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 The second quarter of the year ended with notable divergence. The third quarter picked up where the second quarter left off. Q3 took the Q2 baton of notable divergence, sending big cap stocks ever higher while leaving most of the market further behind. The jobs report seemed to be strong enough and … Read more
November 16, 2015 was a strange trading day as U.S. stock markets rallied in the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris. There were really big moves in even some big cap stocks. The S&P 500 (SPY) reversed all of its losses on Friday and then some. This is the strong and supportive context … Read more
It only took a day or two for First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (SPWR) to confirm the bearish pattern I pointed out after the recent post-earnings celebration for SPWR. The charts below show rapid follow-through from the big fades that followed huge up days in each stock. Source: FreeStockCharts.com Note well that the bears … Read more
A funny thing happened after I declared the “fun is done” in solar stocks: Suntech Power Holdings (STP) pre-announced higher than expected revenues and financial results for its fourth quarter, and SunPower Corporation (SPWR) reported earnings that gave solar traders and investors fresh hope. At one point, SPWR broke out from a nice consolidation above … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 15, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I hope my fellow solar enthusiasts enjoyed 2012’s solar run while it lasted. Solar stocks went on a tear to start the new year, but now the fun is done. Reality … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece) Perhaps it is not a good idea to use the term “watershed” twice in a year when referring to solar stocks, but it seems to me that Total Group’s acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in … Read more
Last week, I suggested that the nuclear power crisis in Japan could usher in a watershed moment for solar energy and its constituent stocks. For all of two days, most solar stocks soared. For example, First Solar (FSLR) gained 14%. However, March 15th marked a sort of peak in the market’s concern over Japan’s nuclear … Read more
Despite my general caution on the stock market at current levels (it just flipped to overbought status on Monday), I continue to look out for bullish moves on individual stocks. This time, I found a fresh breakout candidate in the solar sector. On Monday, SunPower Corporation (SPWRA or SPWRB) finally broke free of a nine-month … Read more
After the stock market’s sharp rally off the March, 2009 lows, most solar stocks stopped appreciating by that summer. For the remainder of the year, they experienced wild swings up and down in price in quick succession. In the summer of 2010, it appeared prospects had finally turned around for the better for solar stocks … Read more
Bottom-fishing is always a risky business, but sometimes it is worth a try. This is the case with First Solar (FSLR) which has printed several profitable bottoms in the past two years. After dropping for 11 consecutive days, FSLR finally managed to close with a gain on Tuesday. The 3% increase came on volume almost … Read more