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 After the Grinch roasted Santa on an oversold fire, I expected a bounce with lots of churn into the holiday season. The bounce arrived right on schedule, but buyers had no patience for churn. The stock market look inspired by Santa’s revenge as a sharp oversold rally launched a broad swath of … Read more
Stock Market Commentary According to Investopedia, the Santa Claus rally “describes a sustained increase in the stock market that occurs in the last week of December through the first two trading days in January.” With the legendary rally still a week away, the S&P 500 (SPY) finds itself priced exactly where it was at the end … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market wilted toward oversold territory ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest pronouncements on monetary policy. However, the relief from hearing exactly what everyone expected was so large that the S&P 500 (SPY) gained 1.6% and almost hit a new all-time high. The move fooled a lot of people (see below). … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The post-oversold divergence resolved to the downside. The downward pressure was evident across a wide swath of stocks, and big cap stocks were only strong enough to keep the S&P 500 (SPY) aloft for a day (at an all-time high). Now, the stock market looks toppy and heavy enough to dip back … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Last week featured yet another episode of momentary panic proceeded by a virtual “all clear” signal. In the middle of the week, the S&P 500 (SPY) broke down just as the stock market hit extremes. Subsequently, buyers stepped into the breach. As a result, the very next day, the stock market rebounded … Read more
Stock Market Commentary After sweeping away bearish signals, the stock market moved right into overbought territory last week. The week started with a small gap up to all-time highs, and the stock market never looked back. More importantly, the volatility index (VIX) hit a new low since the stock market broke down almost a year … Read more
Stock Market Commentary One hundred and fifty minutes. The bearish signal that hit the stock market after the last overbought period ended essentially lasted just 150 minutes. Buyers stepped into the market on Monday after lunchtime on the East Coast and essentially barely took a pause until the last 2 hours of trading today (Wednesday, … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The weakening overbought conditions finally gave way to a full breakdown. The abrupt end of the overbought period ushers in the bear. Ironically, trading started well with the S&P 500 (SPY) gapping slightly higher at the open. The selling pressure started after the open and did not relent until lunchtime on the … Read more
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
Stock Market Commentary A week ago, the stock market stretched into an extended overbought rally. The stock market proceeded to relax from that stretch. Yet, the breadth indicators barely budged and allowed the overbought rally to reach a key overbought threshold and test of the extended overbought rally. The overbought period reached 20 days in … Read more