Stocks continued their meandering ways on Monday. There is, however, a slight downward slant in this meandering. IWM and SPY peaked on 14-Sept and worked their way lower the last six days. QQQ, which marches to the Apple beat, is trading below the 14-Sep levels, but has been exceptionally volatile... READ MORE
AMAT Breaks Support with Gap. TE Surges on Good Volume. Plus ADM, APOL, CMS, CNL, TEVA, TYC, WCRX, XRAY 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
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) formed a rare bearish candlestick reversal pattern over the last two days. The Bearish Meeting Lines pattern forms with a white candlestick and a black candlestick that have relatively equal closes. In particular, the black candlestick reflects a strong open and a weak... READ MORE
Last week was the week that was not. Stocks surged on Thursday, September 13th, and then stalled the next six days. This indecisive period started as SPY formed a shooting start on Friday, September 14th. The ETF formed small candlesticks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday's open was... READ MORE
The Dow Transports surged to resistance last week and plunged to support this week. Overall, the junior Average has been stuck in a trading range since mid June with support at 4900 and resistance around 5250. A break below 4900 would be clearly bearish for the Average and negative for... READ MORE
With new highs last week and flat trading this week, there is no change in the indicator summary. Even though the bulk of the evidence remains bullish, I am concerned with overbought conditions and some extremes starting to appear in the sentiment indicators. The $VIX moved below 15% and the... READ MORE
Thursday marked the fourth uneventful day this week as stocks finished mixed yet again. The Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) and S&P 100 ETF (OEF) edged higher, but the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and S&P MidCap SPDR (MDY) closed modestly lower. In fact, we have definitely seen... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Commodity Index Fund ($DBC) have been positively correlated for almost all of the last 12 months. As the indicator window shows, the Correlation Coefficient (SPY,DBC) dipped into negative territory only twice and spent most of the time above .50. The... READ MORE
Stocks finished the day mixed on Wednesday as indecision extended for the third day running. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) edged lower, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed fractionally higher. The sectors were mixed with six up and three down. The Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) led the... READ MORE
The Noose Narrows for BOOM. Downside Volume Expands for NKE. Plus CIEN, DAN, INTU 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
The Utilities SPDR (XLU) is by far the weakest of the nine sector SPDRs right now. The P&F chart below uses daily price data and each box is valued at .30%. The ETF broke the Bullish Support Line in August, consolidated and then broke below the prior two... READ MORE
The stock index ETFs continued to drift on Tuesday. After the surge from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, stocks have been drifting for almost three days. Such a drift is not uncommon after a big move. These consolidations give the market time to digest its gains and provide the bulls... READ MORE
Norfolk Southern (NSC) is a railroad company and a key part of the Dow Transports. The chart below shows NSC hitting resistance around 75 and falling over 1% today. Notice that MACD barely made it back in positive territory on the last bounce. Another downturn from here would surely turn... READ MORE
The major index ETFs are in uptrends and overbought. In general, it is much better to pick bottoms than tops in uptrend. Even though SPY, QQQ and IWM are overbought and ripe for a pullback, picking a short-term top is challenging when the bigger trend is clearly up. Overbought conditions... READ MORE
BA Underperforms with Support Break. POT Challenges Channel Resistance. Plus CHK, DAL, NVDA, POT, SBUX, TYC 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 Bullish Percent Index (BPI) shows the percentage of stocks on Point & Figure buy signals within a specific group. Even though bulls have the edge when the BPI is above 50%, chartists also need to watch the direction of the BPI. The image below shows six sector BPI charts... READ MORE
Is it really this easy? Does another round of quantitative easing insure higher equity prices over the next few months? Well, the stock market agrees as the major index ETFs hit new highs last week and remain in clear uptrends. Also note that stocks were strong during prior periods of... READ MORE
Stocks surged on Thursday after the Fed announced another round of quantitative easing, and extended their gains on Friday. Obviously, the stock market is pleased with the announcement. The chart below shows the S&P 500 since September 2008 and the yellow areas mark the beginning-end of the prior... READ MORE
StocksCharts.com has a new technical alerts page that shows key milestones for dozens of ETFs and indices. On Thursday, September 13th, note that 10 securities recorded new 52-week highs. These include the Nasdaq, Russell 2000, Dow, S&P 500 and six sector SPDRs. Click this image for a... READ MORE
With new highs in the major index ETFs, there is little doubt where the bulk of the evidence lies. The bulls are clearly in charge of this market right now. The NYSE AD Line hit a new high, the NYSE AD Volume Line is near its spring high and NYSE... READ MORE
Judging from the reaction, it appears that the stock market is quite happy with a third round of quantitative easing. The major index ETFs surged with the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) gaining around 1.5%. All sectors were up with the Finance SPDR... READ MORE
After a big surge above 33, the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) peaked in mid August and declined back to support in the 32.50 area. Support here stems form broken resistance, the rising 200-day SMA and the rising 50-day SMA. A successful test and break above 33 would be... READ MORE
Stocks meandered again on Wednesday and then closed with small gains. All of the major index ETFs were up with the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) leading the way (up a mere .52%). Six of the nine sectors were higher with the Energy SPDR (XLE) and Technology SPDR... READ MORE
ADBE Hits Resistance in Gap Zone. LUV Forms Triangle after Surge. Plus GRMN, QCOM, SKUL 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
The chart in the main window shows December Coffee Futures ($KCZ12) finding support above the June low and surging above the late August high. The indicator window shows the Coffee ETN (JO) with a similar pattern. These breakouts are bullish as long they hold. A move back below the breakout... READ MORE
Stocks meandered around in positive territory on Monday and ended the day with small gains. A little indecision is understandable given the recent gains and the news flow over the next few days. Key happenings include the German constiutional court ruling and the Apple event today, the FOMC policy statement... READ MORE
Stocks moved lower on Monday as traders booked some profits from last week's rally. The Nasdaq 100 ETF led the way lower as Apple's big event approaches. Apple investors appear to be getting cold feet as the stock fell over 2% on Monday. The Russell 2000... READ MORE
BOOM forms large descending triangle. KLAC gaps and forms bear flag. Plus BRCM, CSX, DUK, MCHP, MDR 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
Stocks extended their gains on Friday and the S&P 500 finished with its biggest weekly gain since early July. This key benchmark index cleared its spring highs and closed at a 52-week high on Friday. Five of the nine sector SPDRs were up on Friday. The technology sector... READ MORE
The P&F chart below shows the Dow Industrials using 30 points per box and a three box reversal method. With the August dip and September surge, the Dow is challenging the prior highs and tracing out a large inverse head-and-shoulders pattern. A break above these highs opens the... READ MORE
The coal group has been one of the worse performers this year, but coal stocks moved sharply higher the last two days. Arch Coal (ACI) is showing some signs of life with a falling wedge breakout on three days of good volume. The July-August highs mark the next resistance zone... READ MORE
With a big surge on Thursday, stocks broke out of their funk and the indicator summary improved a notch. Techs continue to lead the market overall. The Nasdaq AD Line broke triangle resistance, Nasdaq Net New Highs surged to their highest levels since early July and the Technology SPDR (XLK)... READ MORE
A mixed up Wall Street turned into a raving bull as stocks surged ahead of today's employment report. Rumor has it that Super Mario, Draghi, not Gabelli, inspired the bulls. It kind of makes the employment report an after thought. Consensus calls for non-farm payrolls to add 125,... READ MORE
The technology sector is lighting up the market carpet with a sea of green. Notice that memory makers Sandisk (SNDK) and Micron (MU) are leading the charge. Both gapped higher on their price charts. Hard-disk maker Seagate (STX) is the only loser in this group. Click this image for a... READ MORE
It was another mixed day on Wall Street as stocks meandered on either side of unchanged. The major index ETFs were mixed as well with the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) and Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) edging higher, but the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and S&P MidCap 400 SPDR... READ MORE
BCR Breaks Consolidation Resistance with Good Volume. XRX Forms Pennant Near Key Retracement. Plus ACN, ANF, BG, HSP 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
Ford (F) came across the bullish MACD scan as the MACD line moved above its signal line (9-day EMA of MACD). On the price chart, F formed a falling wedge at the end of August and broke wedge resistance with a surge the last three days. The late August low... READ MORE
Economic reports triggered some early selling pressure, but stocks managed to rebound with small-caps leading the charge. The ISM Manufacturing Index showed weakness as the key indicator dipped below 50 (49.6). Anything below 50 indicates a contraction in the manufacturing sector. This was further exasperated by weakness in construction... READ MORE
The Industrials SPDR (XLI) is under pressure today after a weak manufacturing report. The chart below shows XLI falling to a support zone marked by broken resistance and the June trend line. This sets up an important test because the Aroon down crossed above Aroon green and hit +100 for... READ MORE
The major index ETFs surged the first two weeks of August and then consolidated the last two weeks. With the medium-term trends clearly up, the odds favor a bullish resolution to these consolidations. However, we could see some serious volatility in the coming weeks as the news flow surges in... READ MORE