A bearish engulfing forms when a long black candlestick engulfs the body of the prior white candlestick. This means the open is above the prior close and the close is below the prior open. It is a reversal day that can foreshadow lower prices. Costco formed such a pattern on... READ MORE
The 7-month streak of first day-of-month gains was broken on March 1st as stocks declined rather sharply. SPY surged to resistance around 132.5-133 on Monday and opened above 133.5 on Tuesday. This early gap did not hold as the ETF quickly reversed and moved sharply lower. Last week&... READ MORE
All sectors were down in afternoon trading on Tuesday, but some were down less than others. In particular, the Utilities SPDR (XLU), Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) and Healthcare SPDR (XLV) were holding up relatively well with modest losses. Money can be seen moving out materials, consumer discretionary, finance, industrials and... READ MORE
The magical first day of the month is upon us. Among others, bespokeinvest.com notes that the S&P 500 has gained 14 of the last 16 times on the first day of the month. The last two down days were the first days of June and July 2010.... READ MORE
AA bounces on low volume. GOOG trades flat for 4 months. GS holds gap down. Plus AKS,F,ROL,RTN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 US Dollar Index ($USD) extended its losses on Monday with a decline below 77. After a two week fall, the index is near its early February low. This level may offer support, but the trend is clearly down after the failure at 79 and wedge break. The next real... READ MORE
On the 60-minute chart, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) firmed at support around 130 mid-week and bounced back above 132 on Friday. The 62% retracement and broken resistance marked this support zone. In addition, SPY was oversold and overbought $VIX suggested that stocks were ripe for a mean-reversion... READ MORE
The Coal Vectors ETF (KOL) has been stuck in a tightening trading range the last five weeks. After the sharp January decline, the ETF formed a triangle in February. As volatility decreased, the Bollinger Bands contracted to their narrowest range since early November, seen of a triangle breakout. Watch the... READ MORE
Despite a sharp decline in stocks this week, the indicator summary remains firmly positive. Don't forget that the major index ETFs, most sector SPDRs, the AD Lines and the AD Volume Lines all recorded new 52-week highs just last week. Such highs occur in big uptrends, not big... READ MORE
On the 60-minute chart, SPY continues to firm at support around 130. This support zone stems from broken resistance levels and a 62% retracement of the advance from the late January lows to the mid February highs. There have been a couple of bounce attempts in the last two days,... READ MORE
Delta Airlines (DAL) came across the bullish engulfing scan on the predefined scans page. The stock gapped lower and declined with heaving volume on Tuesday. This decline was countered with a bullish engulfing on Wednesday with even higher volume. The stock is stalling Thursday and needs to break the Wednesday&... READ MORE
On the 60-minute chart, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) hit the main support zone around 130 on Wednesday afternoon and bounced. This bounce does not look that strong though as stocks sold off in the final 30 minutes of trading. A strong bounce would have finished strong. With... READ MORE
BBY Hits Long-term Support Zone. CL Forms Triangle Consolidation. IMB Forms Bull Wedge. Plus MHS, RTH and T. This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to... READ MORE
It may seem a rather strange relationship, but the Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) and the 10-year Treasury Yield ($TNX) have a positive relationship working. The chart below shows both rising and falling together since November 2009. Despite a setback over the last few days, both remain in uptrends overall. John Murphy... READ MORE
On the 60-minute chart, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) hit its first support zone in the 131.5 area. This zone stems from the consolidation the second week of February. It is important to note that the gap down held and the ETF continued lower after the first... READ MORE
A 25-cent daily Point & Figure chart for HR Block ($HRB) captures price action all the way back to July 2009. These X's and O's show the stock moving lower throughout 2010 and firming towards yearend. 2011 has been better with a double top breakout last... READ MORE
Unrest in Libya is sparking the flight to safety trade in a big way. Libya produces around 1.8 million barrels of oil per day and accounts for a 2% of global output. Even though Saudia Arabia has around 3 million barrels of spare capacity, the market is concerned that... READ MORE
Except for natural gas, most major commodities and commodity groups are up sharply over the last 6-8 months. Stockcharts.com provides a broad range of Dow Jones-UBS commodity related indices. The PerfChart below shows seven commodity related indices and the 20+ year Bond ETF (TLT). Five represent major commodity groups.... READ MORE
The NYSE and Nasdaq most active lists are displayed on the Free Charts page and updated throughout the day. Seven of the ten most active on the NYSE were down in early trading on Friday. Seven of ten were up on the Nasdaq. Chartists can see charts for all ten... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary. The AD Lines and AD Volume Line both surged to new 52-week highs this week. Major bearish reversals in the stock market are often preceded by bearish divergence in one or more of these indicators. With fresh 52-week highs, bearish divergences are... READ MORE
As you might expect, there is no change in the medium-term trend (daily chart) or short-term trend (60-minute chart). SPY is now up over 5% this month with gains on 11 of the last 14 days. In January, the index zigzagged higher with a choppy advance from ±125.5 to... READ MORE
Dow Theory is built on the concept of confirmation. The Dow Transports should confirm a higher high in the Dow Industrials and visa versa. Failure to confirm signals that something might amiss. The Dow Industrials has been forging new highs throughout the month and the Dow Transports just made it... READ MORE
On the daily chart SPY surged on 1-Feb with a gap and long white candlestick that closed above 130. The advance continued after this surge with a grind higher. We can see bigger surge-grind patterns starting with the early September surge and the early December surge (green dotted lines). There... READ MORE
CHRW consolidates at support. NEM breaks short-term resistance. KSS breaks wedge resistance with volume. Plus AEO, INTC, LUB, QLGC and T ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Lumber Continuous Futures ($LUMBER) remains in a clear uptrend with a series of higher highs and higher lows since late June. This advance (roughly) corresponds with an advance in the Home Construction iShares (ITB). ITB was a little shakey in October-November, but the etf has been moving higher since... READ MORE
There is no change in the analysis for the 60-minute chart and daily chart. SPY gapped up the last two Monday's and both gaps held. The advance appears to be accelerating in February. Notice the sharp advances followed by short pullbacks this month. Yesterday's pullback stopped... READ MORE
Intel is meeting some pretty stiff resistance around 22, but the overall trend remains up. The stock formed a big bearish engulfing in early December and a harami on Thursday-Friday. Even though harami are potentially bearish candlestick patterns, confirmation is required with some downside. Namely, look for a break below... READ MORE
There are dueling wedges for the Euro Currency Trust (FXE) and the Gold SPDR (GLD). FXE remains in a downtrend with a falling wedge, while GLD remains in an uptrend with a rising wedge. FXE broke support the first week of February, formed a lower high last week and moved... READ MORE
ANF stalls near key retracement. BRCM shows relative weakness. INTC forms harami near resistance. Plus BBBY, BSX, CME, GILD and SWY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 PerfChart below shows five tech-relate ETFs along with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ). All are up sharply since late August, but three are up more than 40%. The Networking iShares (IGN) is up some 48.4%, the Semiconductor HOLDRS (SMH) is up 45.... READ MORE
Despite low volume the last few months, the stock market continues to move higher. Let this be a lesson. Volume is an indicator that comes second to price action. In addition, overall volume is not as important as the balance of volume. Total volume may be low, but stocks can... READ MORE
Something has clearly spooked the bond market over the last five months. Looking at the CRB Index, that something appears to be inflationary pressures. The CRB Index bottomed in early July and advanced over 30% the last seven months. Bonds peaked two months after the CRB Index bottomed and declined... READ MORE
Three indicators were upgraded this week. With the three of the four key offensive sectors recording 52-week highs this week, I can hardly be bearish on this indicator. XLY, XLI and XLK hit new highs, while XLF remains close to its April high. Even though the Nasdaq has been underperforming... READ MORE
The Euro Currency Trust (FXE) broke down with a sharp decline, but the Gold SPDR (GLD) bounced after early weakness to hold well above support. I suspect that the Dollar is strengthening for a number of reasons. First, US interest rates surged in February. Second, turmoil in Egypt and the... READ MORE
Macy's (M) was one of ten NYSE stocks showing up on the Shooting Star scan on the Predefined Scans page. After surging the prior three days, the stock hit resistance from broken support and formed a large shooting star on Wednesday. Note the small body, the long upper... READ MORE
The Gold SPDR (GLD) remains in an uptrend, but this bullion ETF warrants a close watch as it trades near the 50% retracement with a rising wedge. I identified the inverse head-and-shoulders and breakout last week and GLD remains in an uptrend as long as the wedge rises. Typically, a... READ MORE
ABX forms rising flag. SWY breaks P&F trendline. X forges bearish engulfing at resistance. Plus FCX,HRB,MHP. 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
After taking a big hit at the end of January, the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) firmed and surged to a new 52-week high this month. The ETF is up seven of the last eight days with a 5.3% advance. This is the sharpest advance since early September. This is... READ MORE
A virtual free fall in bonds is fueling a rally in stocks, and possibly gold. The first chart shows the 10-year Treasury Yield ($TNX) surging from 33.25 to 37.25 (3.325% to 3.725%) over the last seven days. The corresponding bond ETF (IEF) has fallen from around... READ MORE
The USO Oil Fund (USO) and the US Gasoline Fund (UGA) normally track each other pretty well, but these two have gone their separate ways over the last four weeks. UGA (red) is up around 1% and USO (black) is down around 4% since January 11th. This is unlikely to... READ MORE