Chinese stocks got slammed on Wednesday and pervasive weakness could weigh on US stocks. The major index ETFs remain in uptrends, but are overbought after big moves on Monday and still quite vulnerable to both a short-term and medium-term correction. On the S&P 500 ETF (SPY)... READ MORE
The Metals & Mining SPDR (XME) continues to show relative weakness as it tests its support zone stemming from the November-December lows. Also notice that the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) confirms relative weakness by holding below 50 for over six months. Click this image for a live chart... READ MORE
On the Point & Figure chart below, the Energy SPDR (XLE) forged a Triple Bottom Breakdown when the most recent O-Column moved below the equal lows of the prior two O-Columns. This breakdown is bearish with a downside projection around 67.50, which coincides with the Bullish Support... READ MORE
Stocks moved sharply higher on Monday with small-caps leading the charge. Sector-wise, the technology, consumer discretionary, finance, industrials and healthcare sectors gained over 1.5% to show upside leadership. It was yet another a broad market surge within an uptrend that began way back on 19-Dec. On... READ MORE
AMX Surges above Resistance with Good Volume. LUV Bounces off Support with High Volume. MON Consolidates with Tight Triangle. Plus ALK, FCX, MCP, XRX 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... READ MORE
After consolidating since mid February, TechTarget (TTGT) finally made a break with a three-day surge above resistance. The move looks impressive price-wise, but volume is sorely lacking thus far. Even though Monday's trading has yet to close, volume on the three day advance did not validate... READ MORE
Stocks got an oversold bounce with small-caps, materials and energy leading the way on Friday. Despite this bounce, these three are lagging the broader market overall, which means this is a case of the worst hit groups getting the best bounce. Relative weakness in small-caps and the deterioration... READ MORE
Finisar (FNSR) plunged with a move from 23.50 to 18, but found support right at the 61.80% retracement line, which is based on a Fibonacci number. Even though the stock has yet to recover, it is consolidating with clear support and resistance levels to watch going forward. Click... READ MORE
The indicator summary remains firmly positive with relative weakness in small-caps the only concern in the market right now. Well, I am also concerned with overbought conditions that could lead to a corrective period ahead. Nevertheless, we have yet to see any signs of significant selling pressure. The current... READ MORE
The second shoe dropped for the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), but the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) held up rather well (surprise, surprise). I heard an interview with Barry Ritholtz talking about the four asset classes: stocks, commodities, bonds and Apple. While Apple sentiment... READ MORE
The Sector Market Carpet shows the nine S&P sectors with the energy sector displaying the most red. The average stock is down 2.9% and three of the five biggest losers come from this sector. Defensive sectors held up the best on Thursday with consumer staples, healthcare and... READ MORE
Is the second shoe about to drop? Stocks fell sharply on the open Tuesday and then consolidated since this open. Short-term, and I do mean very short-term, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) held the gap down and formed a pennant consolidation on the 60-minute chart.... READ MORE
CAT Gaps Down on High Volume. KSS Stalls after Gap Down. MON Forms Triangle Consolidation. Plus AMGN, HAL, OIH, SWC 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
With a gap up, two candlesticks and a gap down, the Steel ETF (SLX) formed an island reversal over the last five days. Notice that this reversal formed near the late February highs and the ETF broke the March trendline with further weakness on Wednesday. Click this image for a... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with selling pressure on the open, but the major index ETFs worked their way higher the rest of the day. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) opened around 140 and worked its way to the 140.60 area by the afternoon. On the 10-minute chart,... READ MORE
Want to gauge retail spending? Just take a look at the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY), which hit a new 52-week high today. There are 80 stocks in this sector and most are dependant on consumer spending to drive revenues (think Disney, Macy's, Amazon, Starbucks, DR Horton). New... READ MORE
The song remains the same (circa 1973). Stocks are overbought, but there are simply no signs of significant selling pressure. Maybe that will change with stock futures down in early trading on turnaround Tuesday. Over the last nine days, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 4.98%... READ MORE
AMZN Underperforms with Triangle Consolidation. CHH Stalls Below Late December high. RDC Forms Harami Cross within Rising Wedge. Plus BIDU, CHH, CHRW, D, QLGC and WIN 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
Volatility is falling everywhere these days. Notice that the CBOE Volatility Index ($VIX) and the Crude Oil Volatility Index ($OVX) both moved sharply lower in March. $OVX plunged the last two weeks as Spot Light Crude bounced off the 105 area for the second time this month. Click this image... READ MORE
Stocks are about as overbought as they have been in a long time. Even so, there are simply no signs of significant or sustained selling pressure. Declines, such as those seen in late January or early March, have been short affairs lasting just a few days. The subsequent rallies proved... READ MORE
While the S&P 500 and Dow moved to new highs last week, the Materials SPDR (XLB) fell short of its February highs and continues to underperform. Also note that the Technology SPDR (XLK) and Consumer Discretional SPDR moved to new 52-week highs last week. Along with the... READ MORE
It has been a tough March for gold, but the Gold SPDR (GLD) may be at support marked by the Fibonacci Retracements Tool. Notice that the decline to 159 retraced 50-61.80% of the prior advance and the ETF firmed just above 160 the last two days. Watch for... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary. Nine indicators were bullish at the start of the week and nine remain bullish. The AD Volume Lines surged to new highs with a strong move the last seven days. Net New Highs also expanded on both the NYSE and Nasdaq as... READ MORE
There is not much change overall. Stocks remain in strong uptrends with no signs of selling pressure. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) surged above the upper trendline of a rising channel. There are two trends at work on this 60-minute chart. First, the rising channel defines an... READ MORE
The Dow Transports has been lagging the Dow Industrials for several weeks now, but is making a catch up bid with a falling flag breakout the last few days. After a breakout on Monday, the Average fell back sharply on Tuesday with a close below 5200. This decline was wiped... READ MORE
Treasuries are falling off a cliff, commodities are softening, gold is plunging, the Dollar is strengthening and stocks remain the best game in town. The recent decline in treasuries suggests that the economy will continue to expand and the labor market will continue to improve. Money moving out of treasuries... READ MORE
ALK Consolidates after Break Down. MOS Forms Bear Flag on Low Volume. SNDK Falls Back below Tuesday's Low. Plus JOYG, LEAP, TTWO. 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... READ MORE
Looking for a list of market leaders? Simply go to the pre-defined scans page for a list of stocks hitting new 52-week highs. Over 500 stocks made the list on Tuesday and over 400 made the list today. The chart below shows Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) breaking consolidation... READ MORE
Stocks caught a big bullish wind in the final hour and surged with financials leading the charge. Yesterday's surge certainly has the markings of a blow-off top, which is the opposite of a selling climax. However, picking a top in this environment is very dangerous. On the... READ MORE
Chartists can access CandleGlance charts for dozens of industry groups on the FreeCharts page. The screen shot below shows some charts from the Home Construction industry group on the left and the industry group drop-down menu from the Free Charts page. Talk about relative strength. Several stocks in this... READ MORE
Stocks were mixed on Monday with the Dow edging higher and the Russell 2000 edging lower. Sector action was also mixed with technology gaining a fraction and the consumer discretionary sector finishing slightly lower. In an interesting twist, the consumer staples and utilities sectors were the biggest gainers. In fact,... READ MORE
CTXS Challenges Resistance with 3-Day Surge. GOOG Breaks Wedge Trendline with Gap. WCRX Moves Above Channel Trendline. Plus CTSH, DANG, WFT 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... READ MORE
Research in Motion (RIMM) remains down in the dumps as the Price Relative broke below its December low and remains in a downtrend. This RIMM:QQQ ratio falls when RIMM underperforms QQQ. On the price chart, RIMM is testing its December low, but the new low in the Price Relative... READ MORE
After a sharp setback on Tuesday, stocks moved from oversold to overbought in three days. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) surged from 78.5 to 81.5 (3.8%), the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved back to resistance at 138 and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) is challenging... READ MORE
Lifted by exporters, the Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) is one of the best performing markets over the last eight weeks. The chart below shows the index surging from ±8400 to ±9900 since mid January (+17.8%). With lots of exporters, the sharp drop in the Yen ETF (FXY) no doubt helped... READ MORE
The first selling pressure in some three months hit the stock market this week, but the short 1-3 day decline is a mere blip in the bigger uptrend. Stocks were overbought and some sort of corrective period is perfectly normal. The correction already started for the Russell 2000 ETF... READ MORE
There is nothing like the first decent dip after a strong advance. Stocks advanced for some 11 weeks and then corrected hard with a sharp decline Friday-Monday-Tuesday. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down around 2% over these three days. Those who missed the rally or... READ MORE
Spot Gold ($GOLD) declined sharply and then found support right at the Ichimoku Cloud with a bounce the last two days. The bulls grabbed the edge with the cloud breakout in January and hold the edge as long as cloud support holds. Watch for a move above the Conversion Line... READ MORE
After sharp declines that created oversold conditions on Tuesday, stocks firmed and bounced on Wednesday. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke support at 135 on Tuesday, but moved back above this level on Wednesday. Even though the short-term trend is considered down, the bigger trend is up... READ MORE
AMZN Consolidates with Triangle Pattern. BMY Consolidates after Breakout. CNP Forms Bull Flag at Trendline Resistance. Plus ADP, ANF, CHKP, TBT. 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... READ MORE