Stocks moved sharply higher with a broad advance that lifted most boats. The Russell MicroCap iShares (IWC) and Russell 2000 iShares (IWM) led the charge with 3+ percent moves. As noted on Monday-Tuesday, small-caps have been outperforming in December and small-cap breadth was holding up better than large-cap breadth. Relative... READ MORE
Cuba is in the news today on the announcement that the US and Cuba will start talks to normalize ties. What does Cuba have to do with a Technical Analysis website? Well....I was looking at the most actives on the Nasdaq and saw CUBA with a 40+ percent gain... READ MORE
The S&P 500 is less than 6% from its all time high and the Nasdaq 100 is less than 7% below its all time high. While the December decline looks dramatic on its own and the short-term trend is down, keep in mind that the major index ETFs... READ MORE
Even though correlation is not always causation, selling pressure extended in stocks and oil got the blame. Light Crude Futures (^CLF15) fell another 3+ percent and hit $55.02 on the low. Stocks, and oil, got an early bounce Monday morning, but buying pressure soon dissipated and prices turned lower.... READ MORE
QQQ broke pennant support on Friday and continued below 102 on Monday to break its support zone. The early December trend line and last week's highs mark resistance at 105. Apple continues to work its way lower and I am marking resistance at 112. ************************************************************** IWM is still holding... READ MORE
The S&P 500 was hit pretty hard over the last six days with all nine sectors losing ground. There were, however, some pockets of strength in the consumer discretionary. The Sector Market Carpet shows performance for the consumer discretionary sector since last Monday, 8-December. Over a dozen green... READ MORE
Stocks fell sharply last week as the S&P 500 suffered its largest weekly decline since May 2012. This was also the fifth weekly decline greater than 2.5% this year. Note that the prior four declines did not derail the bull market because the S&P 500... READ MORE
Stocks got good news with the employment report last Friday and the bounce was rather tepid. Stocks got more good news with retail sales on Thursday, but failed to hold the bounce. The inability to rise in the face of good news is negative. Perhaps the stock market is starting... READ MORE
LinkedIn broke out and surged to a new high in early November, and then corrected the last five weeks with a falling channel. This channel retraced 62% of the prior surge and almost filled the gap, but didn't. Throw in support from broken resistance in the 205 area,... READ MORE
There are plenty of reasons for Wednesday's sell off: plunging oil, weakness in junk bonds, bank exposure to the energy sector, Greek drama and the usual Euro stuff. One thing was clear: there were more sellers than buyers on Wednesday. I do not know the reasons behind every... READ MORE
Small-caps are starting to live up to their reputation for outperformance in December. Even though the month is far from finished, the PerfChart below shows the Russell 2000 and the S&P Small-Cap 600 with 1+ percent gains so far. In contrast, the other seven indices are actually down... READ MORE
The major index ETFs were mixed on Tuesday, but the leadership role flipped in favor of small-caps. DIA, SPY and QQQ moved lower, while IWM and IJR edged higher. Moreover, small-caps opened weak with the rest of the market and came roaring back once participants figured out that most small-caps... READ MORE
Stocks moved lower on Monday with small-caps and energy shares leading the way. The Russell 2000 iShares (IWM) declined over 1% and the SmallCap Energy ETF (PSCE) declined over 7%. Even though the energy sector accounts for just 3.5% of IWM, an oversize decline like 7.6% will definitely... READ MORE
Stocks got a big dose of good news on Friday as non-farm payrolls added over 300,000 for the second time this year. The employment report capped off a strong week for economic indicators. Despite a positive news week, stocks were quite flat and Friday's gains were contained.... READ MORE
There are two bullish seasonal patterns at work right now. First, stocks have shown a strong tendency to advance in December. Second, small-caps have shown a strong tendency to outperform large-caps in December. Over the last twenty years, the S&P 500 has risen 75% of the time and... READ MORE
The Russell MicroCap iShares (IWC) is leading the market higher on Friday and breaking above a triangle trend line. The P&F chart shows the ETF surging in October and then consolidating in November. The red A marks the beginning of October and the red B marks the beginning... READ MORE
The market went into a risk-off mode on Thursday with the Russell 2000 iShares (IWM) losing .48% and the 20+ YR T-Bond ETF (TLT) surging .84% ahead of today's employment report. Even though the surge in Treasuries shows a certain flight to safety, I do not blame the... READ MORE
There has been a lot of chatter about the seasonal pattern for the S&P 500 in December, and it is bullish. StockCharts users do not need to rely on the chatter because they can chart seasonal patterns using our Seasonality Tool and see for themselves. The chart below... READ MORE
Stocks continued higher on Wednesday with small-caps leading for the second day running. Seven of nine sector SPDRs were higher with industrials, energy and materials leading. Energy is getting an oversold bounce, while industrials are showing some leadership as XLI nears a 52-week high. Tech stocks were helped with strength... READ MORE
Stocks rebounded with small-caps leading the way. SPY and QQQ finished with modest gains, while IWM jumped 1.2%. Despite one day of relative strength, small-caps still lag their large-cap brethren over the last few weeks. All nine sector SPDRs were up with finance, energy and healthcare leading. An oversold... READ MORE
The Broker-Dealer iShares (IAI) surged to the September high and then stalled with a three week consolidation. With a downward slope, this consolidation looks like a falling flag, which is a bullish continuation pattern. A breakout at 41 would signal a continuation higher and project a move to new highs.... READ MORE
Stocks were mostly lower on Monday with small-caps and mid-caps leading the decline. Large-caps held up relatively well with SPY losing just .69% on the day. Retail stocks suffered a black Friday hangover as the Retail SPDR (XRT) fell over 2%. The ETF, however, was up some 15% from its... READ MORE
Lower energy prices may be making solar less competitive and putting pressure on solar-related stocks. The chart shows the Solar Energy ETF (TAN) breaking down in Sep-Oct, consolidating with a triangle and breaking triangle support with a sharp two-day decline. This break signals a continuation of the prior decline and... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with some selling pressure on Friday, but SPY ended the week with a small gain and QQQ ended the week at a new high. The gains continue to be incremental and the advance is slowing, but it is still an advance and selling pressure remains subdued in... READ MORE
The Metals & Mining SPDR (XME) got a bounce with the stock market in the second half of October, but struggled in November with a trading range between 34 and 36.5. This struggle turned to weakness as the ETF gapped down on Friday and fell sharply. A follow through... READ MORE
Oil remains weak overall and so do the energy related ETFs (XLE, XOP, XES). The chart below shows the Oil & Gas Equip & Services SPDR (XES) hitting a new low in October and then consolidating with a triangle. The pink lines show the Bollinger Bands narrowing like a noose... READ MORE
Fastenal continues to improve on the chart with two bullish patterns and signs of accumulation. First, a big island reversal formed at the stock gapped below 43.5 in early October and gapped back above this level in late October. Second, the stock broke pennant resistance with a move above... READ MORE
The PerfChart below shows the nine small-cap sector ETFs and the Russell 2000 iShares (IWM). Notice that the SmallCap Consumer Discretionary ETF (PSCD) and the SmallCap Technology ETF (PSCT) led over the last five days with bigger gains. Throw in the SmallCap Industrials ETF (PSCI) and three of the four... READ MORE
Stocks surged out of the gate on Friday, but fell back in the afternoon and closed off their highs. The action was mostly positive, but small-caps again underperformed as the S&P SmallCap iShares (IJR) closed fractionally lower. Large-caps still rule the rally. All sectors were up with industrials,... READ MORE
Stocks continued to take baby steps higher with the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials closing at all time (closing) highs. Even though the Russell 2000 and S&P Small-Cap 600 remain below their prior highs, they are less than 4% from these highs and both formed bullish... READ MORE
The S&P 500 is up over 7% the last five weeks, but IBM is down and flirting with new lows. The chart below shows the Relative Rotation Graph (RRG) with all thirty Dow stocks. With the Dow Industrials as the benchmark, we are seeing the relative performance rotations... READ MORE
Small-caps weighed on the stock market again as IWM fell over 1%. Techs were also a bit weak with QQQ falling a half percent and SPY held up the best with a fractional loss. Despite a mixed and overbought stock market, there were some positive takeaways on Wednesday. The Retail... READ MORE
There is a little gem in the middle of the home page that shows the biggest moves for the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR). Clicking "Top Up" will show the biggest relative performance gainers, while clicking "Top Down" will show the biggest relative performance losers. Today we... READ MORE
Stocks moved higher on Tuesday with the major index ETFs posting modest gains. Incremental gains are the hallmark of this advance since late October. SPY is up ten of the last twelve days and the total advance is around 2%. Sure, upside momentum is slowing and buying pressure is waning,... READ MORE
Stocks meandered again in mixed trading. Small-caps were weak as IWM fell .83%, but large-caps held firm as SPY and DIA closed with fractional gains. If you are looking for that small correction, look no further than small-caps because IWM is down around 2% in the last three days. If... READ MORE
The Energy SPDR (XLE) is by far the weakest sector in the market right now. Most of its 43 components are in downtrends and well below the summer-autumn highs. One stock, however, stands out from this crowd. The chart below shows Tesoro (TSO) breaking out to new highs in mid... READ MORE
Stocks were mostly higher last week, but there were some pockets of weakness. QQQ led the broader market with a 1.59% gain and IWM lagged as the ETF fell a fraction (-.02%). The consumer discretionary and technology sectors gained and showed relative strength last week. The finance, energy... READ MORE
The stock market is in a clear uptrend, but is short-term overbought after a big run the last four weeks. I am assuming that the trend is up because the S&P 500, S&P 500 Equal-Weight Index, Dow Industrials, Dow Transports, Nasdaq 100 and Nasdaq Composite recorded... READ MORE
Stocks finished very mixed on Thursday. DIA, QQQ and SPY finished with small gains, while IWM and IWC finished with modest losses. The Russell 2000 iShares (IWM) fell .85% and the Russell MicroCap iShares (IWC) was down 1.10%. Weakness in small-caps is the reason many breadth indicators were negative... READ MORE
The 20+ YR T-Bond ETF (TLT) went ballistic in mid October with a surge above 125 and then sharply reversed with a close below 122 the next day. The ETF has since worked its way lower and volatility has seriously contracted. Notice that Bollinger BandWidth is at its lowest level... READ MORE