Even though 2011 has just begun, there are clear leaders and laggards among the nine sectors. In particular, the technology sector is getting off to a great start. The Sector PerfChart shows the nine sector SPDRs and the S&P 500. The black dotted line marks the performance for... READ MORE
It has been a wild ride in the bond market this week. Treasuries fell and yields surged as the ADP employment report showed strong job growth on Wednesday. This move was reversed on Friday as bonds surged and yields fell after a disappointing non-farm payroll report. Overall, the 10-... READ MORE
The stock market may be overbought and sentiment may seem excessively bullish, but there is simply no sign of weakness on the price charts or with the indicators. The AD Lines and AD Volume Lines both moved to new reaction highs this year. Net New Highs remain firmly positive and... READ MORE
There is no change in the short-term or medium-term analysis. Medium-term, the daily chart shows SPY in a clear uptrend with a new 52-week high this week. The ETF is up some 7.6% since December and up 22% since August. These big gains make the... READ MORE
Even though this is very short-term oriented, the 5 minute P&F chart for the S&P 500 shows a clear support level around 1270. The ETF bounced off this area at least five times today. A break below would argue for some sort of short-term... READ MORE
There is no change in the short-term or medium-term analysis. Medium-term, the daily chart shows SPY in a clear uptrend with a new 52-week high this week. The ETF is up some 7.6% since December and up 22% since August. These big gains make the... READ MORE
GILD gaps above trendline. HRB fills gap after selling climax. URBN hits support with falling wedge. Plus DELL,FDX,MAS,MRK,NE,YHOO This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock... READ MORE
Akamai (AKAM) declined to support in December and formed a rather large bullish engulfing on Wednesday, provided the close is above the prior day's open. Volume also ticked up to exceed the 250-day SMA. This pattern affirms support and follow through would provide an early signal that... READ MORE
There is not much change in the short-term or medium-term analysis. Medium-term, the daily chart shows SPY in a clear uptrend with a new 52-week high this week. The ETF is up some 7.6% since December and up 22% since August. These big gains make... READ MORE
After a big bang to start the year, stocks turned defensive on day two as six of the nine sectors were down as of 3PM ET. Of the three that were up, the utilities and healthcare sectors come from the defensive end of the market. Technology, which is clearly an... READ MORE
The bulls started January just like December as stocks surged on the open and remained at high levels throughout the day. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) advanced just over 1% and recorded yet another 52-week high. SPY is now up 7.6% since the beginning of December.... READ MORE
ARO breaks support. AVP surges above resistance. VRTX forms bullish pennant. Plus FXE,GCI,INTC,ISRG,$TNX. This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need... READ MORE
The US Natural Gas Fund (UNG) remains in a long-term downtrend, but the ETF shows signs of life with a higher low in late December and a surge in early January. Broken support and the January-2010 trendline combine to mark the next resistance around 6.7-6.9.... READ MORE
Even though sentiment is excessively bullish and stocks are ripe for a pullback, the major index ETFs simply show no signs of selling pressure and remain strong overall. The CBOE Total Put/Call Ratio ($CPC) dipped below .75 in mid December to show excessive bullishness, but this did not stop... READ MORE
Hot off the press from our scan engine, 51 of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 are up over 50% over the last 250 trading days, which is around one year. That's just over 10%, which makes for a pretty amazing year. 3 stocks are... READ MORE
Here are the top 10 technical charting developments that happened during 2010 as selected by our crack staff of technical analysts. See if you agree... 10. Apple surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization on May 26th and gained over 50% on the year. Apple is currently valued around $298 billion, while... READ MORE
Rising interest rates are a plus for the greenback. After a pullback in mid December, interest rates resumed their upward trajectory as the 10-year Treasury Yield ($TNX) surged above 3.45% on Tuesday. Rising interest rates are bullish for both the Dollar and the stock market. Rates rise when... READ MORE
The Dow Transports have been flat for four weeks as the Average forms small weekly candlesticks in the 5000-5100 area. A visual assessment indicates that these are the smallest candlesticks of the year. Bollinger Band Width (10,2) contracts as the Average stalls. This volatility contraction could give way... READ MORE
There is no real change in the short-term or medium-term situation. Even though some sentiment indicators show excessive bullishness, SPY remains in a clear uptrend on the 60-minute chart and the daily chart. The chart below shows the 5-day EMA for the CBOE Total Put/Call... READ MORE
AKAM forms falling wedge. BMY traces out bull flag. CSCO breaks mid-December high. Plus EFTC, ISRG and STX. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We... READ MORE
The Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) remains in bull mode as the Conversion Line (blue) holds above the Base Line (red). The Kijun-sen (Base Line) equals: (26-period high + 26-period low)/2)). The Tenkan-sen (Conversion Line) equals: (9-period high + 9-period low)/2)). These two act like... READ MORE
Commentary on Art's Charts will be updated on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.... READ MORE
The S&P Sector PerfChart shows the consumer discretionary and industrials sectors leading the way in 2010. All sectors are up for the year, but these two are clearly the big leaders. Energy and materials came in a distance third and fourth, respectively. In a surprising twist, technology (XLK)... READ MORE
There is no change for the daily or intraday analysis. The uptrend and Santa Claus rally propelled the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) to a new 2010 high again on Wednesday. Once again, the tape rules the roost. Broken resistance from the November high turns into first support and... READ MORE
$CAKE tests support. $DELL shows strong OBV, $GRMN breaks wedge trendline. Plus $COL, $ERTS, $HRS, $ISRG. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to... READ MORE
Point & Figure charts provide clear support and resistance levels. The P&F chart below shows the Regional Bank SPDR (KRE) breaking above resistance that extends back to June (red 6 on the chart). The 2010 high around 30 marks the next target for this breakout. Click this image... READ MORE
The uptrend and Santa Claus rally propelled the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) to a new high for 2010. Once again, the tape rules the roost. Broken resistance from the November high turned into first support and held like a champ. There is really nothing much to add on... READ MORE
Stocks remained strong overall in December, but Intel (INTC) has been a noticeable laggard. The pink line shows the INTC:$NDX ratio. This relative strength comparative rises when Intel outperforms the Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) and falls when Intel underperforms. Intel has been lagging since mid November, which is when this... READ MORE
The song remains the same. Despite overly bullish sentiment and waning breadth, SPY continues to hold its gains and consolidate above the resistance break. Once again, price action or "the tape" rules the roost here. Chartists use all kinds of tools including momentum indicators, sentiment measures, breadth readings... READ MORE
$COL forms bearish engulfing at key retrace. $FLIR breaks triangle resistance. $MED surges and forms bullish pennant. Plus $AVP, $JAH, $LMT, $SYMC. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF... READ MORE
After declining from mid October to mid-November, TSL firmed near the 62% retracement mark over the last few weeks. The stock also has support here from the August consolidation. A break from the December range will trigger the next signal. Click this image for a live chart... READ MORE
Sentiment readings show excessive bullishness and breadth has been dragging for two weeks, but the uptrends remain in place and seasonality is bullish. The first chart shows the 5-day EMA for the CBOE Total Put/Call Ratio ($CPC) dipping below .75 and nearing its bullish extreme (.70). Prior dips... READ MORE
The US Dollar Index ($USD) remains within a long-term trading range, but the swing within that range is up after the November breakout. More importantly, the breakout is holding and rising rates are boosting the greenback. The first chart shows the US Dollar Index with resistance in the 88-... READ MORE
After a big gap down in July, Affymetrix began the long process of digesting this big loss. A long triangle consolidation formed over the last five months. December has been good to the stock with a steady advance and breakout over the last two days. Click this image for a... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary. Stocks stalled this week, but held their gains and remain in uptrends overall. Breadth has started to wane as the NYSE AD Line failed to break above its November high. However, the other three breadth lines broke above their November highs (Nasdaq... READ MORE
There is no much change on the daily chart. SPY remains overbought with a few sentiment indicators showing excessive bullishness and breadth waning. The VIX is trading at low levels and in a long-term support zone, the CBOE Total Put/Call Ratio ($CPC) shows excessive bullishness and the NYSE... READ MORE
The Utilities SPDR (XLU) is underperforming the broader market as it battles resistance from broken support. Also notice that a rising wedge formed the last few weeks. A break below wedge support would signal a continuation of the downtrend that has been in place since late October. Click this image... READ MORE
The Euro Currency Trust (FXE) broke wedge support as Forex traders returned to focus on Euro negatives (debt). This does not mean the Dollar has solved its problems. Merely, the focus has shifted back to the Euro. The chart below shows the flag breakout failing after just two days. A... READ MORE
$ADBE Shows Relative Weakness. $DELL Breaks Wedge Support. $MYL Breaks Resistance. Plus $FRX, $GILD, $PSA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think... READ MORE
With a surge in NYSE new 52-week lows this week, the Hindenburg Omen has triggered once again. The last such signal was in mid August. There is some debate on the exact criteria and thresholds. The chart below details the criteria set forth from James Miekka. According to Miekka,... READ MORE