Directional changes seem to be more important than magnitude indicators these days. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last. The advance over the last two weeks started with a seemingly meek reversal. Volume was low and breadth was not that impressive when the stock market... READ MORE
The CandleGlance charts show the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and its top five components (the video shows the top ten components). It is easy to see why QQQ is so strong. Google hit a new high above 1200 today, Apple is up 10% from its January low and Microsoft hit... READ MORE
Stocks begin a four-day week in strong short-term uptrends that are quite extended. In just two weeks, SPY is up over 5.66%, QQQ is up 6.55% and IWM is up around 5%. Even though stocks are ripe for a short-term pullback or consolidation, the medium-term trends are up... READ MORE
APOL Stalls after High Volume Decline. BAC Holds Flag Break. Plus GES, MDR, RRD Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell or sell-short... READ MORE
Chartists can find sectors with consistent performance by analyzing PerfCharts across different timeframes. The three PerfCharts show different performance periods for the S&P 500 and the nine sector SPDRs. I am looking at year-to-date performance and then dividing 2014 into two parts. The first part covers the period... READ MORE
The StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) shows relative performance for the S&P 500 stocks, S&P SmallCap 600 and S&P MidCap 400. Stocks with the highest values show the most relative strength. The screenshot below shows the S&P 500 stocks with the biggest positive... READ MORE
Stocks opened weak after a decline in retail sales, but soon caught a bid and closed strong. Buying pressure in the face of negative news is positive for the stock market. Also note that stocks advanced even as the 20+ YR T-Bond ETF (TLT) moved higher. These two have been... READ MORE
The screen shot below comes from a ChartList viewed in "summary" format using a one month price change. Overall, the market is quite mixed with five of the sector SPDRs down over the past month and only four up. The Utilities SPDR (XLU) and the Utilities Equal-Weight ETF... READ MORE
Stocks turned a bit mixed on Wednesday. The Dow Diamonds (DIA) edged lower, while the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) edged higher. The price movements in the sector SPDRs were quite small. Tech stocks were strong again as the Semiconductor SPDR (XSD) surged 1.77% to lead the way and record... READ MORE
ARUN Tests the Breakout Zone. ASEI Forms Wedge near Key Retracement. Plus BOOM, EMKR, FNSR, JBHT, MS, S Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to... READ MORE
Amazon (AMZN), the biggest internet retailer in the world, was immune to weakness in the retail group for most of January, but finally broke down with a break away gap. After an oversold bounce above 360, the stock is continuing lower today with a move below 350. The rising 200-day... READ MORE
Stocks extended the rally with the major index ETFs gaining around 1%. The rally seemed big because the Dow gained almost 200 points, but it was actually modest in percentage terms. DIA did lead the way with a 1.27% advance. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) lagged again with a... READ MORE
Looking for the big momentum movers? Check out the MarketCarpet using StochRSI in change mode. StochRSI is the Stochastic Oscillator applied to RSI, which makes it RSI on steroids. Clicking the change icon at the top shows the big movers. Today, we are seeing NE, CNX and GS with upside... READ MORE
Stocks extended their bounce with small gains in the major index ETFs on Monday. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) led the way with a .57% gain and the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) gained .18% on the day. The sectors were mixed with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY), Industrials... READ MORE
COST Holds the Gap FDX Breaks a Flag Line. Pus GERN, GS, JBL, X Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell or sell-short... READ MORE
Altera, which is part of the semiconductor group, is showing relative strength this year with a price breakout and new high for the year (2014). The stock established support from mid November to mid January and broke out with a gap in January. After some backing and filling, the stock... READ MORE
Stocks rebounded at the end of the week with the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) posting modest gains (+.84% and +1.19%). The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the Russell MicroCap iShares (IWC), however, posted weekly losses of 1.26% and 1.91%, respectively.... READ MORE
After a plunge below 78 to start the week, the Retail SPDR (XRT) firmed with a harami on Monday-Tuesday and then formed a hammer on Wednesday. These are bullish candlestick reversal patterns that require confirmation, which came with a gap and surge to 80. Even though the short-term reversal is... READ MORE
Stocks got their oversold bounce with a decent advance, but small-caps lagged and breadth could have been stronger. SPY fell sharply on Monday and was down over 5% year-to-date at the time. The ETF firmed for two days and then bounced with its biggest 1-day advance of the year, which... READ MORE
Network security company Palo Alto Networks is resuming its uptrend with a flag breakout on twice its average volume. PANW surged to a new high earlier this year and pulled back with a flag the last few weeks. Notice that broken resistance turned into support in the 58 area. The... READ MORE
Stocks remained under pressure with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) falling .75% and the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) losing .12%. Selling pressure, however, was contained as the Dow Diamonds (DIA) ended the day with a small gain. The sectors were mixed with the Energy SPDR (XLE) falling .98%... READ MORE
Three Stocks with a Selling Climax Plus Three Firming at Support Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell or sell-short said securities** This... READ MORE
Edwards Life Sciences (EW) has been underperforming the biotech group for over a year, but the stock showed signs of buying interest with a bullish engulfing on high volume and follow through surge on Wednesday. Also note that support in the 65 area extends back to May and the stock... READ MORE
Stocks got a small bounce on Tuesday with mid-caps leading the way higher. All sectors were higher with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY), Finance SPDR (XLF) and Energy SPDR (XLE) gaining over 1%. All three were beaten down pretty good and were ripe for some sort of bounce. With a... READ MORE
Stocks took a beating over the last few weeks, and some more than others. The Sector MarketCarpet below reflects the absolute value for RSI on February 3rd. Stocks with low RSI values have dark red squares, while stocks with relatively high values have green squares. Most of the green can... READ MORE
Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell or sell-short said securities** This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy,... READ MORE
Stocks got slammed as the perfect storm just got more perfect. The list of negatives continues to grow. Starting internally, stocks were ripe for a correction in mid January and the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) has underperformed the entire year. Externally, the 20+ YR T-Bond ETF (TLT) has outperformed the... READ MORE
It has been a rough few months for LinkedIn as the stock fell from the 255 area in September to the 200 area in early December. The stock, however, is finding some support near the rising 200-day moving average with a big bullish engulfing. After a pullback in mid January,... READ MORE
After a big decline two weeks ago, stocks moved into a choppy consolidation last week. SPY produced three gaps two weeks ago and another three gaps last week. SPY gapped down from resistance on 23-Jan and gapped down again on 24-Jan en route to a sharp two-day decline. This decline... READ MORE
High-Low Percent for the S&P 1500 dipped into negative territory in late January. This is potentially significant because prior dips did not extend past the -2% level and marked turning points in the S&P 1500. The chart below shows the S&P 1500 High-Low Line... READ MORE
It has been a rough year for global equity markets, but the S&P/TSX Composite ($TSX) is bucking the trend with a small gain year-to-date. Notice that the Hang Seng Composite ($HSI) and Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) are leading Asia lower, while the Bovespa ($BVSP) is weighing on Latin... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with more selling pressure and the major index ETFs are now down year-to-date. This was enough to push the momentum indicators into negative territory and prompt a downgrade. This pullback, however, could be just a correction. Interestingly, large-caps led this decline and small-caps are holding up well.... READ MORE
Stocks got an oversold bounce with the major index ETFs gaining over 1% on the day. All nine sectors moved higher with the consumer discretionary, finance, technology, healthcare and utilities sectors gaining over 1%. The Home Construction iShares (ITB) lagged with a small loss and the Retail SPDR (XRT) only... READ MORE
After a sharp decline the last three days, the stock market was oversold and ripe for a bounce. Looking through the predefined scans page, chartists can find a great scan for this situation, such as the "oversold with an improving RSI" scan. While not every stock has a... READ MORE
ALTR Attempts to Hold Breakout. MSFT Bounces on Good Volume. Plus HUM, HFC, TSO, VZ Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell or... READ MORE
After a small bounce late Monday and Tuesday, stocks opened weak and remained weak on Wednesday. Stocks are still short-term oversold and the long-term trend remains up. This means we have a setup for an oversold bounce. The chart below shows the 10-day SMA for S&P 1500 AD... READ MORE
The 20+ YR T-Bond ETF (TLT), which is one of the best performing ETFs this year, is challenging its October high after a 5+ percent advance this year. The double bottom lows are around 101 and resistance is set at 108. A breakout here would target further strength to the... READ MORE
Stocks firmed on Tuesday and managed a bounce with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) leading the way. Eight of the nine sectors were up with the Finance SPDR (XLF) and HealthCare SPDR (XLV) advancing over 1.3%. The Technology SPDR (XLK) fell as weakness in Apple hit this market-cap weighted... READ MORE
CTXS Lags and Breaks Key Trend Line. CVC Makes a Big Move on Good Volume. Plus DS, DUK, KLAC, MCD Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a... READ MORE
Stocks started the day weak, got a bounce in the afternoon and then moved lower in the final thirty minutes of trading. Overall, the major index ETFs closed with losses and small-caps led the way lower as IWM fell 1.46%. Small-caps were holding up well, but are starting to... READ MORE