AMGN Corrects with Falling Wedge. FAST Surges and Consolidates. Plus BSBR, MOS IPI 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 think for ourselves when it... READ MORE
S&P 500 REVERSES AT CHANNEL TREND LINE... Link for today's video. The S&P 500 is overbought by most metrics and remains ripe for a correction as the month of May draws to a close. Chart 1 shows the index surging to the upper trend... READ MORE
Spot Light Crude ($WTIC) has been quite volatile the last few weeks with two declines from the 97 area and two bounces off the 92 area. It is possible to draw three trend lines extending up from the mid April low. The mid May lows and third fan line mark... READ MORE
Stocks were hit with a reversal day on Wednesday, but this was not enough to affect the bigger uptrends. The AD Lines and AD Volume Lines hit new highs just before the reversal day. Net New Highs remain strong and the offensive sectors are leading again. Despite this bullish environment,... READ MORE
Stocks plunged on Wednesday and firmed somewhat on Thursday. Even though the medium-term trends remain up, the short-term uptrends are in jeopardy and stocks are still ripe for a correction. A correction can form as a sideways consolidation, a decline or as a combination of the two (think zigzag lower)... READ MORE
ASIAN STOCKS LEAD GLOBAL SELLOFF... The stock market downturn that started in the U.S. yesterday afternoon spread to Asia today. The Japanese stock market, which has led the world higher during 2013, fell 7% today. The weekly bars in Chart 1 show Japan iShares (EWJ) having the worst weekly... READ MORE
An interesting divergence is brewing between lumber and housing stocks. Lumber Futures ($LUMBER) fell around 25% the last two months, but the Home Construction iShares (ITB) hit a 52-week high recently. Something may need to give because lumber and housing stocks are positively correlated for the most part. Click this... READ MORE
To make a broad generalization, European cars lust after curvy roads. American cars are more about the power, rumble and straight line 0 – 60 speed. There are key parallels between investors and car buffs, but clearly there exist cars for every possible taste, just as there are limitless options of... READ MORE
Stocks finally got spooked as the bulls pulled in their horns and the bears showed their claws. The market opened strong and moved higher in early trading, but quickly reversed and moved sharply lower. The Fed got the blame as investors contemplated an end to quantitative easing. Frankly speaking, an... READ MORE
AAN Fails to hold Breakout. BBRY Underperforms the Market. Plus BTU, CHH, FCX, FDX, SYMC, XME 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 think for... READ MORE
EURO TRUST FORMS BEARISH REVERSAL PATTERN... Link for today's video. The Euro accounts for over 50% of the US Dollar Index ($USD) and the US Dollar Fund (UUP). This makes it the main Dollar driver to watch. Before looking at the bearish pattern, let's review the... READ MORE
The advance may be slowing, but stocks continue to grind higher. The major index ETFs finished with small gains as the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained .02% and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) advanced .14%. The sectors were mixed with the Technology SPDR (XLK) edging lower and the... READ MORE
Solar stocks are on the move today and volume is increasing in several names. The image below comes from the "strong volume gainers" scan on the pre-defined scans page. Click any of the headings to sort this table. There are five solar-related stocks making the cut. Click this... READ MORE
Stocks edged higher in the morning and lower in the afternoon. As a result, the major index ETFs finished mixed on the day with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) closing slightly higher and the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) closing slightly lower. The Energy SPDR (XLE) led the sectors with a... READ MORE
BSBR Gets Set for another Go at Resistance. FDX Breaks Pennant Resistance. Plus ANF, FNSR, STLD This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for... READ MORE
Energy related stocks are catching a bid as Spot Light Crude ($WTIC) challenges the $97. The chart below shows the Oil & Gas Equipment/Services SPDR (XES) breaking flag resistance and hitting a 52-week high on Monday. The flag zone now turns into support. Click this image for a live... READ MORE
RETAIL SALES SOFTEN, BUT SURPRISE... Link for todays video. Last week we saw several key economic releases with mixed results. Retail sales beat expectations with a small gain. Industrial production came in weaker than expected with a larger decline. Jobless claims surged above 350 for the first time since early... READ MORE
There are simply no sellers out there. We can argue about low volume levels, the artificial Fed affect and lackluster economic data, but there are clearly more buyers than sellers in the stock market and stocks are rising. Admittedly, stocks are getting quite overextended again and ripe for a rest.... READ MORE
The chart below shows the U.S. Dollar Indexchallenging its mid-2012 high near 84. An upside breakout through that prior peak (which appears likely) would put the dollar at the highest level since mid-2010. The dollar has become the world's strongest currency. One of the reasons for the... READ MORE
There were concerns a month ago when the defensive sectors were leading the market, but this changed as the offensive sectors took control over the past month. The defensive sectors include healthcare, consumer staples and utilities. The offensive sectors include technology, consumer discretionary, industrials and financials. Chartists can use PerfCharts... READ MORE
The Great Rotation is in its early stages. For those initiated to this concept, it is simply that rising interest rates will cause asset allocators to sell bonds and buy stocks. And we shall posit that it shall become more pronounced in the weeks and months ahead as interest rates... READ MORE
So much for "Go away in May"! I've written in the past that this is VERY misleading information that's routinely provided to the investing public. For example, the month of May is one of the best months of the year to invest in small... READ MORE
While we tend to focus more on the short and intermediate term, we notice that there is a lot going on in the long term time frame. Most obvious is the breakout above the top of a long-term trading range. The breakout is decisive (more than three percent), so the... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! Today we started our Spring Special for 2013. As long-time ChartWatchers know, it is important to take advantage of our specials when we hold them in order to minimize your charting costs. That is true regardless of whether or not your account is about to expire. I... READ MORE
RELATIVE STRENGTH IN OFFENSIVE SECTORS SUPPORTS UPTREND... Link for todays video. There were concerns a month ago when the defensive sectors were leading the market, but this changed as the offensive sectors took control over the past month. PerfChart 1 shows the percentage change for the nine sector SPDRs from... READ MORE
Stocks and the Dollar are performing well as both trade near six month highs. This strength is at the expense of Treasuries and gold, which are trading well below their November levels. The US Dollar Index ($USD) is trading at its highest levels since last summer. Spot Gold ($GOLD) has... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary as stocks extended their gains again this week. The AD Lines and AD Volume Lines hit new highs. Net New Highs remain firmly positive. Momentum is bullish, if not short-term overbought. However, as we have seen since mid November, the term overbought... READ MORE
Stocks were trading flat most of the day, but got hit with selling pressure in the final hour. As a result, the major index ETFs closed modestly lower. The S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell around .50% on the day. Eight... READ MORE
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Gerald Loeb used this phrase frequently. I’ve always had great respect for Mr. Loeb. True, he was an extraordinary investor and a best-selling author. But what I most respected him for... READ MORE
Chartists can view the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) for stocks in the S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600, S&P MidCap 400 and Toronto Stock Exchange. These ranks can be sorted by change to find the biggest movers. Simply click the column heading the sort. Cisco... READ MORE
DOLLAR INDEX NEARS THREE-YEAR HIGH ... Chart 1 shows the U.S. Dollar Index challenging its mid-2012 high near 84. An upside breakout through that prior peak (which appears likely) would put the dollar at the highest level since mid-2010. The dollar has become the world's strongest currency. One... READ MORE
ALTR surges and forms small flag. ANN breaks wedge resistance with good volume. Plus BG, CIEN and EMC. 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
Stocks extended their uptrends with modest gains. All of the major index ETFs moved higher with the S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) leading the way. Both were up just less than 1%. Eight of the nine sectors were up with only... READ MORE
The Networking iShares (IGN) moved lower from early February to mid April and then bounced the last five weeks. This bounce is forming a rising wedge and nearing broken support, which turns resistance. RSI is also in its resistance zone (50-60). Thus, the moment-of-truth of truth is near with Cisco... READ MORE
ANALYZING THE SECTOR BREADTH ... Link for today's video. Today's market message is going to dive deep into sector analysis. There are nine sector SPDRs and StockCharts.com offers four different breadth indicators to complement sector analysis. Breadth indicators are designed to measure the degree of participation.... READ MORE
Stocks surged and closed strong with small-caps leading the charge. All of the major index ETFs were up, but the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and Nasdaq 100 Equal-Weight ETF (QQEW) lagged with relatively small gains (less than .50%). Apple was down sharply and weighed on QQQ. Relative strength in small-caps... READ MORE
The overall trend for the CRB Index ($CRB) is down this year, but the index bounced back above 288 this month. It looks like a strong jobs report and rebound in commodities was more than Treasuries could take as the 30-Year US Treasury ($USB) fell over 4% this month. Notice... READ MORE
ABC Forms Bear Flag. FLIR Traces out Rising Wedge. Plus HPQ, PG, T This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for ourselves when it... READ MORE
Stocks meandered on Monday as the major index ETFs finished the day mixed. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and S&P 500 Equal-Weight ETF (RSP) edged lower, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) finished slightly higher. The materials sector was hit as... READ MORE
The chart below shows six commodity group ETFs from PowerShares. The Silver Trust (DBS) and Precious Metals Trust (DBP) are the weakest year-to-date, while the Energy Trust (PBE) and Oil Trust (DBO) the only ones with gains, albeit small gains. These year-to-date gains stem from strength in Natural Gas ($NATGAS)... READ MORE