Stocks moved higher again on Tuesday, but performance was lopsided again. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the market with a 1.73% gain, but the S&P 100 ETF (OEF) lagged with a .37% gain. Seven of the nine sectors were up. Money moved out of the Consumer... READ MORE
The PerfChart below shows the three month performance for five commodity indices and the CRB Index ($CRB). All five are down and $CRB is down around 14%. Blame it on energy, which is down over 21%. Precious metals have held up relatively well with a decline less than 4%. Click... READ MORE
It was a mixed day for stocks with the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) moving lower and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) moving higher. The market was weighed down by the Finance SPDR (XLF) and Energy SPDR (XLE), but lifted by the Technology SPDR (XLK) and the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY)... READ MORE
GFI Forms Pennant. ISIL Surges on Big Volume. MOS Breaks Inverse HS. Plus FICO, ISRG, NYT, THC, TSN 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
The image below, which stems from the sector summary at StockCharts.com, shows the key industry groups within technology sector. On Monday, computer hardware, internet and semiconductors were leading the way higher. Users can click on these names to see the individual stocks, which is a great way to identify... READ MORE
And the results are in! Pro-bailout party New Democracy won the Greek election with around 30% of the vote. They will now have three days to form a coalition with a parliamentary majority. Now comes the tough stuff. The new government will need to renegotiate the austerity package, pass this... READ MORE
The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) got a bounce at the end of the week, but remains in a trading range since the June 6th gap. There are two dynamics at work on this chart. First, the medium-term trend is down after the ETF broke neckline support from a head-and-shoulders pattern.... READ MORE
The Dow surged over 150 points on Thursday and broke above its May high. With only 30 stocks, chartists can use the CandleGlance feature at StockCharts.com to find which stocks led the move. The Dow is a price weighed average and the stocks with the highest price have the... READ MORE
After a rebound last week, stocks turned flat this week and treaded water ahead of the Greek elections. The AD Volume Lines established minor resistance levels with the late May highs and breakouts would be short-term bullish. However, this would not be enough to turn medium-term bullish again. Also note... READ MORE
Stocks caught a bid on Thursday with the major index ETFs closing modestly higher. The Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) led the way with a 1.19% advance. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) lagged with a .37% advance. All sectors were up with the Energy SPDR (XLE) and Healthcare SPDR (XLV)... READ MORE
There is a real gut check underway in the stock market. The S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) surged last week and then corrected the last 5-6 days with a falling flag/wedge. This could be a bullish continuation pattern, but one must wonder if the bulls have the... READ MORE
Stocks moved higher in the first half of the day and then lower in the second half. With the afternoon decline outpacing the morning advance, the major index ETFs closed modestly lower. Mid-caps led the decline with the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) losing 1.34%. Small-caps were... READ MORE
LTD Forms Flat Flag after Sharp Decline. MMM Forms Harami at Key Retracement. SBUX Breaks Descending Triangle Support. Plus AES, APC, COV 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)... READ MORE
The Energy SPDR (XLE) remains in a downtrend overall, but signs of life are appearing as the ETF gapped higher last week and formed a pennant over the last five days. A break above this short-term consolidation could signal a continuation of the early June bounce and target further strength... READ MORE
Stocks rebounded after Monday's bearish reversal day with the major index ETFs gaining over 1%. The Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) led the way with a 1.61% gain, while the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) lagged with a 1.01% gain. Eight of nine sectors were... READ MORE
No wonder the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) cannot make up its mind on direction. The ETF broke key support in mid May and the 50-day moving average turned lower. Combined with Monday's high, these no mark the rock or resistance zone. The support zone, or hard... READ MORE
Stocks surged on the open with the S&P 500 exceeding 1335 in the first 5 minutes of trading. Selling pressure hit after five minutes of euphoria and the index closed below 1308. $SPX swung 2% from high to low and closed down over 1% on the day. Overall,... READ MORE
AEO Forms Triangle as Retail Sales Report Looms. HAS Shows Weakness with Pennant Break. TE Breaks Falling Wedge Resistance with Good Volume. Plus BXP, DRI, F, HES, TOL, VLO This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell... READ MORE
With a strong open and weak close on Monday, hundreds of stocks and ETFs formed either dark cloud patterns or bearish engulfing patterns. The chart below shows Home Depot (HD) forming a dark cloud near resistance and with the Stochastic Oscillator overbought. A move below 80 in the Stochastic Oscillator... READ MORE
Stocks opened weak on Friday, but rallied throughout the day and closed strong. Rumors of a Spanish bailout fueled los toros (the bulls). Small-caps led the way higher with the Russell 2000 ($RUT) gaining over 1% on the day. All nine sectors were up with the Finance SPDR (XLF) and... READ MORE
The German DAX Index peaked around 7200 in mid March and moved below 6000 in early June. That's over 15% in less than three months. Despite looking oversold, there are no signs of a reversl as the index remains below its late May high. In the indicator window,... READ MORE
Stocks bounced this week, but the bounce was clearly not enough to rattle the indicator summary, which remains firmly negative. The AD Volume Lines surged, but remain well below their May support breaks and in downtrend. The major index ETFs also surged, but have yet to negate the May support... READ MORE
Stocks asked for stimulus and failed to get what they wanted. The EU has yet to come forth with a concrete plan for EU banks, Bernanke did not offer hints of quantitative easing and the ECB stands ready to act. Allez, act already! Bernanke said the Fed would ease if... READ MORE
Despite a sharp decline in May-June, the Dow Industrials remains above the Bullish Support Line extending up from the October low. The red "A" marks the October column. This line sets support right at 12000. A break would reverse the current uptrend and require a red Bearish Resistance... READ MORE
It was a classic stimulus-response rally on Wednesday. Wait, I did not see any actual stimulus. In reality, the market was anticipating stimulus in Europe, the US and elsewhere around the world. Rumors abound that the EU is poised to rescue Spanish banks and implement some sort of Euro-wide banking... READ MORE
ANN Closes Lower and Shows Relative Weakness. BAC Holds above Late May Low and Breaks Resistance. ROL Shows Relative Strength with a Bull Flag. Plus CCL, DDS, LH This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short... READ MORE
SPY is getting a nice oversold bounce with a gap up and Andrews' Pitchfork marks resistance in the 133 area. The pitchfork traces out a falling channel extending down from the April-May highs and the upper line crosses the 133 level next week. You can read more on Andrews... READ MORE
Stocks bounced on Monday with small-caps and mid-caps leading the way. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained around 1% and the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) surged 2.05%. The chart below shows MDY forming a bullish engulfing as it surged back towards its 200-day moving average. While... READ MORE
Stocks are rebounded on Tuesday with homebuilders leading the way. The S&P Sector Carpet shows the Lennar (LEN) and Pulte (PHM) leading within the consumer discretionary sector. On the price charts, PHM is bounced off its April low and LEN formed a bullish engulfing pattern. Click this image... READ MORE
Stocks ended mixed on Monday with mid-caps showing relative weakness and large techs showing relative strength. The sectors were also mixed with five up and four down. The Finance SPDR (XLF) led the losers by falling almost 1%. Relative weakness in this key sector is a negative for the market... READ MORE
AAPL Shows Relative Strength. AMZN Retraces 50-61.80% of Prior Surge. ORCL Firms Just above Support Zone. Plus $AMGN, $CIEN This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all... READ MORE
The Utilities SPDR (XLU) is virtually alone at the top as it trades near a 52-week high. A bullish cup-with-handle is taking shape and a break above resistance would signal a continuation higher. After showing relative weakness from January to mid March, the ETF started outperforming in mid March as... READ MORE
Friday produced yet another round of economic reports that were below expectations and the stock market moved sharply lower. Even though EU issues may be lurking behind the scenes, don't forget that US economic reports have been falling short for two months now. While the employment numbers were... READ MORE
After a failure at broken support, the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) looks set for a move towards a Fibonacci cluster. The chart below shows XLY breaking support and becoming oversold in mid May. The ETF then bounced back to broken support and this area turned into resistance. It is not... READ MORE
The chart below shows five different treasuries yields. Notice that five and seven year yields are falling the fastest as money moves into medium-term treasuries. After peaking on March 19th, the 5-year Treasury Yield ($UST5Y) and the 7-year Treasury Yield ($UST7Y) are down over 38% in less than three months.... READ MORE
Despite a shallow bounce and some firmness the last two weeks, there is no change in the indicator summary. Current conditions remain bearish overall. The major index ETFs and the key sector SPDRs all broke down in May. The AD Volume Lines broke support from their March-April lows. Net New... READ MORE
Stocks were mixed and directionless on Thursday. Concerns in Europe and worse-than-expected economic reports buoyed the bears, while the prospects of further quantitative easing from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Fed put a bid in stocks. Don't be surprised if we see some big announcement out of... READ MORE
The S&P Sector PerfChart shows the percentage change for the nine sector SPDRs and the S&P 500 for the month of May. Eight of nine sectors are down with finance leading the day (down around 10%). The utilities sector sports the only gain as investors moved... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with concerns in Europe again on Wednesday. Once again, the market failed to put together back-to-back gains and failed to follow through on Tuesday's advance. All major index ETFs were down with small-caps leading the way. Large-cap techs held up relatively well as the Nasdaq... READ MORE
After a rise the last three weeks, COLM hit a pocket of selling pressure and formed a bearish engulfing just below its April highs. This pattern formed even as the S&P 500 closed higher. Also notice that downside volume has consistently outpaced upside volume since late April. The... READ MORE