Suddenly, the VIX Looks Like It Matters Again – The Market Breadth

surprise (Credit: Surprise!!! 4/365 by Benson Kua from Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary While I watch the tense trading unfold in NVDA, the VIX, the volatility index, has suddenly returned to my radar as an indicator of interest. Thursday’s stock market setback came with a surging VIX that closed at a new high of the year. The regular programming of the volatility faders actually failed … Read more

All Hail NVIDIA and A New Market Call – The Market Breadth

All Hail NVIDIA

Stock Market Commentary There is a deepening irony in my on-going bearishness on the stock market. The sector most visibly responsible for the anti-bearish animal spirits leaning against poor market breadth is the same sector I remain unapologetically bullish about: Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ironic contrast was in full display last week as the bullish … Read more

First Strike Against the Stock Market Rally – The Market Breadth

first strike against the rally

Stock Market Commentary The rally out of the stock market’s last oversold period finally suffered its first strike today as a strong open fizzled into some important fades. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ tapped highs of the year only to fail into marginally negative closes. Most importantly, market breadth perfectly tapped the threshold for … Read more

Retail Turns A Corner for Black Friday – The Market Breadth

Retail Turns A Corner for Black Friday

Stock Market Commentary The stock market continued its inflation celebration last week with a surge on Monday. The buying momentum abated from there as the holiday-shortened week rolled into Thanksgiving and then Black Friday. Even though NVIDIA (NVDA) stole the earnings spotlight for the week, the U.S.’s most storied day of shopping set the stage … Read more

Little Time to Rest for the Oversold Bounce – The Market Breadth

little time to rest (Credit: animal-tigers-running-wallpaper-3 by Farmington Strength on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary Downtrends are over. Bullish breakouts abound. Sellers got one chance last week to try to keep the cork in the bottle of the oversold bounce, but they failed. The stock market insisted on pushing right through. With little time to rest, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ ended the week with major … Read more

A Bearish Divergence Raises Prospects for Oversold Trading – The Market Breadth

bearish divergence (Credit: Joe Thorn, two paths diverge on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The stock market got a case of the uglies last week. The end of summer trading transitioned right into a swift drawdown for the stock market’s second of the three most dangerous months of the year. The fresh breakdowns in the major indices accompanied new lows for market breadth. Suddenly, what I … Read more

Buyers Push Against Topping Indices, Restart Overbought Conditions – The Market Breadth

push (Credit: Uphill Push by the_alien_experience on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary The stock market delivered a gift on Friday as I scrambled to de-risk following the Bank of Japan’s drama on monetary policy. I braced for selling into bearish pressure and instead was pleasantly greeted by a broad push higher for stocks from the open. After the dust settled on the day, I … Read more

A Looming Collision Between Overbought Trading and the Fed – The Market Breadth

collision (Credit: Collision Course by charlieishere@btinternet.com on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: Market breadth almost reached overbought trading territory last week. The Federal Reserve is issuing yet another missive on monetary policy this coming Wednesday. The market’s script is arranged for the potential drama of a collision between the euphoria of overbought trading and a Federal Reserve that is eager to moderate the market … Read more

A Bullish Bear Market – The Market Breadth

bullish bear (Credit: ell brown on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: This stock market is one bullish bear market. A bear market perhaps cannot get more bullish than the current market. Since the October lows, the various indices have shown a general upside bias. As much time that I have spent the last several weeks looking for excuses to get bearish, the market … Read more

Market Breadth Last Did This 17 Months Ago

AT50 (MMFI) closed right on top of the overbought threshold. You just can't make this stuff up. Market breadth was last at these levels 17 months ago.

Stock Market Commentary: Market breadth was last this high 17 months ago. At that time, my favorite technical indicator was on its way down as a part of another buy-the-dip moment for the pandemic-inspired rally in the stock market. This time, market breadth is sitting right on top of the threshold of overbought conditions. The … Read more