Spot Light Crude ($WTIC) surged above 100 in the second half of December and then formed a falling wedge in January. A decline in oil is unusual because the Dollar is down over the last few weeks and stocks are up. A move above 102 would break wedge resistance and... READ MORE
With one more upgrade, all ten indicator groups are in bull mode. Relative performance of small-caps was the lagging indicator, but small-cap performance perked up this month as the $RUT:$OEX ratio broke above its December highs. Even though stocks look short-term and medium-term overextended, there are simply no signs... READ MORE
Stocks opened strong and then sold off to close with small losses. A little pop and drop is normal with the stock market so overbought. Even so, selling pressure was not that strong and the short-term uptrends remain in place. All sectors were lower with energy leading the way (-1.... READ MORE
With stocks opening strong and then moving sharply lower, the intraday bearish engulfing scan is filling up quite quickly. Of note, the Regional Bank SPDR (KRE) has a bearish engulfing in play on Thursday afternoon. In fact, notice how the ETF pretty much engulfed the last 11 days of trading... READ MORE
EAFE ISHARES ... EAFE iShares (EFA) are viewed as the premier ETF for foreign developed markets. EAFE includes stocks in ten of the world's largest developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East. It's biggest weighting, however, is in Europe (57%). The United Kingdom is its... READ MORE
CMA Stalls at Key Retracement. SSP Consolidates with Triangle Formation. UIS Bounces off Key Retracement with High Volume. Plus JPC, JWN, WHR 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)... READ MORE
There is nothing like a little Fed frenzy. Stocks surged after the Fed announced an extension of their zero interest rate policy. Treasuries surged ahead of the statement, but gave it all back afterwards. The Dollar fell sharply and commodities surged in the afternoon. Gold was the standout winner with... READ MORE
LARGE-CAP TECHS LEAD AS STOCKS GET OVEREXTENDED... Link for todays video. All of the major index ETFs were up on Wednesday with gains ranging from .65% for the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) to 1.26% for the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ). Admittedly, these are relatively modest gains for such a... READ MORE
The Amex Airline Index ($XAL) lagged the market throughout 2011, but may be poised to lead with a breakout in 2012. The P&F chart below is a classic three box reversal chart with each box representing 50 cents. Notice that the current X-Column broke above the last three... READ MORE
Another blowout quarter from Apple is lifting the Nasdaq futures this morning, but the rest of the market is rather subdued as the Fed's policy statement looms this afternoon. Stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as indecision continued ahead of the Fed. Small-caps were higher with the Russell 2000... READ MORE
A look at the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) movers shows Quest Diagnostics with a big move (+37) on Tuesday. On the price chart, DGX broke ascending triangle resistance with a surge in volume today. Click this chart for a live image... READ MORE
It is another big day on the earnings front. McDonalds, Baker Hughes and Air Products report before the open. Apple, Altera, AMD and Yahoo report after the market close. In addition to a big earnings week, we have EU debt wrangling, rumors on Portugal and a FOMC meeting. The US... READ MORE
Careful out there during earnings season. ATVI Declines on High Volume GFI Consolidates Near Wedge Breakout. GT Forms Pennant after Sharp Decline. Plus FST,GFI, LLY, MMM... READ MORE
QQQ opened flat, surged, dipped and then recovered to close basically unchanged on the day. As a result, the ETF formed a long legged doji, which shows indecision on the day. Overall, the trend remains up as the ETF holds above the December trendline. A break below this trendline would... READ MORE
SPX ELLIOTT COUNT SUGGEST CURRENT ADVANCE IS CORRECTIVE... Link for todays video. It is time once again to open Pandoras box with some Elliott Wave analysis. First, note that there are only three rules for Elliott Wave Theory. Rule 1: Wave-2 cannot retrace more than 100% of Wave-1. Rule 2:... READ MORE
It could be a volatile week, but what else is new. EU finance ministers are meeting to discuss the Greek debt situation because Greece is facing a large rollover in March. The Fed meets on Tuesday-Wednesday with a policy statement expected on Wednesday afternoon. Red-hot housing stocks will be in... READ MORE
Ok, I'll admit I'm being a little dramatic. But everyone should know how I feel about my favorite sentiment indicator - Relative Complacency/Pessimism. One month ago as the market was dropping, I wrote about how relative pessimism was building and how that could limit the... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! Early last year, we added Dr. Alexander Elder's Impulse System to our SharpCharts charting package and it has proven to be quite popular. This is the system that colors the price bars red, green or blue depending on two criteria that Elder feels are very... READ MORE
The U.S. stock market continues to lead the rest of the world higher. Charts 1 and 2 show the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Indexes clearing their fourth quarter highs, which puts them in position to challenge the highs formed last summer and spring. The S&... READ MORE
Since the beginning of the year, we've seen both Gold ($GOLD) and her sister metal Silver ($SILVER) rally; but we've seen Gold under-perform during this rally. This is exactly what should take place in a metals bull market. But that said, the Gold/Silver Ratio remains... READ MORE
The market rally on Wednesday was driven in part by a surge in housing stocks, which was triggered by a favorable housing report. Since the fundamentals of the housing market are not too thrilling, regardless of short-term gains, my curiosity was piqued and I pulled up some charts. The daily... READ MORE
The FOMC meets next Tuesday-Wednesday and will make its policy statement Wednesday afternoon. With stocks surging and recent economic reports buoyant, the bond market may be looking ahead to this meeting with trepidation. The first chart shows the 10-year Treasury Yield ($TNX) rising sharply the last three day. Treasury bonds... READ MORE
While the German DAX Index ($DAX) and the French CAC Index ($CAC) languish well below their 2011 highs, the DJ Ireland Index ($IEDOW) shows strength with a break above its highs. Ireland was one of the first countries to get into trouble, but it appears that the tough medicine is... READ MORE
AIRLINE INDEX CHALLENGES OCTOBER HIGHS... Link for todays video. Led by railroad, trucking and air-freight stocks, the Dow Transports exceeded its October high with a surge in early January. Airlines have been lagging, but may be poised to play catch-up as the Amex Airline Index ($XAL) challenges resistance. Chart 1... READ MORE
With two more upgrades, the indicator summary is now at plus nine. The only indicator not bullish is the $RUT:$OEX ratio because it has yet to convincingly break resistance. Small-caps are lagging a bit, but this could also be due to above-average strength in financial large-caps the last few... READ MORE
Bank and tech earnings were largely positive on Thursday and stocks moved higher. Today we will hear from Schlumberger and General Electric, which will impact oil services and industrials. Stocks extended their gains on Thursday as the major index ETFs notched new highs for this short-term uptrend. The absolute gains... READ MORE
The Medical Devices iShares (IHI) has been moving higher since mid December and is now challenging its late summer high. Also notice that upside volume picked up over the last 4-5 weeks. While a breakout would be bullish, the ETF is getting overbought after a 13+ percent advance off its... READ MORE
S&P 500 AND NASDAQ CLEAR FOURTH QUARTER RESISTANCE... The U.S. stock market continues to lead the rest of the world higher. Charts 1 and 2 show the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Indexes clearing their fourth quarter highs, which puts them in position to challenge... READ MORE
It is a big day on the earnings front. Judging from the rally over the last 4-5 weeks, it looks like most reports will be better than expected. Financials dominate the premarket reports with Bank of America, BB&T and Morgan Stanley reporting earnings before the open on Thursday.... READ MORE
Careful out there. It is earnigns season. ATML Surges above Wedge Resistance. GFI Gaps above late December High. SLB Forges Outside Reversal Day on Big Volume. 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... READ MORE
Stocks were largely higher on Wednesday with the technology sector leading the way. As the Sector Market Carpet shows, three of the top five performers in the technology sector come semiconductor group: Linear Tech (LLTC), Altera (ALTR) and Texas Instruments (TXN). Click this chart for a live image... READ MORE
TECHNOLOGY AND CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY SPDRS CHALLENGE SUMMER HIGHS ... Link for todays video. Stocks were broadly higher on Wednesday with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) and the Technology SPDR (XLK) leading the way. Chart 1 shows XLK challenging resistance in the 26.5 area. Resistance in this area turned the ETF... READ MORE
The short-term uptrend for the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) began with the breakout on December 20th and is now entering its 19th day, which is pretty long for a short-term uptrend. Also note that the ETF is up around 8% from its December 19th low. For now, the... READ MORE
John Murphy's industry group PerfChart shows the Banking Index ($BKX) and the Biotech Index ($BTK) leading the market higher with the biggest gains. Also note that the Gold and Silver Index ($XAU) and the Broker Dealer Index ($XBD) are strong this year. Click this chart for a live... READ MORE
Rumors that Standard & Poor's was going to downgrade the debt rating for several EU countries sent stocks sharply lower on the open Friday morning. Stocks remained down as rumors swirled, but did not add to their losses. The news finally hit at 3PM ET and stocks edged... READ MORE
ASEI Recovers on Strong Volume. EQR Forms Bullish Engulfing on High Volume. NE Surges off Consolidation Support. | Plus ADM, ADSK, AMZN, EQR, PCLN, TKC, VLO 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... READ MORE
Spot Unleaded Gasoline ($GASO) found support in the 2.45-2.50 area from September to December and then broke resistance with a surge the last three weeks. The breakout is holding, but $GASO stalled this week and fell rather sharply on Thursday. A move back below 2.62 would negate... READ MORE
FINANCE SECTOR LEADS MARKET LOWER... Link for todays video. An earnings miss from JP Morgan weighed on the finance sector and the market early Friday. Chart 1 shows the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) dipping below 128 and filling Tuesdays gap. Even though SPY closed higher Wednesday and Thursday,... READ MORE
With another strong week in the stock market, the indicator summary improved with three indicator upgrades. The AD Lines are considered bullish because the NYSE AD Line broke its summer highs and the Nasdaq AD Line broke its early December high. The AD Volume Lines are bullish because both broke... READ MORE
Despite lackluster retail sales, stocks recovered from early losses on Thursday and closed near their highs for the session. The sectors were mixed with materials and industrials posting the biggest gains. Utilities and energy were down. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) remains in an uptrend on the 60-minute... READ MORE