Despite a rough ride in September, the S&P 500 is still up 14% year-to-date and the Nasdaq 100 is up a whopping 40%. The gains here, however, do not tell the entire story because many stocks are struggling in 2023. In fact, around half of the... READ MORE
Chartists looking to get the jump on a bigger breakout can turn to the swings within a developing pattern. For example, a Symmetrical Triangle after an advance is a bullish continuation pattern. We can get the jump on a breakout by trading a downswing reversal within the pattern. Let'... READ MORE
QQQ remains well above the rising 200-day SMA, but clearly shifted from bullish to bearish over the last two months. Today's report/video will show this momentum shift and analyze the short-term continuation pattern taking shape. The chart below shows QQQ trading well above the rising... READ MORE
The pockets of strength are shrinking as more stocks succumb to selling pressure. The Nasdaq 100 is the strongest of the major indexes, while the Finance sector is one of the weakest sectors. Today's report will highlight two leaders within the Nasdaq 100 and two laggards within the... READ MORE
Stocks were hit hard the last two weeks with the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) breaking below its August low. SPY also forged a lower high from July to August. Stocks and ETFs that held above their August lows are showing relative strength. With that in mind, the three... READ MORE
Stocks fell sharply in September with the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) breaking below its August low. Chartists can now use this low as a benchmark low to gauge relative performance. Stocks that held above the August low are showing relative strength. This is valuable information because stocks that... READ MORE
It has been a rough ride for most commodities this year and especially over the last 100 trading days (since May). Of the twelve spot prices I track, nine are up and three are down. Precious metals, base metals, lumber and grains are all down. The energy complex is the... READ MORE
A few large-caps and large-cap techs are holding up, but other areas of the market are showing weakness. Namely, the Retail SPDR (XRT) and Regional Bank ETF (KRE) are two of the weakest groups right now. These two groups are under selling pressure and this could bode ill... READ MORE
The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) closed below the 200-day SMA for the first time since, well, June 1st. The last cross was not that long ago and recent crosses simply resulted in whipsaws. Truth be told, 200-day SMA crosses are not that relevant for IWM. The chart below... READ MORE
The S&P 500 SPDR bounced the last three weeks, but we did not see an improvement in breadth. Weak breadth is also reflected in performance for mid-caps and small-caps, which are lagging. Even so, SPY and QQQ are in short-term uptrends and I am watching... READ MORE
Stocks surged in the second half of August with several ETFs breaking out of corrective patterns, such as falling flags or falling wedges. Even though September is a seasonally weak month, these breakouts are bullish until proven otherwise. Today's commentary will analyze the breakout in the Technology SPDR... READ MORE
There is some validity to the best six months strategy, but investors would probably be better off with a simple timing tool. According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, the best six-month period runs from November to April. The worst six-month period runs from May to October.... READ MORE
Stocks were hit hard in August with QQQ leading the way lower and breaking its July low. Stocks that did not break their July lows are holding up better and showing relative strength. These are the stocks I want on my WatchList for tradable pullbacks and short-term breakouts. AMAT... READ MORE
CrowdStrike (CRWD) is separating itself from the rest of the pack with a breakout and nine month high. The chart below shows CRWD with an uptrend working throughout 2023. The stock bottomed in January, advanced to the 140 area and hit resistance here in March-April (thick red line). The... READ MORE
Cisco (CSCO) is showing leadership qualities again as it breaks out of a classic bullish continuation pattern and hits a new high. The chart below shows CSCO forming a cup-with-handle pattern, which was popularized by William O'Neil of IBD. This is a bullish continuation pattern, which... READ MORE
It does not always happen, but sometimes the indicator and chart signals align to send a powerful message. Datadog (DDOG) sports a confirmed bullish reversal on the price chart and a trend signal from the Trend Composite. Today's article will review these signals and highlight a developing short-... READ MORE
The weight of the evidence remains bullish for stocks, but this is not a bull market that lifts all boats. It is a relatively selective bull market led by technology, housing and a few other groups. This is not necessarily bad. It is, however, important to separate the leaders from... READ MORE
A long-term chart shows why the Nasdaq 100 is the place to be, or at least, "was" the place to be. Past performance does not guarantee future performance. The performance chart below shows the 16+ year percentage gain for QQQ and five other ETFs. These include the... READ MORE
Trend-momentum strategies that trade stock-based ETFs should require two conditions before considering a position. First, broad market conditions should be bullish. This means being long stocks in bull markets and out of stocks in bear markets. Second, the trend for the ETF should be up. Employing these basic... READ MORE
The S&P 500 recently moved above its February high to extend its uptrend, but all is not well under the surface. Fewer stocks are participating in the May advance and a key breadth indicator formed a bearish divergence. Bearish divergences form when price records a higher high and... READ MORE
My research suggests that profit targets improve results for trend-momentum strategies that trade ETFs. Note that performance improvements may differ for other strategies. This article will first show a trend-momentum setup on the chart. I will then provide some performance metrics for a basic strategy with and without... READ MORE
Chartists can find leaders by ranking ETF performance in ATR multiples, and there is even an indicator for that. Normalized-ROC puts point performance in ATR multiples and we can compare these values against others. Current Normalized-ROC leaders include the Home Construction ETF (13.37), the Technology SPDR (6.... READ MORE
Chartists looking for momentum leaders should consider more than one timeframe. A stock may be leading over the last 200 days, but lagging over the last 100 days. Similarly, a stock could show big gains the last 100 days, but still be down over the last 200 days. Measuring performance... READ MORE
Trend-momentum strategies trading ETFs were appealing because they generated lower drawdowns and decent returns. Trend-momentum strategies trading stocks, in contrast, were often subject to higher drawdowns, though returns were higher. While I cannot speak for all ETF strategies, my experience shows that ETF strategies have lost their low-... READ MORE
Overbought and oversold conditions are tricky because stocks can become overbought/oversold and remain overbought/oversold as the move continues. This is why traders need another indicator or chart signal for confirmation. Today's article to look at some recent overbought/oversold conditions and use the PPO for timing.... READ MORE
Breadth is holding up for Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) stocks, but deteriorating for S&P 500 index ($SPX) stocks. I view this as a warning sign for the stock market. Breadth indicators measure the degree of participation. For example, the percentage of S&P 500 stocks above the 50-... READ MORE
Small-caps are leading the way lower and breadth indicators are showing some serious deterioration under the surface. Large-caps are holding up for now, but keep in mind that weakness in small-caps foreshadowed the January 2022 peak in SPY. Today's article will compare price charts for... READ MORE
Sometimes markets trend, sometimes they oscillate and sometimes they simply frustrate. I would venture to guess that trading since 2022 falls into the frustration basket. Trend following and momentum strategies are suffering because big moves are failing to extend and develop into trends. Mean-reversion strategies were doing well, but... READ MORE
Chartists considering a trend-following strategy can use the Trend Composite to identify trend signals and then turn to the ATR Trailing Stop for an exit strategy. A bearish Trend Composite signal could also be used as an exit strategy, but these signals usually trigger later than the ATR Trailing... READ MORE
Stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trading at or near new highs lead with clear uptrends. These are the names you'd want on your ChartLists or portfolio. You can find leaders by checking the list of 52-week highs or by using the StochClose indicator, which is part... READ MORE
The stock market has been a tough place for trend-following since January 2022, which is when the S&P 500 first triggered a bearish trend signal. The bearish signal in question is the humble 5/200 day SMA cross. There were whipsaws in the first quarter of 2022... READ MORE
The S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) is a period of big swings and above average volatility. There were six swings of at least 10% from late January to early February 2023. Looking at other 12-14 month periods, this is the fourth most in the last 23 years. There... READ MORE
Stocks went on a tear from late December to early February with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) advancing some 11% from low to high. SPY then pulled back last week with a 2.5% decline from the February 2 high to the 10-February 10 low. A... READ MORE
Last week I featured the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) with a clear resistance level to beat. Even though the 2022 decline could be a correction after a big advance, the ETF is short of a breakout and trend reversal. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) also has a clear... READ MORE
The S&P 500 index has been trending lower since its peak in January 2022, but this decline could be a long correction after a massive advance. The pattern taking shape and the retracement amount is typical for corrections. Today's article highlights this setup and shows the... READ MORE
Trevor Lawrence put in a performance for the ages in the AFC Wild Card game on Saturday. Chapeaux! Lawrence started the game with four interceptions in the first half but kept on throwing and brought his team back for a big win. There are some lessons here that we can... READ MORE
The stock market has a long-term bullish bias and the monthly return metrics reflect this positive bias. Chartists looking for a seasonal edge can compare benchmark metrics with the monthly performance numbers. Months that outperform the benchmarks have a positive bias, while months that seriously underperform have a negative... READ MORE
The SPDR S&P 500 exchange-traded fund (SPY) surged from mid-October to early December, but this advance was considered a counter-trend bounce within a bigger downtrend. And this week, SPY reversed its short-term uptrend and the bearish technical setup was similar to the last two... READ MORE
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) crossed its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) for the 173rd time since 2000 and the performance for this "signal" is not that great. Buying and selling the 200-day SMA cross produced a lower return than buy and hold. This... READ MORE
2022 has been a tough market for trend-followers, but swing traders have been able to catch a few rides. Trend-followers are suffering because whipsaws are above average this year. A whipsaw occurs when an uptrend cannot extend after a bullish trend signal and the trade results in a... READ MORE