Above the 40 post describing the historic territory for overbought conditions. Bad and good news headlines are battling for mindspace where a new more virulent strain of coronavirus threatens to undercut what could have been market cheer from the new pandemic relief in the U.S. Distress from a New … Read more

Overbought Trading Resumes With Fresh Momentum for the Reopen Trade – Above the 40 (November 13, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 74.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (Day #1 overbought, 3 of last 4 days ooverbought) AT200 = 68.1%% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 3-year high and holding breakout above post financial crisis downtrend) VIX = 23.1 Short-term Trading Call: neutral … Read more

Overbought Trading Conditions Emerge from Rush for Pandemic Recovery Stocks – Above the 40 (November 10, 2020)

Stock Market Statistics AT40 = 71.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (Day #1 overbought) AT200 = 66.9%% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 3-year high and confirmed breakout above post financial crisis downtrend) VIX = 24.8 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The week of … Read more

Why Stock Market Signals Outweigh Headlines: Lessons from A Pandemic

The Misdirection The New York Times (NYT) created buzz with a report alleging that members of the Trump administration enabled “elite traders” to profit off the coronavirus-driven collapse in the stock market. While the administration confidently reassured the public about the coronavirus (COVID-19), members of the administration reportedly shared their concerns about “uncertainties” at a … Read more