ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
In a press release titled “‘No Lump Sum Required at the End of Forbearance’ says FHFA’s Calabria” the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sought to reassure home owners that they will not risk defaulting on their homes coming out of a mortgage forbearance program. The forbearance program gives home owners relief from paying their mortgage … Read more
AT40 = 47.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 54.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 15.5Short-term Trading Call: bearish (from cautiously bearish) Stock Market Commentary The major indices managed to swing to all-time highs last week, but I still see signs of a … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary The stocks of home builders are starting to fail their moment of truth. A Moment of Truth Looming Ever Larger On October 25th, the iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB) hit a 21-month high that coincided exactly with a major multi-year peak and post-recession high from January, 2018. The sellers showed … Read more
Overall Assessment I am neutral on Pulte Homes (PHM). The company’s Q3 2019 earnings report was good but not spectacular. I am warily eyeing year-over-year net income and earnings per share declines even as the company experiences robust demand and buys back shares. Most importantly, with a 2.0 price/book ratio, PHM is relatively expensive compared … Read more
Housing Market Intro/Summary In the last Housing Market Review, I pointed out how the stocks of home builders were still making a surprising push against the expected seasonal top in their shares. Yet, I still expected iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) to remain constrained to a pivot around its 50-day moving average (DMA). Soon … Read more
The breakout for home builders started with M.D.C. Holdings (MDC). MDC raised guidance and put strong emphasis on the positive expectations for its next earnings report. With analysts overwhelmingly bearish on the stock, the stock had plenty of upside surprise potential. The pent-up demand created a tremendous upward surge. Additional home builders are joining what … Read more
Despite the seasonal trends working against PulteGroup (PHM), the company last week announced a major reload on its buyback program. PulteGroup increased its authorization from $262M to $762M. The quote in the press release emphasized how this action, along with other investments, expresses the company’s solid confidence in the business and the housing market: “Driven … Read more
AT40 = 54.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 38.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 16.1Short-term Trading Call: bearish Stock Market Commentary The above tweet begins the dilemmas that lay ahead for short-term trading after I first flipped bearish ahead of Thursday’s selling. First, I … Read more
AT40 = 83.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (6th overbought day)AT200 = 34.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 2-month high)VIX = 16.1Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Starting in November or so, I developed an expectation for a January sell-off based in anticipation of earnings warnings … Read more
AT40 = 61.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (near 5-month high)AT200 = 23.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (1-month high)VIX = 19.0Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary The signs of exhaustion in the major indices have given way to more and more breakouts. Most importantly, AT40 … Read more