Market Recap for Thursday, March 17, 2016 All of our major indices continued their five week advance with one notable exception - the NASDAQ 100 ($NDX), which fell slightly despite strong gains elsewhere. In particular, healthcare stocks (XLV) were weak with the XLV the only sector in negative territory, falling 1.... READ MORE
IBM had been under intense selling pressure and had lost more than 40% of its market cap from its March 2013 high to its early 2016 double bottom low near 117.00. Was that enough? Has it bottomed? Well, there was an exhaustion gap in mid-January followed by a... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Energy (XLE) closed at more than a three month high on Wednesday, gaining 1.73% on the session to lead all sectors. Utilities (XLU) were a strong second as they climbed 1.53%. The XLU clearly benefited from the reaction in treasuries to... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, March 15, 2016 Apple (AAPL) resumed its upward climb on Tuesday, breaking to its highest close since the first trading day of 2016. AAPL's strength led computer hardware ($DJUSCR) to outsized gains of 1.42%, technology (XLK) to the best finish among sectors and... READ MORE
Market Recap for Monday, March 14, 2016 There was weakness during the first 15 minutes of trading on Monday, then again during the last 15 minutes of trading. Prices meandered higher throughout much of the remaining session, however, and left our major indices bifurcated by the close. The Dow Jones... READ MORE
Special Note In the Sector/Industry Watch section below, I highlight the historical and current February to April strength in the Exploration & Production ($DJUSOS) industry group within the energy sector (XLE). I plan to discuss how you can research historical strength by sector and industry group in my Trading... READ MORE
Whole Foods Market (WFM) has been trading in sideways fashion for the past several months and its long-term weekly chart isn't one of the strongest. But there are signs that better fundamental days lie ahead based on technical signs of accumulation. Below is a daily chart of... READ MORE
Market Recap for Thursday, March 10, 2016 We've had little economic news out this week so equity markets have been left to trade off technical indications. After the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcement of further quantitative measures triggered a very quick surge to the upside in... READ MORE
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced its latest quantitative easing measures and though they initially moved global markets higher, the focus now seems to have turned to ECB President Draghi's comment that further interest rate cuts aren't likely. There is weakness across the board in the... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Energy (XLE) was back in the driver's seat on Wednesday as the XLE climbed 1.62% to easily outperform the other eight sectors. Weakness in the dollar (UUP) has contributed to recent strength in commodities and after an early gap higher... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, March 8, 2016 Investors and traders turned to treasuries (TLT) and utilities (XLU) on Tuesday as money rotated back toward defense. The rally off the February 11th low has been characterized by rotation away from defense. It's not unusual to see selling accompanied by... READ MORE
Market Recap for Monday, March 7, 2016 Monday was a strange day. First, there was bifurcated action where most of our major indices were able to tack on additional gains despite huge gains over the past few weeks and overhead price resistance at hand. The gains weren't big... READ MORE
Market Recap for Friday, March 4, 2016 All of our major indices ended last week on a high note as U.S. stocks finished with more gains. There's been very solid index and sector rotation to support the recent bullish action and a renewed selling effort in treasuries... READ MORE
2016 has not been a very good year, although the rally the past few weeks has alleviated some of the earlier pain. I guess we should party like it's 1999.99 because that's where the S&P 500 closed on Friday. Couldn't we... READ MORE
Yes. Does that mean the stock market is guaranteed to roll over and play dead? Absolutely not. Trading success is not always dependent on being right, as crazy as that might sound. It's about planning your trades to minimize risk in the event your call is incorrect. Many... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, March 3, 2016 I spoke yesterday about the significance of the XLE's breakout on Wednesday. Thursday's follow through day was impressive as well as the XLE led all sectors, gaining another 1.51%. I'd like to see crude oil ($WTIC)... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, March 2, 2016 Energy (XLE) made a very important technical breakout on Wednesday and did so with increasing volume. That's an excellent sign of a further uptrend. The XLE now has important support at its rising 20 day EMA, currently at 56.90. Initial... READ MORE
Tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls report is a really, really big deal. Maybe not so much from a fundamental perspective, but it certainly is from a technical perspective. Over the past few months, we've seen heavy volume selling and a rotation toward defensive areas of the market like... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Tuesday was a very impressive broad-based rally with index leadership from the NASDAQ, especially NASDAQ 100 shares, and also leadership from the key financial (XLF), technology (XLK) and consumer discretionary (XLY) sectors. Among industry groups, banks ($DJUSBK), computer hardware ($DJUSCR), software ($DJUSSW)... READ MORE
Special Note Today marks my one year anniversary as Senior Technical Analyst here at StockCharts.com. I love being here and look forward to many more years with this truly great company. I want to thank everyone at StockCharts and also all of you for your support during the past... READ MORE
Market Recap for Friday, February 26, 2016 Materials (XLB) led bifurcated action on Friday as this sector rose 1.45%, more than double any other sector. Both the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 showed gains, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 finished in negative territory. The XLB drew... READ MORE
Over the past few months, traders have shunned risk and we've seen many high flyers begin to take big hits. Netflix (NFLX) certainly fits that category and hasn't been immune to the selling. Recently, NFLX traded at a high of 133.27, but has since fallen... READ MORE
Market Recap for Thursday, February 25, 2016 Financials (XLF) rallied nicely on Thursday to lead this extended market rally. Unfortunately, four of the six best performing industry groups within financials were REITs, the more defensive area of financials. Industrials (XLI) also performed well with aerospace ($DJUSAS) the leader there. The... READ MORE
Everyone is trying to evaluate the strength and sustainability of the current U.S. equity rally. StockCharts.com provides us the tools to do just that. But not every indicator tells us the complete truth. A look at the most recent drop in the S&P 500 and subsequent... READ MORE
Market Recap for February 24, 2016 After very early strength in the U.S. dollar index ($USD) on Wednesday to challenge the 98 level, the greenback fell sharply, allowing for a very quick recovery in energy (XLE) and materials (XLB) stocks and that propelled our major indices into positive territory... READ MORE
Market Recap for February 24, 2016 Energy (XLE) and materials (XLB) tumbled on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar ($USD) continued its recent rally. The greenback rose just fractionally yesterday but it followed a very strong rally on Monday and closed above its 20 day EMA for a second consecutive... READ MORE
Special Note I'll be joining John Hopkins of EarningsBeats.com just after the market closes today for a lively discussion of analyzing both long and short candidates during a tumultuous trading period like the one we're experiencing now. It's FREE and will be held... READ MORE
Market Recap for February 19, 2016 The U.S. market was mixed on Friday with the more aggressive Russell 2000 and NASDAQ leading the action with gains of 0.53% and 0.38%, respectively, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Dow Jones was down fractionally at... READ MORE
Just about one year ago, StockCharts.com unveiled a "dividend indicator" to allow you to plot the history of dividends on a particular U.S. or Canadian stock. For those who are income-oriented, it's a great way to review the history of dividends that a... READ MORE
From a short-term trading perspective, last week's rally was predictable. Positive divergences flashed all over the equity map on daily charts - globally, domestically, and within sectors, industry groups, and individual stocks. So it was certainly an opportunity for the bulls to regain control of the action in... READ MORE
Market Recap for Thursday, February 18, 2016 The keys to the sustainability of the recent rally will be twofold: (1) will there be enough buying pressure to clear key resistance levels as they're approached and tested? and (2) will there be enough rotation to aggressive areas of the... READ MORE
Wal-Mart (WMT) based for more than a decade beginning in 2000 before it finally made a significant technical breakout in 2012. WMT then nearly tripled over the next three years before stumbling over the past year. Perhaps the biggest question is whether the selling has ended and WMT is... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, February 17, 2016 Energy stocks (XLE) soared yesterday, rising 3.28% to easily lead all sectors. Eight of the nine sectors finished higher with only utilities (XLU) coming up short. Leading energy has been the resurgence of coal stocks ($DJUSCL) as the DJUSCL is setting up... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Tuesday produced what arguably was the best daily performance for U.S. equities in 2016. It wasn't the biggest percentage gain, but the behavior and leadership was outstanding and sets up the market for further short-term gains. Yesterday's... READ MORE
Market Recap for Friday, February 12, 2016 The Dow Jones U.S. Banks Index rallied nearly 6% on Friday, a stunning reversal with a positive divergence indicative that the rally may be closer to starting than finishing. The entire financial sector rallied with the benchmark ETF (XLF) gaining 4.22%... READ MORE
It's difficult to argue that Apple has been one of the best performing stocks - if not the best - in the 21st century. But every stock has its limitations and a good question is whether AAPL has reached its top. AAPL has fallen 30% from its peak in May... READ MORE
Market Recap for Thursday, February 11, 2016 It was another very rough outing for financials (XLF) in general and banks ($DJUSBK) in particular with losses of 3.06% and 4.28%, respectively. The banking issue is most definitely a global one as has been very well documented here at StockCharts.... READ MORE
Volatility and S&P 500 performance tend to move in opposite directions. As fear escalates and the VIX prices in higher expected volatility, equity markets sell off. Currently, the VIX is nearing its recent resistance near 30, which is a very high level of expected volatility, one in which... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, February 10, 2016 There was a bit of strength on Wednesday as the NASDAQ managed to finish with a minor gain, while the remaining key indices gave up earlier gains to end the session in negative territory. The bifurcated action was very disappointing to those hoping... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, February 9, 2016 U.S. stocks were lower throughout much of the session on Tuesday before rallying in early afternoon action to move into positive territory with one hour left. Unfortunately, another round of quick selling emerged and all of our major indices finished lower once... READ MORE