AAN Fails to hold Breakout. BBRY Underperforms the Market. Plus BTU, CHH, FCX, FDX, SYMC, XME 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 advance may be slowing, but stocks continue to grind higher. The major index ETFs finished with small gains as the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained .02% and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) advanced .14%. The sectors were mixed with the Technology SPDR (XLK) edging lower and the... READ MORE
Solar stocks are on the move today and volume is increasing in several names. The image below comes from the "strong volume gainers" scan on the pre-defined scans page. Click any of the headings to sort this table. There are five solar-related stocks making the cut. Click this... READ MORE
Stocks edged higher in the morning and lower in the afternoon. As a result, the major index ETFs finished mixed on the day with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) closing slightly higher and the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) closing slightly lower. The Energy SPDR (XLE) led the sectors with a... READ MORE
BSBR Gets Set for another Go at Resistance. FDX Breaks Pennant Resistance. Plus ANF, FNSR, STLD 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
Energy related stocks are catching a bid as Spot Light Crude ($WTIC) challenges the $97. The chart below shows the Oil & Gas Equipment/Services SPDR (XES) breaking flag resistance and hitting a 52-week high on Monday. The flag zone now turns into support. Click this image for a live... READ MORE
There are simply no sellers out there. We can argue about low volume levels, the artificial Fed affect and lackluster economic data, but there are clearly more buyers than sellers in the stock market and stocks are rising. Admittedly, stocks are getting quite overextended again and ripe for a rest.... READ MORE
There were concerns a month ago when the defensive sectors were leading the market, but this changed as the offensive sectors took control over the past month. The defensive sectors include healthcare, consumer staples and utilities. The offensive sectors include technology, consumer discretionary, industrials and financials. Chartists can use PerfCharts... READ MORE
Stocks and the Dollar are performing well as both trade near six month highs. This strength is at the expense of Treasuries and gold, which are trading well below their November levels. The US Dollar Index ($USD) is trading at its highest levels since last summer. Spot Gold ($GOLD) has... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary as stocks extended their gains again this week. The AD Lines and AD Volume Lines hit new highs. Net New Highs remain firmly positive. Momentum is bullish, if not short-term overbought. However, as we have seen since mid November, the term overbought... READ MORE
Stocks were trading flat most of the day, but got hit with selling pressure in the final hour. As a result, the major index ETFs closed modestly lower. The S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell around .50% on the day. Eight... READ MORE
Chartists can view the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) for stocks in the S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600, S&P MidCap 400 and Toronto Stock Exchange. These ranks can be sorted by change to find the biggest movers. Simply click the column heading the sort. Cisco... READ MORE
ALTR surges and forms small flag. ANN breaks wedge resistance with good volume. Plus BG, CIEN and EMC. 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
Stocks extended their uptrends with modest gains. All of the major index ETFs moved higher with the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) leading the way. Both were up just less than 1%. Eight of the nine sectors were up with only... READ MORE
The Networking iShares (IGN) moved lower from early February to mid April and then bounced the last five weeks. This bounce is forming a rising wedge and nearing broken support, which turns resistance. RSI is also in its resistance zone (50-60). Thus, the moment-of-truth of truth is near with Cisco... READ MORE
Stocks surged and closed strong with small-caps leading the charge. All of the major index ETFs were up, but the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and Nasdaq 100 Equal-Weight ETF (QQEW) lagged with relatively small gains (less than .50%). Apple was down sharply and weighed on QQQ. Relative strength in small-caps... READ MORE
The overall trend for the CRB Index ($CRB) is down this year, but the index bounced back above 288 this month. It looks like a strong jobs report and rebound in commodities was more than Treasuries could take as the 30-Year US Treasury ($USB) fell over 4% this month. Notice... READ MORE
ABC Forms Bear Flag. FLIR Traces out Rising Wedge. Plus HPQ, PG, T This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for ourselves when it... READ MORE
Stocks meandered on Monday as the major index ETFs finished the day mixed. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and S&P 500 Equal-Weight ETF (RSP) edged lower, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) finished slightly higher. The materials sector was hit as... READ MORE
The chart below shows six commodity group ETFs from PowerShares. The Silver Trust (DBS) and Precious Metals Trust (DBP) are the weakest year-to-date, while the Energy Trust (PBE) and Oil Trust (DBO) the only ones with gains, albeit small gains. These year-to-date gains stem from strength in Natural Gas ($NATGAS)... READ MORE
The intermarket picture is getting interesting with some big moves last week. First, stocks and oil have been moving higher since April 19th. The US Oil Fund (USO) is up almost 9%, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up just over 5%. Strength in these two helped... READ MORE
The S&P 500 %Above 200-day SMA ($SPXA200R) is a breadth indicator that measures the degree of participation. The S&P 500 is trading near a 52-week high and over 90% of its components are above their 200-day moving average. This shows a high degree of participation and... READ MORE
It does not get more bullish than this, which may be a sign that things are getting too bullish. The AD Lines, AD Volume Lines, major index ETFs and offensive sectors all hit 52-week highs this past week. It is as if the bull market got back in sync as... READ MORE
Stocks took a little breather on Thursday as the major index ETFs edged lower. The losses were fractional, but the markets were clearly shaken by something in the afternoon. Rumors were swirling that the Fed may hint at changes to its quantitative easing program. This is believable because jobless claims... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) surged to new highs in May, but the defensive sectors did not go along for the ride. The CandeGlance charts below show the Healthcare SPDR (XLV), Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) and Utilities SPDR (XLU) peaking in late April. XLP and XLV have traded... READ MORE
APOL Holds Support after Pullback. FNSR Fails to Hold Breakout and Forms Bearish Pattern. Plus DNDN, HSY, LAZ, WIN, WTW 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... READ MORE
Stocks are the place to be, the only place to be. The performance chart below shows the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) up a whopping 15.21% year-to-date. 99.99% of fund managers would kill the other .01% for an annual return like this, not to mention a six... READ MORE
Point & Figure charts filter out the noise and ignore time to give chartists a clean look at price action. On the 60-minute P&F chart below, the S&P 500 bounced off the 1540 level three times since mid March. This is about as clear of a... READ MORE
Stocks extended their gains on Tuesday with small-caps and mid-caps leading the way. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) ended down and showed some relative weakness though. Techs were weighed down by networking and semis. The Networking iShares (IGN) fell 1.3% and the Semiconductor SPDR (XSD) was down .58% on... READ MORE
According to Dow Theory, a bull signal is in force when both the Dow Industrials and Dow Transports move to new highs. Well, this happened today as both the Dow Industrials and Dow Transports forged fresh 52-week highs. The April lows become the first levels to watch for signs of... READ MORE
BOOM Firms in Key Retracement Zone. EA Gaps above Wedge Resistance. Plus A, GCI, GT, JNS, NTAP, PG 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
Stocks extended their gains with mid-caps, small-caps and micro-caps leading the way. The Russell Microcap Fund (IWC) was up almost 1% on the day. The sectors were mixed with the defensive sectors on the, well, defensive. The healthcare, consumer staples and utilities sectors were all down on the day. The... READ MORE
Three of the four Chinese internet stocks shown below broke resistance with surges over the last 1-2 weeks. SOHU hit a new high with a break above 50. SINA broke wedge resistance and then gapped up. YOKU broke resistance with a high volume surge to 20. BIDU is the laggard... READ MORE
It seems that market sentiment has done a 180 over the last few weeks. The defensive sectors went from leaders to laggards as the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) and Technology SPDR (XLK) led the market higher. The March employment report was a big disappointment, but the April report showed improvement... READ MORE
The Equal-weight Consumer Discretionary ETF (RCD) and the Retail SPDR (XRT) hit 52-week highs in price and relative strength this week. New highs and relative strength in these two groups is very positive for the market overall. As its name suggests, the consumer discretionary sector is the most economically sensitive... READ MORE
The Nasdaq underperformed the NY Composite ($NYA) from September to January as the $COMPQ:$NYA ratio plunged for five months (yellow area). The ratio stabilized over the last few months, but the Nasdaq did not start outperforming until this week when the ratio broke above its January high. The Nasdaq... READ MORE
Stocks remain resilient both short-term and medium-term. SPY dipped in mid April, but surged in late April and hit a new high. The ETF also dipped on Wednesday, but surged to a new high on Thursday. With this rebound, the AD Volume Lines hit new highs and the cumulative Net... READ MORE
After getting spooked by the ADP Employment report on Wednesday, stocks greeted the five year low in Jobless Claims with a buying binge that pushed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) above its April high. QQQ also erased Wednesday's low and hit a new high for 2013.... READ MORE
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) sprang to life in April with the help of two unusual suspects. We would normally expect Google, Amazon or Apple to lead a big tech rally, but April saw the return of old tech as Microsoft and Intel stole the show. Both were up double... READ MORE
Stocks started the day weak, ignored the Fed and finished the day weak. Small-caps led the way lower with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) falling over 2%. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) held up the best with the smallest decline. Treasuries moved higher as economic reports continued to disappoint. The... READ MORE