I generally spend a lot of time writing and talking about areas of the market showing strength. The reason? I'm a momentum trader and we're in the midst of a six year bull market. When I trade a stock, I typically would like to see immediate... READ MORE
The stock market looks ahead and based on the latest breakout in home construction stocks ($DJUSHB), apparently traders like what they see on the horizon. The 10 year treasury yield ($TNX) held key support and is bouncing. Proceeds from the sale of treasuries seems to be finding a "home&... READ MORE
There have been more and more areas of the U.S. stock market that are showing signs of slowing momentum to the upside and it's begun taking a toll on several of those areas. Over the past six months, healthcare (XLV) and consumer discretionary (XLY) have outperformed. But... READ MORE
I have been reading with much interest how the potential slowdown in China will be the next reason why the S&P 500 will tumble. But by changing a few chart settings here at StockCharts.com, you can quickly visualize the correlation between the Chinese stock market and our... READ MORE
I know many of you prefer the increased safety and diversification of ETFs over trading individual stocks. For some of you, it may simply be that you don't have time to watch over a portfolio of stocks, nor do you have the time and/or inclination to spend... READ MORE
In evaluating the likelihood of sustainable market rallies, one key relationship revolves around how consumer discretionary (XLY) stocks are performing vs. their consumer staples (XLP) counterparts. The reason is fairly simple. Consumer discretionary companies sell products that people WANT while consumer staples companies sell products that people NEED. If the... READ MORE
I've said many times before and I'll continue to repeat it - we must do our homework and then show the necessary patience and discipline to allow trades to set up for us. Part of doing homework is accumulating a number of stocks that are in... READ MORE
Advances in the stock market are much more bullish and likely more sustainable if small cap stocks are outperforming their large cap counterparts. Over the past three years, we've seen very volatile relative action between the S&P 500 and Russell 2000. During periods when the Russell... READ MORE
I don't think so. I'm always a bit leery of August and September because of the historical tendency for the stock market to struggle during the late summer season. Throughout the current 6+ year bull market, the Aug-Sept period has racked up gains four out of... READ MORE
Risk management is paramount to a successful trader. It sounds easy enough, but what does it mean? Well, it can mean lots of different things to different people. The easiest way to manage risk is to remain in cash. You can sleep without worrying what happened in China overnight. But... READ MORE
WFM posted underwhelming quarterly earnings results and the stock is down significantly in early action today. More importantly, however, is the longer-term price support that's being tested. WFM has not had an open or a close beneath 35.90 since early 2012 although WFM has tested this area... READ MORE
The MACD is an awesome indicator, one that I use in my trading decisions every day. But there are misinterpretations at times, in my opinion, and I want to share a few of those with you. In my most recent article, "The Power of the MACD", I shared... READ MORE
There are pullbacks in uptrends and then flat out trend reversing breakdowns. We never know for sure which is which until history plays out. But Biogen's (BIIB) massive selling on Friday has all the makings of the latter. Any time a company rises more than ten fold in... READ MORE
Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc (FBHS) surged in volume today and appeared to be on its way to a breakout above closing price resistance near 48.00. FBHS actually printed an intraday high of 47.99 before reversing and finishing weak the final two hours. From the weekly chart... READ MORE
For me, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) trails only the combination of price and volume in my hierarchy of trading tools and indicators. It's THAT good. But it has one major limitation in that it only considers price action, not volume. Hence, it cannot be trusted as... READ MORE
Funny how the stock market does a complete turnaround in two weeks, isn't it? If you haven't already read my July 7th article, "Today Smells Like A Short-Term Bottom.....Maybe", go back and check it out. If you're going to short-term trade... READ MORE
There's a reason we watch chart patterns. Earlier this week in a DITC blog article, the internet index ($DJUSNS) finally cleared 900 resistance after failing at that level on a few occasions the past 18 months. This latest attempt was different, however. Many times it gets quite frustrating... READ MORE
Just a couple months ago in early May, ATML gapped higher on big volume and hasn't looked back since. Along the way, it cleared price resistance just below 9.00 on very heavy volume and subsequently surged to 10.50 before becoming violently overbought and in need of... READ MORE
Earnings season is always full of surprises. It's a time when we usher out the old (leaders) and welcome in the new. Companies that report better-than-expected results and are trading in bullish technical patterns typically have an advantage in the weeks ahead - at least that's... READ MORE
Many traders are believing the Dow Jones U.S. Internet Index ($DJUSNS) is dead money and for the past 18 months or so, that's been mostly true. The DJUSNS has been unable to sustain a move above 900, testing that level in March 2014, September 2014, March 2015... READ MORE
Restoration Hardware (RH) engages in the retail of home furnishings. Over the past three months, the home improvement retail index ($DJUSHI), to which RH belongs, is down more than 4% while RH consolidates ahead of what could be a triple top breakout. As a result, RH is showing solid relative... READ MORE
The recent movement in CME shares back and forth is nothing but noise. The technical picture here is very solid with an uptrend in place that began in early 2013, preceding the current ascending triangle formation. During that span, CME more than doubled its stock price although its March high... READ MORE
I want to start this article from a historical perspective. I'm convinced there's much truth in the numbers. The 28th through the 6th and the 11th through the 18th are historically bullish periods of the calendar month. I believe much of this strength has to do... READ MORE
Possibly a long-term bottom. But I do respect bearish market behavior, especially during the summer months where history tells me "corrections happen". I'm watching the action closely today, however, and we're seeing significant bounces off of steep drops that have a rather distinct market... READ MORE
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has been under tremendous selling pressure since it topped at an all-time high near 90 back in early 2015. The selling began after a long-term negative divergence printed during the second week of the year. That's a sign of slowing momentum on the buy side... READ MORE
Utility stocks benefited as much as any sector during the unprecedented drop in treasury yields. Those who seek income were forced out of treasuries the past several years because of historically low treasury yields and they found a home in utilities. The problem now is that treasuries are being sold... READ MORE
Market rotation is the key during every bull market. Indices begin to fall apart when rotation fails and money leaves many aggressive areas and doesn't move to others. But our major indices stay on course so long as market rotation continues and thus far that's what... READ MORE
Medidata Solutions (MDSO) posted better than expected revenues and EPS in late April and the stock exploded higher as a result. Since that time, MDSO hasn't been able to add to those gains, instead consolidating in rectangular fashion with its RSI dropping to 40. As you look at... READ MORE
The Strategy Tuesday marked the end of the second quarter. During the 2015 "halftime report", I thought I'd take a moment to share my approach to individual stock trades. Trading can be a daunting task, especially if you're looking at individual stocks because there... READ MORE
Amazon.com (AMZN) continues to reach for the stars and if the current technical pattern plays out, it'll likely be much closer. After soaring through price resistance in April to set a fresh all-time high on the heels of better-than-expected earnings, AMZN has been consolidating in a bullish... READ MORE
There is little in this world that irks me more than listening to a fundamentalist eschew technical analysis. I have a somewhat unique background as a Technical Analyst, having passed the CPA exam some 30 years ago and having spent 20 years in public accounting. That has provided me a... READ MORE
IPGP resides in the semiconductor industry and is pulling back with this industry group as June has proven to be a very rough month for this space. I'm expecting that to soon change and IPGP could be a direct beneficiary. But first, there's some technical business... READ MORE
After testing 2075 price support for about the sixth time a week ago, the S&P 500 has rallied close to 2.5% since that low. While all nine sectors have participated in this rally, energy has been the laggard while consumer stocks, especially staples, have led this rally.... READ MORE
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday suggested the pace on increasing interest rates would be slower than previously thought. There was renewed interest in treasuries and the 10 year treasury yield dropping nearly 10 basis points in the two hours following the Fed policy statement. Those remarks by Fed Chair Janet... READ MORE
Just like with fundamental analysis, technical analysis has two sides - those who look at the glass as half full and those who view it as half empty. The current technical state of the Dow Jones U.S. Specialty Consumer Services index ($DJUSCS) is certainly up for debate. There are... READ MORE
Okay, first let me preface this article with the notion that I don't short a bull market. I really try to trade with the trend. Going against the primary trend is similar to swimming against the current - it's not easy to make any head way.... READ MORE
There hasn't been much positive news to tweet about at Twitter (TWTR) lately. In the midst of its downward spiral in price action, CEO Dick Costolo announced he would be resigning from TWTR and TWTR's co-founder and Chairman Jack Dorsey would take over. The problem here... READ MORE
I love technical analysis. I spent two decades in public accounting, was a prinicipal in a large regional CPA firm in the Washington DC metropolitan area and audited companies in several industries, including banks. But as I say over and over again, you can have the financial statements and review... READ MORE
Mobileye (MBLY) is one of the companies behind the car crash avoidance technology. MBLY broke its downtrend line in early March on surging volume and has been trending higher ever since. Volume trends remain very strong and today's breakout is occurring on excellent volume as it clears double... READ MORE
The ten year treasury yield has surged from 1.65% to 2.40% since February 1st so it should be no surprise that the Dow Jones U.S. Bank Index ($DJUSBK) has risen more than 14% during that same span. From a sector perspective, the consumer discretionary (XLY) space is... READ MORE