Stocks continued higher with the tech sector leading once again. In fact, three of the four offensive sectors led what was really a mixed market. XLK and XLF gained over 1%, while XLI advanced .61%. The Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY), however, only managed a .24% gain. Within tech, networking stocks... READ MORE
BOOM Forms Long Bullish Consolidation. BRCM Forms Bull Pennant after Breakout. Plus CERN, CHRW, CTXS, URBN Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell... READ MORE
The Steel ETF (SLX) is perking up after a pullback to support. First, notice how broken resistance in the 46.5-47 area turned into support and held in November and December. With the January test, the ETF formed a piercing pattern on Tuesday and confirmed this candlestick reversal with another... READ MORE
BANKS ARE LEADING STRONG FINANCIAL SECTOR... Last Wednesday's message wrote a positive article on bank stocks, and showed the group doing better on both an absolute and relative basis. Chart 1 is an updated version of the KBW Bank SPDR (KBE), and shows the ETF climbing 1% today... READ MORE
After one day of selling pressure on Monday, stocks rebounded with the technology sector leading the way. Networking stocks held up well during Monday's decline and semiconductor stocks led the way on Tuesday. Even though we did not see new highs in the major index ETFs, note that... READ MORE
MARKING FUTURE SUPPORT FOR THE XLY, XLK, XLI AND XLF... Link for today's video. There is no doubt that the four offensive sector SPDRs are in up trends. First, all four are trading within a few percent of their 52-week highs. Second, current prices are near the upper... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with a broad-based selloff, but selling pressure was not that intense. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the way lower with a 1.05% decline and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) held up the best with a .74% loss. All sectors were down with the Consumer Discretionary... READ MORE
AAPL Firms near Key Retracement. AN Breaks Trend Line with Volume Expansion. Plus CNX, EBAY, IBM, JOY Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy,... READ MORE
The Sector Market Carpet showed a lot of red on Monday, but there were a few green squares within the tech sector. In fact, a couple of networking stocks led as F5 Networks (FFIV) and Juniper (JNPR) scored big gains. Also notice that Xerox (XRX), Red Hat (RHT), Hewlett Packard... READ MORE
USING SEASONALITY TO GET THE EDGE IN RETAIL STOCKS... Link for today's video. It is a big week for the Retail SPDR (XRT) because the Commerce Department will report December retail sales on Tuesday before the open. The consensus estimate is for a .4% gain in month-to-month retail... READ MORE
Despite a big miss for December non-farm payrolls, stocks managed to finish strong and end the week on an up note. The S&P MidCap SPDR (MDY) led the market with a .74% gain, while the Dow Diamonds (DIA) lagged with a .01% loss. The miss in non-farm payrolls... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! Happy New Year! 2013 was very, very good to technical investors. Let's hope 2014 continues that trend. As we mentioned in the previous newsletters, we've put together an amazing line up of speakers for our upcoming ChartCon conference. Today, I'm please... READ MORE
Friday's news that American employers added only 74,000 jobs in December didn't have much of an effect on the broader stock market, but did shock bond investors. Chart 1 shows the 10-Year Treasury Note Yield ($TNX) suffering the worst drop since September. In so doing,... READ MORE
It's my favorite time of the quarter - as a trader. I approach it like an offensive or defensive coordinator on one of the NFL playoff teams this weekend. I study recent history to find strengths and weaknesses of the market and then I anticipate "plays"... READ MORE
Friday's US Employment Situation Report was much less-than-expected at +87k. Many believe this to be an aberration given recent strong employment data, but the aberration may be a longer-than-expected aberration given 10-year note yield may be telling us that a "soft patch" is directly ahead. Quite... READ MORE
BOND YIELD PLUNGES ON WEAK JOBS REPORT... Friday's news that American employers added only 74,000 jobs in December didn't have much of an effect on the broader stock market, but did shock bond investors. Chart 1 shows the 10-Year Treasury Note Yield ($TNX) suffering the... READ MORE
The Dow Diamonds (DIA) and several key stocks within the Dow formed bullish continuation patterns over the last two weeks and traders should watch these patterns for breakouts. DIA formed a falling flag and this pattern represents a rest after a sharp advance. Such a rest or pullback is actually... READ MORE
S&P 500 SPDR STALLS AFTER MINI BREAKOUT... Link for today's video. The major index ETFs remain in long-term uptrends, but moved into corrective mode after big surges in the second half of December. While I am not looking for a major trend reversal in the stock... READ MORE
It’s one thing to blindly take my word when I claim the power of seasonality will enhance the probability of you making a profitable trade. It’s another for me to present you with a basket of 6 stocks in my first blog of December which all had attractive... READ MORE
Stocks are off to a rough start in 2014 with seven of the nine sectors SPDRs under water. The Energy SPDR (XLE), Materials SPDR (XLB) and Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) are leading the way lower. On the flipside, the HealthCare SPDR (XLV) and the Finance SPDR (XLF) show gains and... READ MORE
Stocks did not do much this week (as of Thursday) and there is no change in the indicator summary. The AD Lines and AD Volume Lines are in clear uptrends with new highs over the last few weeks. The offensive sectors are leading with XLF hitting a new high this... READ MORE
Stocks continued their mixed ways with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) closing fractionally higher (-.03%) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) edging lower (-.33%). The technology sector led the way lower as networking, internet and semis came under selling pressure. Materials-related stocks extended their declines with the Coal... READ MORE
$SPX MOVES HORIZONTAL FOR TWO WEEKS ... Looking at the intraday on Chart 1 of the $SPX with 1 hour candles, the market has been unable to make any real process since the surge after the Fed meeting. The $INDU Chart looks a little weaker as we are trying to find... READ MORE
Stocks were under mild selling pressure early Thursday, but airlines bucked the trend with good gains and fresh highs. A look at the predefined scans page shows several airlines and two airline-related stocks making the 52-week high list today. Despite new highs and uptrends, also note that UAL, DAL, LUV... READ MORE
Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested the strong ADP report and the prospects of further tapering down the road. Actually, strong job numbers and tapering are nothing new. These realities were simply reinforced with the ADP report and the FOMC minutes, which showed that most policy makers favor... READ MORE
AAN Bounces off Support on Good Volume. CIEN Challenges Resistance. Plus $JBLU, MEDI, SWK and WAG. Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell... READ MORE
Weakness in oil continues to weigh on the Oil & Gas Equip & Services SPDR (XES) as the ETF broke flag support. The chart below shows XES hitting resistance at the 50% retracement and breaking flag support over the last three days. This signals a continuation of the prior decline... READ MORE
HIGHER BOND YIELDS ARE HELPING BANKS ... Banks stocks have been market leaders during the first week of the new year. Chart 1 shows the KBW Bank SPDR (KBE) recently hitting a new high. Its relative strength ratio (gray area) has also been rising. Part of that is due to expectations... READ MORE
Turnaround Tuesday took hold as stocks bounced to end the 2014 slump, which lasted a whole three days. The gains, however, were relatively muted as participants held back ahead of Friday's employment report. The employment numbers will start coming in with the ADP Report today, the Challenger report... READ MORE
The S&P 500 hit a new high in late December, but the Retail SPDR (XRT) fell short of its prior high and could be forming a lower high, which is the first step to a downtrend. The June trend line and December low mark key support in the... READ MORE
MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO'S THE STRONGEST SECTOR OF ALL... Link for today's video. Today's commentary will show chartists two unique ways to measure relative performance for the nine sector SPDRs. Note that today's video provides step-by-step instructions for creating these... READ MORE
Stocks extended their correction with relatively mild selling pressure. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the decline with a .81% loss, but the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) only lost .29% on the day. The sectors were mixed with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) and Industrials SPDR (XLI) edging... READ MORE
AAPL Hits Key Level as Volume Ticks Higher. BMY Forms a Pennant. Plus EA, GME, WDAY Individual charts are below video. Sorry but your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. **This chart analysis is for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell... READ MORE
The Coal ETF (KOL) got a summer bounce, but stalled in the autumn and then hit resistance from the falling 200-day moving average. The 50-day moving average joined the battle as it met the 200-day at the end of December. With a sharp downturn the last three days, KOL appears... READ MORE
USING RSI(5) TO PLAY THE PULLBACKS... Link for today's video. It looks like stocks are having a New Year's Eve hangover with weakness over the last three days. I would not consider this an omen for the rest of the year just yet though. A... READ MORE
Stocks got off to a rough start in 2014, but the big trends were unaffected by this relatively shallow pullback. In fact, a two day pullback after an eleven day advance is pretty normal. Techs were hit Thursday and Friday as the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) fell 1.5%. Small-caps... READ MORE
CHANNEL SURFING WITH THE S&P 500... Link for today's video. The S&P 500 remains in a strong uptrend and is now nearing the upper trend line of a twenty-six month channel. First and foremost, there is no sign of a major top on this... READ MORE
Each year at this time, I become a trader of “change”. I take certain steps to tackle challenges I’ve encountered throughout the year and endeavor to refashion and update both myself and my trading plan. Above my desk sits a guiding quote by Dr. John Norcross: With investors and... READ MORE
The Gold Miners ETF (GDX) remains in a downtrend overall, but the ETF is showing signs of life with a resistance challenge to start the year. Resistance in the 22-23 area stems from broken support, the August trend line and the early December high. GDX needs to clear this zone... READ MORE
Stocks finished the year strong as the major index ETFs and offensive sector SPDRs hit new highs. These new highs were confirmed with new highs in the AD Lines and AD Volume Lines. Net New Highs also expanded as the High-Low Lines hit new highs. New highs all around can... READ MORE