A Book-Ends Kind of Week for Stocks (Above the 40) – December 6, 2019

AT40 = 59.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 56.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 13.6Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Looking for buying opportunities paid off. A week that started with selling into trade troubles ended with the celebration of an exceptionally strong … Read more

Above the 40 (December 3, 2019) – A Quick U-Turn for Speculation in the Stock Market

AT40 = 48.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 50.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 16.0 (up 7.0% and went as high as 18.0)Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary It was fun for the short time it lasted. The speculative turn in the stock … Read more

Part Optimism, Part Skepticism from A Partial Trade Deal – Above the 40 (October 11, 2019)

AT40 = 52.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 48.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 15.6Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish Stock Market Commentary A Broad-Based Re-Entry Two Fridays ago, buyers took the S&P 500 (SPY) back above its 50-day moving average (DMA). It was yet … Read more

Stock Market Stalls At Overbought Threshold As Momentum Stocks Retreat – Above the 40 (September 13, 2019)

AT40 (T2108) has stalled perfectly at the overbought threshold of 70%.

AT40 = 67.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (13-month high)VIX = 13.7Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary Overbought Overrules Times like these remind me of the significance of the overbought line. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks … Read more

Trade War Realities Weigh More Heavily

The Australian dollar versus the Japanese yen (AUD/JPY) is back to trading at levels last seen in the immediate wake of the financial crisis. A declining AUD/JPY helps to expose the intensifying risk-off sentiment in financial markets.

An Inescapable Truth In June, 2018, I made the following claims and observations (with fresh emphasis): “…at the end of the day, Trump is determined to drive the U.S. trade deficit as close to zero as possible. This cannot happen without some substantial economic disruptions. To the extent the market refuses to price in these … Read more

The 401K Stock Market Chokes On A Powell and Trade War Sandwich – Above the 40 (August 23, 2019)

AT40 = 28.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 39.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (2-month low)VIX = 19.9Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (see caveats below) Stock Market Commentary Presidential Decrees “Q    Six hundred and twenty-three points — that’s what the Dow was down today … Read more

Christmas In August Fails to Prevent A Test of the Month’s Extremes – Above the 40 (August 14, 2019)

The S&P 500 (SPY) printed a marginally new low for the month after a 2.9% loss.

AT40 = 26.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 40.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (2-month low)VIX = 22.1Short-term Trading Call: neutral (caveats below!) Stock Market Commentary When the S&P 500 (SPY) bounced away from the oversold threshold last week, it left behind an extreme … Read more

An Enticing and Risky Bounce Off the Oversold Threshold – Above the 40 (August 6, 2019)

AT40 (T2108) bounced sharply away from the oversold threshold off 20%.

AT40 = 30.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 44.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 20.2 (the day before it closed at 24.6 and a 7-month high)Short-term Trading Call: neutral (caveats below!) Stock Market Commentary Almost Oversold I underestimated the market’s readiness to … Read more

Trade War Pairs Trade: Best Buy Vs. Emerging Markets

Best Buy (BBY) dropped 10.8% on news of the expansion of Trump's Trade War with China.

The Extreme: Best Buy Regular readers know that my favorite trades come on the heels of extremes in financial conditions. After President Trump announced a 10% tariff on $300B of Chinese imports, I saw a lot of extremes that made me sit up and take notice. One of the biggest extremes occurred in the shares … Read more

Stock Market Indices Break South On Expanded Border Tensions – Above the 40 (May 31, 2019)

AT40 = 23.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (hit a low of 20.7%)AT200 = 36.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (2 1/2 month low)VIX = 18.7Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary So much for the potential for follow-through on bullish divergence! Perhaps the failure is … Read more