While the German DAX Index ($DAX) and the French CAC Index ($CAC) languish well below their 2011 highs, the DJ Ireland Index ($IEDOW) shows strength with a break above its highs. Ireland was one of the first countries to get into trouble, but it appears that the tough medicine is... READ MORE
With two more upgrades, the indicator summary is now at plus nine. The only indicator not bullish is the $RUT:$OEX ratio because it has yet to convincingly break resistance. Small-caps are lagging a bit, but this could also be due to above-average strength in financial large-caps the last few... READ MORE
Bank and tech earnings were largely positive on Thursday and stocks moved higher. Today we will hear from Schlumberger and General Electric, which will impact oil services and industrials. Stocks extended their gains on Thursday as the major index ETFs notched new highs for this short-term uptrend. The absolute gains... READ MORE
The Medical Devices iShares (IHI) has been moving higher since mid December and is now challenging its late summer high. Also notice that upside volume picked up over the last 4-5 weeks. While a breakout would be bullish, the ETF is getting overbought after a 13+ percent advance off its... READ MORE
It is a big day on the earnings front. Judging from the rally over the last 4-5 weeks, it looks like most reports will be better than expected. Financials dominate the premarket reports with Bank of America, BB&T and Morgan Stanley reporting earnings before the open on Thursday.... READ MORE
Careful out there. It is earnigns season. ATML Surges above Wedge Resistance. GFI Gaps above late December High. SLB Forges Outside Reversal Day on Big Volume. 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
Stocks were largely higher on Wednesday with the technology sector leading the way. As the Sector Market Carpet shows, three of the top five performers in the technology sector come semiconductor group: Linear Tech (LLTC), Altera (ALTR) and Texas Instruments (TXN). Click this chart for a live image... READ MORE
The short-term uptrend for the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) began with the breakout on December 20th and is now entering its 19th day, which is pretty long for a short-term uptrend. Also note that the ETF is up around 8% from its December 19th low. For now, the... READ MORE
John Murphy's industry group PerfChart shows the Banking Index ($BKX) and the Biotech Index ($BTK) leading the market higher with the biggest gains. Also note that the Gold and Silver Index ($XAU) and the Broker Dealer Index ($XBD) are strong this year. Click this chart for a live... READ MORE
Rumors that Standard & Poor's was going to downgrade the debt rating for several EU countries sent stocks sharply lower on the open Friday morning. Stocks remained down as rumors swirled, but did not add to their losses. The news finally hit at 3PM ET and stocks edged... READ MORE
ASEI Recovers on Strong Volume. EQR Forms Bullish Engulfing on High Volume. NE Surges off Consolidation Support. | Plus ADM, ADSK, AMZN, EQR, PCLN, TKC, 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... READ MORE
Spot Unleaded Gasoline ($GASO) found support in the 2.45-2.50 area from September to December and then broke resistance with a surge the last three weeks. The breakout is holding, but $GASO stalled this week and fell rather sharply on Thursday. A move back below 2.62 would negate... READ MORE
With another strong week in the stock market, the indicator summary improved with three indicator upgrades. The AD Lines are considered bullish because the NYSE AD Line broke its summer highs and the Nasdaq AD Line broke its early December high. The AD Volume Lines are bullish because both broke... READ MORE
Despite lackluster retail sales, stocks recovered from early losses on Thursday and closed near their highs for the session. The sectors were mixed with materials and industrials posting the biggest gains. Utilities and energy were down. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) remains in an uptrend on the 60-minute... READ MORE
The US Oil Fund (USO) started the year strong with a surge above 39, but cannot hold above this level as the ETF plunged over 1.5% on Thursday. USO was also turned back in the 39-40 area in November and December. In the indicator window, note that Spot Light... READ MORE
The intermarket picture is getting a bit strange. We have already seen the Euro and the stock market decouple in 2012. Over the last three days, we are also seeing a positive correlation between treasuries and stocks. These two were negatively correlated throughout 2011 and I am most concerned with... READ MORE
FLEX Breaks Resistance with Big Volume. LTD Tests Triangle Support. Bollinger Bands Narrow for XRAY. Plus ARO, EMC, GPS, X 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 PerfChart below shows six intermarket related ETFs. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY), US Oil Fund (USO) and Gold SPDR (GLD) are positively correlated as all show gains in 2012. In an interesting twist, the Euro Currency Trust (FXE) and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) are... READ MORE
Stocks surged on the open and then moved into a holding pattern the rest of the day. There was no upside follow through after the opening surge, but stocks held their gains and selling pressure was relatively muted. All sectors were up with materials, finance and industrials leading the way.... READ MORE
A look through the CandleGlance groups shows stocks in the oil equipment and services group moving higher on Tuesday. The image below shows four of the six stocks along with the DJ Oil Equipment & Services Index ($DJUSOI). Most of the stocks are up more than 2% with giant Schlumberger... READ MORE
There is not much change on the 60-minute chart for SPY. The ETF broke flag resistance with a surge late last week and then consolidated the last two days. The breakout is holding with first support marked at 127.20. While a move below this level would also break the... READ MORE
CRR Bounces of 61.80% Retracement. MCK Breaks Triangle Trendline. VRTX Breaks Resistance on High Volume. Plus ASEI, CI, SUSS, TIF 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
Urban Outfitters (URBN) is showing signs of life with a move toward the upper trendline of a triangle consolidation. The stock is currently up three of the last five days, but volume is light. A breakout on surging volume would be bullish. Failure and a break below support at 27... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) did not move much after Tuesday's opening gap, but did manage to hold its gains and close near the high for the week. Even though the ETF did not follow through on this gap, the gains are still holding and the... READ MORE
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) is showing relative strength this year with a triangle breakout and surge above its early December high. On the daily candlestick chart below, QQQ surged in October and then consolidated in November-December. This consolidation started wide in November and then narrowed in December as a... READ MORE
The US Dollar Fund (UUP) broke above its October high and is closing in on a 52-week high this month. With higher highs in September, December and January, the trend here is clearly up. The Commodity Index Fund ($DBC) is not happy though. Notice that this ETF peaked in May... READ MORE
The indicator summary got a couple more upgrades this week and remains in positive territory. In particular, the Trend-Structure indicator was upgraded to bullish because the Dow Industrials SPDR, S&P 500 ETF and Nasdaq 100 ETF broke above their early December highs. These breakouts could be reversed on... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gapped up on Tuesday morning, formed a falling flag the next 2-3 days and then broke flag resistance with yesterday's surge. The short-term trend has been up since the breakout on December 20th and the bulls remain in charge. Notice how... READ MORE
Regions Financial (RF), which is part of the regional banking group, is showing strength with a break above the November-December highs on surging volume. Prior to today's breakout, the stock consolidated with a seven day pennant. Watch support in the 4-4.20 area for signs of failure. Click... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) remains in a short-term uptrend on the 60-minute chart. After a big gap on Tuesday morning, the ETF pulled back to broken resistance, which turned into the first support zone in the 126.50 area. SPY bounced back above 127.5 yesterday afternoon... READ MORE
AA Surges off Support with Big Volume. LUV Consolidates after Strong Surge. WDC Forms Bullish Pennant after Breakout. Plus ANF, ATVI, 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 any security (stock ETF or otherwise)... READ MORE
The technical picture for Dow is improving as the 50-day simple moving average crossed above the 200-day simple moving average. Note that the 50-day SMA has not been above the 200-day SMA since August. Also notice that the senior average is trading at its highest level since late July. Click... READ MORE
Stocks surged on the open, but did not follow through on these opening gains. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) held near their opening levels throughout the day, but the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) sold off... READ MORE
Apollo (APOL) opened strong and moved lower to trace out a bearish engulfing during the day on Tuesday. It is interesting that APOL is not moving higher with the market and that this bearish candlestick pattern formed at resistance. Follow through below Tuesday's low would confirm the pattern.... READ MORE
It is a short, but packed week for the market with several key economic reports on deck. We have ISM Manufacturing and FOMC minutes on Tuesday, Factory Orders and Auto/Truck Sales on Wednesday, ISM Services and Jobless Claims on Thursday, and the big Employment Report on Friday. The first... READ MORE
ARO Forms Pennant after Sharp Decline. SLB Firms at Support Zone. STX Challenges Wedge Trendline. Plus A, ALTR, CAT, ESRX, MGM 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
With a surge in late December, the Dow Transports is once again challenging resistance from the October highs. Notice that the Average failed at this level in early December. The Dow Industrials is also hitting resistance near the October high. Breakouts in both would be bullish according to Dow Theory.... READ MORE
With a couple of upgrades, the indicator summary moved from -2 to +1 this week. The total has been waffling around the zero level for a few weeks now, which reflects a divided the market. The average Nasdaq stock is relatively weak, but the average NYSE stock is relatively strong.... READ MORE
Stocks continued their short-term uptrends with further strength on Tuesday and then fell sharply on Wednesday. This decline was not enough to reverse the short-term uptrend. With a modest bounce on Thursday, the major index ETFs established short-term support levels to watch going forward. On the S&P 500... READ MORE
After surging in October, the Energy SPDR (XLE) moved into a sideways pattern with a lower high and a higher low. In short, the noose is tightening as a triangle consolidation takes shape. Watch resistance from the early December high and support from the mid December low for the next... READ MORE