Stocks tried to front run the Fed and got burned when Bernanke stuck to his guns on tapering. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up over 3% in the run up to the Fed meeting and fell 1.38% on Wednesday. The sharp decline in stocks warranted a... READ MORE
Bearish Continuation Patterns Takes Shape for CB. FCX Cannot Hold a Bid. Plus JBHT, MAR and VRSN. 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
The Corn ETN (CORN) is leading a surge in soft commodities. The chart below shows the ETN breaking out in late May and then falling back in June with a wedge. The wedge low held above the prior lows and the ETN broke wedge resistance with a strong move the... READ MORE
Stocks extended their upswing as the major index ETFs broke channel resistance. Small-caps led this week's advanced as the IWM:SPY ratio moved to its highest level of the month. Relative strength in small caps suggests a good appetite for risk at the moment. There is a lot... READ MORE
The Agribusiness ETF (MOO) broke channel resistance with a surge above 55, but fell back rather sharply over the last four weeks. The five week trend is down as a falling wedge takes shape. Even though the ETF firmed the last five days, it remains short of a trend reversing... READ MORE
Stocks surged on the open on Monday, fell back in the afternoon and then popped near the close. Intraday price action was not that impressive because there was really no follow through to the morning surge. Even though the major index ETFs finished with modest gains on the day, they... READ MORE
ADI Surges with Two Bullish Patterns at Work. ETFC Forms Bullish Consolidation after Big Surge. Plus FDX, HON, NBR, PG, TSO 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
Netflix, which is no stranger to gaps, gapped up in April held this gap throughout May. A falling wedge pushed the stock back toward the gap zone in June, but this wedge ended with a gap on good volume. The breakout-gap is bullish as long as it holds. Click this... READ MORE
Trading has sure been choppy the last four weeks, and it could get even choppier as the Fed meets this week. Ugh. The talk of Fed tapering began 4-5 weeks ago and this triggered an adjustment in the markets. The PerfChart below shows the S&P 500, the 10-year... READ MORE
The S&P 500 got a two day bounce last week and a nice surge on Thursday, but fell back Friday as it met resistance at 1650, which is now the short-term level to beat. Overall, notice that the index formed a falling flag type correction the last four... READ MORE
The iShares Emerging Market Bond ETF (EMB) formed a double top from December to May and confirmed this pattern with a support break in late May. Notice that the ETF fell over 8% as rumors of Fed tapering hit the market. This decline reflects some serious chaos and surely rattled... READ MORE
There is still no change in the indicator summary. Stocks corrected last four weeks and this correction weighed on the NYSE the most. The NYSE AD Line fell, but remains in an uptrend overall. NYSE Net New Highs turned negative for the first time since November. While I am concerned... READ MORE
Stocks caught a bid on Thursday as the major index ETFs advanced over 1% on the day. A better-than-expected retail sales report put stocks on a positive footing from the start and they extended their advance throughout the day. There is also talk that the Fed will start jawboning down... READ MORE
The Homebuilders SPDR (XHB) is finding support with a bounce last week and small gain in early trading on Thursday. Notice that the ETF is trading near the November trend line and the 61.80% retracement. These two items suggest support is at hand. A break above last week'... READ MORE
ANF Forms Island Reversal. BHI Gaps Down and Tests Support. Plus FL, IBM, MMM, NEM, URBN 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 for... READ MORE
The Asian rout continues as the Shanghai Composite ($SSEC) caught up with a 2.83% decline on Thursday. The Hang Seng Index ($HSI) fell another 2.3% and the Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) plunged over 6%. European stocks are also down with the major indices falling around 1% in early trading... READ MORE
The 7-10 year T-Bond ETF (IEF) opened weak and closed strong on Tuesday to forge an outside reversal day or bullish engulfing pattern. This is potentially positive, but we have yet to see follow through with a break above first resistance at 105. Also notice that the Commodity Channel Index... READ MORE
Stocks opened weak, got a pretty nice bounce and then turned lower to close weak. The major index ETFs were down around 1%. All sectors were down with the Energy SPDR (XLE) and Basic Materials SPDR (XLB) leading the way. Weakness in these two can be attributed to declines in... READ MORE
With a bounce after the open on Tuesday, the Regional Bank SPDR (KRE) is showing resilience as it challenges flag resistance. Notice how the ETF surged from mid April to mid May and then corrected with the falling zigzag (flag). A breakout at 33.25 would signal a continuation higher.... READ MORE
US stocks are actually looking vulnerable on the charts as the major index ETFs stall near resistance levels and key retracements. Also note that Asian stocks were weak on Tuesday with the Shanghai Composite ($SSEC), Hang Seng Index ($HSI) and Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) falling over 1%. Emerging stock markets were... READ MORE
AAPL Battles Resistance after Announcements. AEO Forms Bear Flag. Plus COST, FCX, MHK, VLO 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 for ourselves when... READ MORE
StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) for the S&P SmallCap 600 ($SML) ranks 600 small-cap stocks according to their technical strength. Chartists can also sort this table by change to find the bigger (relative) movers. Cbeyond (CBEY), B&G Foods (BGS) and Tangoe Inc (TNGO) are leading today with... READ MORE
Stocks reacted positively to a rather routine employment report. The Labor department reported a 175,000 increase in non-farm payrolls for May. This is the not-to-hot and not-to-cold version of the jobs report. It is enough to suggest modest economic growth and keep the hopes alive for sustained quantitative easing.... READ MORE
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) fell below 72 on Thursday, but rallied to forge a strong close and form a hammer. Also notice that volume surged to its highest in over three months. QQQ followed through with a gap and move above 73, but has yet to break flag resistance... READ MORE
The market is hitting its first make-or-break point. The bulk of the evidence remains bullish and this decline is still considered a correction within a bigger uptrend. The current decline, however, has extended long enough to push some indicators to the brink though. NYSE Net New Highs have been flirting... READ MORE
And now for the employment report. Here's the thing with these big reports. Traders have to get two things right to successfully trade the report. First, you have to guess the non-farm payroll number. Second, you have to guess the market's reaction. The report can be... READ MORE
Finisar (FNSR) has had a tough year so far, but the stock is showing signs of life after a bear trap in late May (failed support break) and gap breakout in early June. Also notice that RSI is challenging range resistance and a breakout at 60 would be bullish for... READ MORE
It was a sea of red on Wednesday as the major index ETFs extended their declines and all nine sectors fell. That's the bad news. The good news, perhaps, is that the stock market is short-term oversold now. The upcoming employment numbers represent the uncertain news. The economic... READ MORE
BBRY Tests Channel Support with Bounce. DE Breaks Flag Support. Plus IMAX, KBH, MWV, PKI 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 for ourselves... READ MORE
Target (TGT) surged to a new high above 72, but failed to hold above 72 as a shooting star candlestick formed on Tuesday. The stock went on to fill Tuesday's gap with a long filled candlestick on Wednesday. This confirms the shooting star and resistance in the 71-72... READ MORE
Stocks were all over the place on Tuesday. The major index ETFs opened stronger, moved lower during the day and bounced in the afternoon. Despite this bounce, the major index ETFs closed lower with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) leading the way (-1.06%). All sectors were lower with the... READ MORE
Facebook (FB) led the market from late October until early January, but stumbled in January and has lagged the S&P 500 since. Despite relative weakness and a 4-5 month downtrend, support could be near as the stock trades near the 61.80% retracement and broken resistance. Click this... READ MORE
Stocks opened weak, but firmed and rebounded in the afternoon. The major index ETFs finished mixed on the day with the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) falling .34% and the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) rising .95% on the day. Wow, you don't see that very often.... READ MORE
AMCC Makes a Move with Good Volume. ASEI Tests Support with Long Lower Shadow. Plus CAT, ISRG, JBLU, NIHD 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
Weakness is spreading in Asia as the Australian All Ords Index ($AORD) breaks support from the April lows. The chart below shows the index testing support last week. $AORD closed at 4873 on Monday, which is just below the April lows. Also notice that the index has been underperforming the... READ MORE
The major index ETFs closed lower as stocks were hit with some pretty strong selling pressure Friday afternoon. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) led the way with a 1.44% decline. All sectors were down with the Healthcare SPDR (XLV), Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) and Utilities SPDR (XLU)... READ MORE
The US Dollar Index ($USD) is in a long-term uptrend, but the index pulled back this week to test the most recent breakout. A strong breakout should hold, while a weak breakout would fold. This is am important test for the greenback as we head into a big economic reporting... READ MORE
Gold stocks remain down in the dumps and in long-term downtrends, but signs of short-term strength are emerging. Randgold (GOLD) formed a higher low in May and the current X-Column broke above the prior X-Column to forge a P&F breakout. This breakout, however, is still below the Bearish... READ MORE
After hitting new highs in mid May, the major index ETFs moved into consolidation patterns the last two weeks. A little rest, or even a pullback, would be healthy for the uptrend. With this sideway movement, there is no change in the indicator summary. Of note, the Nasdaq is showing... READ MORE
Stocks moved higher again on Thursday with mid-caps leading the way. The overall gains were modest though and the major index ETFs remain below Tuesday's highs. The Finance SPDR (XLF) led the sectors here with a 1.2% gain on the day. The Technology SPDR (XLK) and Industrials... READ MORE