The TSX Composite ($TSX) is a little late to the party, but the index found some gas this week and surged above its 200-day moving average for the first time since early May. The index also broke the March trend line and exceeded its early July high. Click this image... READ MORE
With fresh highs in the major index ETFs this week, the indicator groups held their positive ratings and there was even an upgrade. Sector performance was upgraded because three of the four offensive sectors are showing relative strength (consumer discretionary, industrials and technology). Finance remains a drag, but these three... READ MORE
Stocks caught a bid on Thursday and closed modestly higher. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the way by gaining over 1%. All sectors were up with technology and materials scoring the biggest gains. A big gain in the Home Construction iShares (+3.83%) helped... READ MORE
Even though Tim Horton's remains in an uptrend since 2009 and above the Bullish Support Line, it recently broke triple bottom support and triggered a bearish signal on the Point & Figure chart. This breakdown points to further weakness with a price objective (PO) around 45. You can... READ MORE
Stocks continued their meandering ways on Wednesday, but the major index ETFs managed to close with gains. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) led the way with a .88% gain and the S&P 100 ETF (OEF) lagged with a .02% gain. Even though relative strength in small-caps is welcome,... READ MORE
ATVI Recovers after Support Break. FAST Forms Bull Flag after Breakout. Plus AMX, HCA, SNDK This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for ourselves... READ MORE
Even though the match is not perfect, there is clearly a positive relationship between Lumber Futures ($LUMBER) and the Home Construction iShares (ITB). Notice that both have been trending higher since November 2011 and both recently recorded new highs. Click this image for a live chart... READ MORE
SPY CONSOLIDATES NEAR APRIL HIGHS... Link for todays video. Stocks stalled over the last several days, but this is not necessarily a sign of weakness. Chart 1 shows the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moving above 140 on August 7th and then moving into a relatively tight consolidation. Ones... READ MORE
Stocks continued their drift with a small surge on the open and then a drift lower throughout the day. Basically, the major index ETFs drifted back to their prior closed and finished the day virtually unchanged. Trading has been listless for 5-6 days now. Stocks moved sharply higher on August... READ MORE
F5 Networks (FFIV) surged to resistance in early August and then pulled back the last two days. Notice how the stock hit resistance in the 104 area twice in July and now once in August. The Stochastic Oscillator became overbought with a move above 80 and turned down with a... READ MORE
The major index ETFs moved lower in early trading on Monday, but quickly firmed and advanced in afternoon trading. Even though the change from Friday's close to Monday's close was minimal, the ability to recover and close strong is a positive sign. Buying pressure is coming... READ MORE
IP Follows Through on Island Reversal. Bollinger Bands Narrow for SCMR. Plus MCK, SYK and TIBX 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
Direst TV (DVT) formed an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern from April to August and broke resistance with a strong surge the last three days. While the stock is short-term overbought, this breakout is bullish and broken resistance turns into the first support zone to watch on a pullback (~50). Click this... READ MORE
Stocks continued higher last week and closed near their highs for the week. The Nasdaq 100 ETF broke resistance from its July highs and this breakout is holding. The Russell 2000 ETF broke falling channel resistance and this breakout is holding. The Dow Industrials is one of the strongest as... READ MORE
The Percent Price Oscillator (PPO) is a momentum oscillator that fluctuates above/below the zero line. While traders use divergences and direction for signals, investors can simply abide by the positive and negative crosses. The bulls have a trend edge when PPO is positive, while the bears have an edge... READ MORE
Mastery is not achieved by knowing the Holy Grail of trading systems. Mastery is achieved by having the discipline to put in writing your own trading system, learning to overcome a lot of potentially costly enemies within yourself and then following your system. A few years ago, I conducted an... READ MORE
S&P 100 CHALLENGES SPRING HIGHS... Link for todays video. S&P 100 is leading the market as it challenges its prior highs. Chart 1 shows the index hitting 645, which marks resistance from the April high. Given the strength of this uptrend, I would not consider the... READ MORE
The S&P 500 surged to the upper Bollinger Band on Friday and walked further up the band this week. Notice how the index "tagged" the upper band in June, July and now August. Pullbacks also held above the lower band. This is the sign of a... READ MORE
With last Friday's surge and continued strength this week, the indicator summary improved as three groups were upgraded. I upgraded the AD Lined because the NYSE AD Line hit a new high. The AD Volume Lines were upgraded because they broke their mid July highs. The offensive/defensive... READ MORE
No commentary, just charts worth a 1000 words.... READ MORE
Stocks turned indecisive on Wednesday as the major index ETFs closed mixed. The Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) edged .13% lower, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) edged .12% higher. The sectors were also mixed with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) losing .49% and the Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP)... READ MORE
ARUN Surges to Resistance. DLTR Breaks Falling Wedge Resistance. PLCE Consolidates after Big Move. Plus CPRT, LEN, SSP 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
DOW AND S&P 500 NEAR SPRING HIGHS... Link for todays video. The Dow Industrials and S&P 500 continue to lead the market higher as they close in on their spring highs. Both are within 2% of their all time highs. The medium-term trends turned bullish with... READ MORE
With the risk-on trade taking shape the last two weeks, the Commodity Index Fund ($DBC) broke above pennant resistance to continue its July advance. The upper trend line extends down to mark first support at 27.50. A move back below this level would question the breakout and call for... READ MORE
The StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) calculates a numerical ranking for all stocks in the S&P 500. Four of the top ten stocks come from the consumer discretionary sector, which is the most economically sensitive sector. Two of the top ten come from the technology sector. StocksCharts also provides... READ MORE
BONDS BREAK 50-DAY AVERAGE... For the first time in four months, bond yields are rising and bond prices falling. Chart 1 shows the 10-Year T-Note YIeld (TNX) trading above its 50-day average for the first time since early April. At the same time, the 20+Year Treasury Bond iShares (TLT)... READ MORE
Stocks extended their gains for the third day running. Since gapping up on Friday morning, the major index ETFs continued their advance with a slower zigzag. Even though this means less upside momentum, there is clearly more upside momentum than downside momentum. Small-caps took the lead on Tuesday with the... READ MORE
Stocks continued higher on Monday, but late selling pressure hit in the final fifteen minutes. As a result of this late selling pressure, the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) formed a gravestone doji with a long upper shadow. Even though this shows a failed rally intraday, it is not enough to... READ MORE
$AKS Bounces with Good Volume. $KBH Forms Falling Wedge. $TEVA Traces out Bullish Engulfing Pattern. 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... READ MORE
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) broke above resistance from the July highs and remains in an uptrend, but a spinning top formed on Friday. These candlesticks show indecision and the prior two foreshadowed pullbacks within the uptrend. Click this image for a live chart.... READ MORE
There it is again. Stocks were pushed down early in the week, but positive news on employment and the ISM Services Index produced a very sharp rally on Friday. Small-caps led the surge as the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained over 2%. All sectors were higher with the finance, industrials... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! Today I'm happy to announce that we've started rolling out several important new features for our SharpCharts charting tool. These new features include more choices for bar periods and an improved version of our interactive "Inspector" tool. I'm even... READ MORE
One of my previous messages showed a rotation out of small cap stocks into mega-caps in the middle of 2011 which continues to this day. That suggests that investors have been growing increasingly defensive over the last year. The chart below provides graphic evidence that global stocks may have actually... READ MORE
Decision Point publishes a daily Tracker report of our 152 Blue Chip list. This list is composed of the stocks in the S&P 100 Index, the Dow 65, and some large-cap Nasdaq stocks. We also track the Top 10 stocks in ths list, ranked by relative strength measured... READ MORE
Any time the S&P 500 moves to fresh new highs, I try to determine the likelihood that the move is a sustainable one. Traders need to be in the right mindset to carry prices further. They need to be aggressive in terms of where they place their trading... READ MORE
For now, the S&P 500 is rallying in a manner that is abrupt to say the least - several days higher, then several days lower, and then repeat. This, coupled with the European fiasco has caused investor/trader sentiment to become rather archly bearish; and therefore the short-term... READ MORE
Stocks turned a negative week into a positive week with a sharp advance on Friday. The S&P 500 ETF, Dow Industrials SPDR and Nasdaq 100 ETF recouped their early week losses and exceeded their July highs. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and S&P MidCap 400 SPDR... READ MORE
The S&P MidCap 400 SPDR (MDY) continues to underperforming the S&P 500 ETF (SPY), but the ETF is showing signs of life with a surge off back above the 200-day and a challenge to triangle resistance. A breakout would be bullish and target a move to... READ MORE
Knowing how top salespeople convert suspects into prospects into clients yields powerful insights as to how top investors convert equity ideas into portfolio candidates and finally into profitable trades. An investor’s winning trading plan includes money management rules that accommodate both right and wrong scenarios. The plan includes a... READ MORE
RUSSELL 2000 ETF SURGES OFF 200-DAY FOR SECOND TIME... Link for todays video. Stocks surged as the jobs number and ISM Services Index exceeded expectations. The Labor Department reported that the US economy added 163,000 jobs in July. This number was above the expectations for 100,000 and the... READ MORE