All this stimulus talk has stimulated the bulls. Charles Evens, head of the Chicago Fed, called on stimulus to cut the unemployment rates. Obama will no doubt offer some sort of stimulus plan to create more jobs. The FOMC is also likely to join the party with some sort of... READ MORE
CSCO Forms Pennant after Early August Surge. MA Breaks Triangle Resistance. NVDA Gaps above Resistance on Big Volume. Plus GGB, SVU and WFR. 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
The High-Yield Bond SPDR (JNK) broke major support along with the S&P 500 in early August and then rebounded the last five weeks. This rebound formed a rising wedge and retraced 61.80% of the prior decline. Even though the 5-week trend is up, retracement resistance and the... READ MORE
A better-than-expected ISM Services report and oversold conditions gave way to a post-open bounce on Monday. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) closed a penny higher, but the rest of the major index ETFs closed with small losses. Eight of the nine sectors were down. Only the Healthcare SPDR (XLV) managed... READ MORE
Stocks rebounded after a sharply lower open on Tuesday, but remain in negative territory overall. Amazon (AMZN) is bucking this trend with a 2+ percent gain. Gaining in the face of weakness shows relative strength. Click this image for a live chart.... READ MORE
The financial markets are rather chaotic this morning. I say this because there was a dramatic about-face around 4AM ET when the Swiss National Bank announced a "floor" for the Euro. In effect, the Swiss said they would not tolerate a Euro/Swiss rate below 1.20 (1.... READ MORE
The Euro Currency Trust (FXE) opened strong on Monday, but moved lower throughout the week and closed near its low for forge an outside reversal. An outside reversal occurs when the high is above the prior high and the low is below the prior low. A close below the prior... READ MORE
Even though the Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is underperforming gold, it is outperforming the stock market and hitting a fresh 52-week high. The GDX:GLD price relative remains in a downtrend, but the GDX:SPY price relative broke out in July to start an uptrend. After hitting resistance in the... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary. Many indicators improved over the last few weeks as the major index ETFs broke above their mid August highs. However, this improvement looks like a bear market rally. Net New Highs recovered with a move back to the zero lines. The Bullish... READ MORE
After an ISM pop in the morning, stocks were hit with a dose of selling pressure and closed weak. Even though the ISM Index was better-than-expected, it was still weak overall and at a two year low. Anything above 50 indicates expansion, but a reading of 50.6 indicates little... READ MORE
High flyer Lululemon (LULU) surged over 20% the last seven days, but hit a resistance zone around 57 with a Dark Cloud pattern. Notice that this area also marks a 61.80% retracement of the July-August decline. A move below the gap at 53 would confirm the Dark Cloud pattern.... READ MORE
The bulls weakened a bit on Wednesday, but stocks still managed gains overall. There were pockets of weakness with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and Technology ETF (XLK) edging lower. The Finance SPDR (XLF) continued its run with a 1.29% gain to lead all sectors. Semis were under pressure... READ MORE
CHS Retraces 50% with Rising Wedge. IBM Stalls Near Mid August High. KSS Forms Triangle within Downtrend. Plus ANF, FL, MON 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
The Technology ETF (XLK) surged to its mid August high and formed a bearish engulfing. Resistance in this area is also marked by broken support. The bearish engulfing has yet to be confirmed though. Look for further weakness below 24 to confirm. Click this image for a live chart... READ MORE
The bulls held up well in the face of a bad consumer confidence report. August consumer confidence hit a two year low. Even though consumer confidence is a lagging indicator, there are fears that this could put pressure on consumer spending. Nevertheless, stocks held on to their gains and the... READ MORE
Looking for stocks that are still in favor? Just mosy over to the pre-defined scan page for a look at the stocks making fresh 52-week highs. There were over a dozen in the Nasdaq and over three dozen on the NYSE. Hot Topic (HOTT) hit a new high after advancing... READ MORE
ADM Bounces Along with Grains. ALL Surges on Big Volume. PEP Breaks Triangle Trendline. Plus AMX, CMCSA, NE 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 continued higher on Monday with another all or nothing day. Net Advancing Volume for the NYSE and Nasdaq hit +94% and +93%, respectively. All major index ETFs were sharply higher with small-caps and mid-caps leading the way. All sectors were also higher with finance leading the charge. It appears... READ MORE
The Sector Carpet shows the finance sector leading the way higher with an aveage gain of 4.2%. Color-wise, this sector shows lots of dark green, which means many stocks were up sharply. The consumer discretionary was second with an average gain of 3.5%. On the live carpet, users... READ MORE
Stocks started weak ahead of Bernanke's speech, but rallied afterwards and closed relatively strong. Bernanke did not offer a QE3 and the speech produced little drama, which is just what the bulls needed. In fact, the reversal from 10AM to 12PM was quite strong. Breadth was decidedly negative... READ MORE
The Euro Currency Trust (FXE) seems to like what it heard from Fed Chairman Bernanke - and the Dollar did not like it. After dipping below 143 in the morning, FXE surged above 144 by mid day. The ETF is still just shy of a breakout. Look for a move... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary as the major index ETFs consolidate after their big breakdowns. New lows continue to outpace new highs. The volatility indices remain at high levels, which reflects a great amount of fear in the market place. Small-caps remain relatively weak as the $RUT:... READ MORE
Stocks opened strong on the heels of Warren Buffet's $5 billion investment in Bank of America (BAC). However, stocks did not finish strong. Neither did BAC or the other big banks. Selling pressure took hold after this strong open and stocks closed down. The major index ETFs lost... READ MORE
Thursday's announcement that Warren Buffet will invest $5 billion in Bank of America (BAC) sent the Finance SPDR (XLF) sharply higher on the open. XLF opened above 13 and surged above 13.2 in the morning. These gains quickly evaporated as sellers returned. This failure reinforces resistance from... READ MORE
A late rally saved the day for the bulls as the major index ETFs closed strong. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the way higher with gains around 1.5%. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) lagged with a gain that was less than... READ MORE
GLW Forms Small Wedge After Surge. MRVL Forges One Day Island Reversal. YHOO Consolidates After Mid August Surge. Plus CVS, FNSR, TAP, WFR 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
The Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD) tumbled for the third straight day and broke below its August low. This ETF formed a lower high in late August as the 20+ year Bond ETF (TLT) formed a higher high (red line chart). Investment Grade Corporate Bonds are weak relative to... READ MORE
Stocks moved sharply higher on Tuesday with the major index ETFs gaining 3% or more. All sectors were up with energy and consumer discretionary leading the way. Wednesday's move was certainly broad based, but still considered an oversold bounce with a larger downtrend. The first chart shows SPY... READ MORE
Best Buy (BBY) is attempting to base with several bullish candlesticks over the last two weeks. Most recently, a Harami is taking shape on Monday-Tuesday. Prior to this, BBY formed a Hammer on Thursday and an Inverted Hammer on Friday. None of these candles has been confirmed yet. Look for... READ MORE
It was pop and drop on Monday. Stocks opened strong, but gains quickly evaporated as selling pressure took over. Even though the major index ETFs closed near their lows for the day, they are still near support from last week's lows and the bulls are chomping at the... READ MORE
AAPL Returns to Broken Resistance. BIIB Firms in 50-61.80% Retracement Zone. DE Forms Gravestone Doji above Early August Low. Plus ATVI, ERTS, MCP 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
After lagging gold the entire year, the Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is trying to play catch-up with a surge to resistance. The December 2010 and April 2011 highs mark resitance here. Overall, GDX has been stuck in a range since October 2010 and a move above resistance would break this... READ MORE
Bottom-pickers and knife-catchers are no doubt eyeing current levels as the major index ETFs tests the early August lows. After a sharp decline the first week of August, trading turned very volatile with four consecutive 4+ percent swings in SPY (down,up,down,up). There was a little follow through... READ MORE
Selling pressure since July 1st pushed the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) from a market leader to a market laggard. These Sector PerfCharts show the performance for the nine sector SPDRs relative to the S&P 500. The percentage change shown is the relative change, which equals the percent change... READ MORE
After holding their own until late July, stocks joined oil and the Dollar with a move lower. The chart below shows the US Treasuries Continuous Futures ($USB) and Gold Spot ($GOLD) trading at six month highs. In contrast, Light Crude Spot ($WTIC) and the S&P 500 hit six... READ MORE
The indicator summary remains decidedly negative and is unlikely to turn positive anytime soon. After some serious technical damage the last few weeks, the bulls need time to regroup and form some sort of base. At this point, I will simply follow the evidence until there are signs of a... READ MORE
Selling pressure hit the stock market hard on Thursday as the major index ETFs declined sharply. Small-caps and mid-caps led the way lower as their respective indices declined over 5%. All sectors were lower. The defensive sectors held up the best with consumer staples and utilities declining less than 2%... READ MORE
The Shanghai Composite ($SSEC) peaked in November 2010 and hit a new 52-week low in August 2011. As the S&P 500 moved to a new high in April-May 2011, the index formed a lower high in mid April. A support break and 52-week low followed in the next... READ MORE
The 38.2% retracements are marking resistance as the major index ETFs stutter this week. From low to high, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) surged from 110 to 121 over the past week. Most of this move came with Thursday's surge from 113 to 119. Trading... READ MORE
GME Traces out Flag within Downtrend. GR Forms Hanging Man. TIN Bounces to Key Retracement. Plus HUM, LXK, VSI 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