Market Recap for Friday, January 5, 2018 Not even a disappointing jobs report on Friday could slow down this bull market train. U.S. futures were strong before the release of December's nonfarm payrolls and they didn't give up a thing after the release, which showed... READ MORE
HAPPY NEW YEAR! In my first Trading Places blog article of 2018, "Here's One Chart That Screams BUY As We Begin 2018", I highlighted my favorite relative chart in the Current Outlook section. It's one of the biggest reasons why I believe 2018 will... READ MORE
Global stock markets started off the new year with a bang. U.S. stock indexes exploded to record highs for the best start in years. Foreign stock benchmarks did the same, including the FTSE All World Stock Index which also hit a new record. New records were set in North... READ MORE
Ultimately, the U.S. stock market lives and dies by the performance of its economy and how that translates into earnings growth of U.S. companies. Nearly every economic report that we've seen of late has been strong or strengthening. The number of companies that are performing well... READ MORE
S&P 500 IS MOST OVERBOUGHT SINCE LATE 1990S... Global stock markets started off the new year with a bang. U.S. stock indexes exploded to record highs for the best start in years. Foreign stock benchmarks did the same, including the FTSE All World Stock Index which also... READ MORE
The Energy Sector lit up the final month of 2017. There are a number of dynamic stocks amongst this theme we can profile. Let’s choose one (and circle back to study others later on). This case study is a good way to begin our posts in the new year.... READ MORE
The stock market is never 100% bullish with all stocks participating in an uptrend. There are always some holdouts and pockets of weakness, but the broader market can continue higher as long as the pockets of strength are greater than the pockets of weakness. The percentage of stocks above the... READ MORE
The market was flat for the last two weeks of December, and I thought that might be a sign that it was hanging on by its fingernails until the first of the year, when we might see some profit taking. But, no. Why take profits when the market seems to... READ MORE
A quick bulletin to let you all know that we got a new PMO BUY signal on the Dow. I've been writing about this the past few days so no one should be surprised. At this point my concern again is for more whipsaw if the market takes... READ MORE
Earnings for 2017 Q3 will be finalized soon, but on a preliminary basis the S&P 500 has a P/E of 25, which is extremely overvalued. The chart below shows the S&P 500 Index (black line) in relation to where it would be if it were... READ MORE
Over 25 years of full-time trading, it’s been my experience that, as an investor, one moves ahead by looking back. In other words, reviewing my 2017 Trading Journal will improve my 2018 results. Indeed, the tenth and final stage of Stock Market Mastery is to Revisit, Retune and Refine.... READ MORE
---- Strong Pockets Outweigh Weak Pockets ---- Large-caps Lead New High Expansion ---- SPY Momentum Remains Strong ---- QQQ Continues to Lead ---- IJR Stalls Near Prior High ---- Seven of Ten Sectors Hit New Highs ---- Materials, Industrials and Finance Lead New Highs ---- MLP ETF Breaks Out ----... READ MORE
Market Recap for Thursday, January 4, 2018 Where's the top? Who knows and the bulls don't seem to care. As of Wednesday, the Dow Jones was left out as the only index not to clear a psychological or significant price level for the first time ever... READ MORE
If you look at the DP Scoreboards below, you'll note that the Dow is the only Scoreboard with "red" on it. It is highly likely that red arrow or PMO SELL signal will evaporate tomorrow if we see a follow-on rally or even a slight rise.... READ MORE
This months Market Roundup live video has a lot of information on the bond market. The six-stage cycle is currently in Stage 3. This large overview shows some of the major macro trends that are breaking right now. Market Roundup With Martin Pring 2018-01-03 from StockCharts.com on Vimeo. Good... READ MORE
Dollar Index is in a confirmed bear market * Dollar sympathy indicators are close to a major breakdown * Canadian and Aussie dollars are driven by commodity prices * Emerging Market ETF benefiting from a weaker dollar Dollar Index is in a confirmed bear market As 2018 begins to unfold the Dollar Index... READ MORE
---- S&P MidCap SPDR Catches a Bid ---- Finance SPDR Springs to Life ---- Citigroup and Morgan Stanley End Pullbacks ---- US Bancorp Leads Regional Bank SPDR ---- Broker-Dealer iShares Breaks Out of Flag ---- S&P MidCap SPDR Catches a Bid ---- Large-caps are leading so... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, January 3, 2018 We're only two trading days into 2018 and already we've seen the S&P 500's first close ever over 2500, the NASDAQ's first close ever above 7000, the Russell 2000's first close... READ MORE
I had a bad feeling about the array of PMO SELL signals that appeared Friday and Tuesday. It wasn't worry about an upcoming decline, more the concern we'd see a whipsaw right back to BUY signals, which we did. Interestingly, the Dow was left out and... READ MORE
UNITED STATES OIL FUND NEARS UPSIDE BREAKOUT ... Energy prices continue to rise. WTIC Light Crude Oil is trading over $61 today for the first time more than two years and is nearing a test of its spring 2015 high just over $62. Chart 1 shows the United States Oil Fund... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, January 2, 2018 The NASDAQ loves January and January loves the NASDAQ. If there's one month where the NASDAQ really shines on a relative basis, it's January (see Historical Tendencies below) and that index opened the new year like it owns January.... READ MORE
The five FAANG stocks, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet), started the year strong as three moved back above their 50-day SMAs on Tuesday. Alphabet and Amazon were already above their 50-day SMAs so this means all five are back above these key moving averages. The chart below shows... READ MORE
On Friday, the SPX, OEX and Dow logged new PMO SELL signals. This was a function of the market consolidating and holiday trading, but it is important to note that these signals are arriving in overbought territory for these PMOs. After today's trading, their PMOs are already decelerating... READ MORE
I’m going to start a new series of articles on building a rules-based trend following model. For a host of reasons, I cannot provide readers complete details of the trend following model I currently use, but I can simulate most of the concepts in various examples, so you will... READ MORE
Special Note First, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Let's make 2018 our best yet! Here are a couple of quick reminders: (1) If you like my Trading Places blog and you'd like to follow my articles every morning, scroll down... READ MORE
---- SPY Ends the Year with a Stall ---- IJR Consolidates into Yearend ---- Energy, Materials and Industrials Finish 2017 Strong ---- Oil Finishes at High of the Year ----Aluminum, Copper and Nickel Finish Strong ---- Three Materials Stocks to Watch (MLM, VMC, NUE) ---- Acuity Bases in Third Quarter... READ MORE
As 2017 draws to an end, the Relative Rotation Graph for asset classes is sending a very clear message! Equities are leading the way into 2018! The RRG above shows some ETFs representing various asset classes and uses VBINX, a balanced index fund, as the benchmark. With only SPY, representing... READ MORE
Last week we were looking at a rising wedge formation, which we said normally resolves downward. This week price moved through the bottom of the wedge sideways, but that doesn't really qualify as a downward resolution, which would necessarily require price to move, well, down. Friday's... READ MORE
Alright, I know. It's a little cliche. But hey, not only is it a Friday, it's also the last Friday of the year. And not only is it the last Friday of the year, it's also the final trading day of 2017 (can you... READ MORE
Special Note Happy New Year to all and thanks so much for your support of me and StockCharts.com in 2017 (and please subscribe at the bottom of my article - it's FREE!). If you're not a member, your first resolution should be to become one.... READ MORE
COMMODITIES ARE HISTORICALLY VERY CHEAP VERSUS STOCKS... I suggested yesterday that commodity prices (and stocks tied to them) usually do better in the later stages of a business cycle as inflation pressures start to build. We may be entering that stage. One of the reasons why investors may be turning... READ MORE
Market Recap for Wednesday, December 27, 2017 Wednesday's action was characterized by thin volume and low volatility, normal for trading during the holidays. Our major indices moved fractionally higher, with the Russell 2000 ($RUT) being the exception after that index fell during the afternoon session to finish slightly... READ MORE
* 10-year bond yields could be in the process of a secular reversal. * What odds is the S. Korean ETF placing on the breakout of war? * China has gone uncharacteristically quiet. Is this the quiet before the storm? * CRB Composite just below mega resistance As we approach 2018 I thought it... READ MORE
I hope you and yours had a fantastic and warm Christmas! As Bob Cratchit so eloquently put it, "I was making rather merry yesterday". The holidays continue as does holiday trading into the new year. We received a new PMO SELL signal on the NDX, so I'... READ MORE
U.S. DOLLAR INDEX WEAKENS ... The U.S. dollar continues to weaken. Chart 1 shows the PowerShares US Dollar Index (UUP) falling today to the lowest level in a month. The dollar is down against all foreign developed currencies except the yen which is marginally lower. The biggest influence on... READ MORE
Market Recap for Tuesday, December 26, 2017 Energy stocks (XLE, +0.88%) continued their merry way higher, which really isn't surprising after the sector made a very significant price breakout above the 70 level. With an RSI approaching the 80 level now, however, I wouldn't be... READ MORE
The Regional Bank SPDR (KRE) surged to a 52-week high in late November and then formed a bullish continuation pattern as it consolidated the last few weeks. First and foremost, the long-term trend is up for KRE because of the breakouts in September and November, and the 52-week high in... READ MORE
Market Recap for Friday, December 22, 2017 The major indices all fell back slightly during Friday's pre-Christmas holiday, light volume trading session. Materials (XLB, +0.38%) was the best performing sector, while healthcare (XLV, -0.32% and financials (XLF, -0.28%) lagged. The 10 year treasury yield ($TNX)... READ MORE
SANTA CLAUS RALLY STILL LIES AHEAD... The stock market experienced the second slowest trading day of the year on Friday as traders headed home for Christmas. All major stock indexes, however, hit new records during the week. The Russell 2000 Small Cap Index had the week's biggest percentage... READ MORE
Two weeks ago I led with a chart of the Bitcoin Index. It was in a dangerous parabolic advance, and I said: "Yes, price could go higher, but it is also at a point where the parabolic could collapse, and the potential downside is back down to the support... READ MORE