There it is again. Stocks were down sharply in afternoon trading and then mounted a spectacular advance in the final 50 minutes. Press reports attributed this turnaround to an article in the FT. According to the FT, European finance ministers were considering another package to save European banks. Yes, Europe... READ MORE
With a lower open and sharp advance in the final hour, the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) formed a large bullish engulfing on high volume. Also note that this pattern comes with a successful, for now, test of the August lows. Now let's see if the bulls can follow... READ MORE
UPSIDE REVERSAL ON RISING VOLUME... This morning's message showed a number of foreign and U.S. stock indexes testing important support at their mid-2010 lows. Some foreign ETFS (like the EEM and EWG) were actually trading below those levels. By late afternoon, however, upside reversals prevented those breakdowns... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY), Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) and Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) all broke below their September lows on Monday. IWM led the market lower with a break below its early August lows. Small-caps have shown relative weakness for several months now and this remains a... READ MORE
AAPL Hits Congestion Zone as iPhone Announcement Looms. CHRW Forms Triangle within Downtrend. PG Backs off Resistance Again. Plus CMCSA, HOG, PLCE 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
It was a sea of red on Monday as stocks declined sharply. All sectors were down, but there were a few isolated gainers. These can be found on the Sector Market Carpet. Two come from the consumer staples sector (Campbell Soup and Lorillard). One comes from the precious metals group... READ MORE
SMALL-CAPS LEAD STOCKS LOWER AGAIN... Link for todays video. Stocks moved broadly lower on Monday with small-caps leading the way. All major index ETFs were down 2% or more. Eight of the nine sector SPDRs were down 2% or more. Only the Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) was down less. Chart... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke down with a move below 114, but surged right back to broken support in the 119 area. Talk about a vicious bull trap. The ETF ultimately formed a lower high below 120 and moved sharply lower the last three days. SPY broke... READ MORE
THINGS NON-MEMBERS ASK ABOUT - Yes, we do have monthly charts. Yes, we do allow you to create charts that are longer than 3 years. Yes, you can see the data that makes up each chart. Yes, our charts can be automatically updated. Yes, you can scan just the charts... READ MORE
Utilities have emerged as the year's strongest sector. The chart below shows the Utilities Sector SPDR (XLU) trading near a new 52-week high while the S&P 500 (solid line) is closer to a new lows. The rising XLU:SPX relative strength ratio (below chart) also shows... READ MORE
The month of September has not been kind to Gold; and the question before everyone is whether or not gold has seen its highs for an intermediate period or whether a brief pause before higher highs are forged. We are of the opinion of the former rather than the latter,... READ MORE
The weekly moving average convergence divergence (MACD) has always been a favorite indicator of mine. It provides a "big picture" outlook of the market and helps me take a step back from the day to day swings of the market. With the Volatility Index (VIX) in the stratosphere... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! Simpler is usually better and that is definitely true when you are looking for a chart to put the month of September into perspective. Voila! Members can click the chart to see a live version. The Dow finished September over 6% lower than the previous month. That&... READ MORE
QUESTION: Carl, I have read a lot of articles recently indicating gold miner stocks should go up and outpace gold. So far nothing but a drop in goldminers. Would it be possible for you to show charts of GDX and GDXJ with your comments on one of your daily posts?... READ MORE
After hitting resistance at a key retracement this month, the Technology ETF (XLK) fell with what looks like a continuation of the bigger downtrend. First, notice that the ETF formed a massive Triple Top that extends from January to July. XLK became oversold with the July-August breakdown and then retraced... READ MORE
STOCKS SHOW LOTS OF MOVEMENT AND NO REAL CHANGE... Link for todays video. It is clear that the short-term trend is being influenced by news, hope and fear, all of which are four letter words. Chart 1 shows the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since August 8th. The Zigzag... READ MORE
The London FTSE 100 ($FTSE) and the EuroNext 100 ($N100) moved sharply lower on Friday. These two indices are easy to track from the StockCharts.com home page. The chart below comes from the home page. Click on the tabs at the top to see real time charts for four... READ MORE
There is no change in the indicator summary. Nine of ten indicator groups are in bear mode. The NYSE AD Volume Line broke down last week. Small-caps show relative weakness as the $RUT:$OEX ratio hit a new low this month. The CBOE Volatility Index ($VIX) remains at relatively high... READ MORE
Despite a pop, drop and pop on Thursday, the short-term trend for stocks remains down. SPY opened above 117, but these gains did not last long as the ETF quickly dropped below 115. Selling pressure was actually pretty intense during the afternoon selloff. Even so, most of the losses were... READ MORE
The High-Yield Bond SPDR (JNK) has a strong positive correlation to the stock market. Notice that the Correlation Coefficient is consistently above the .50 level. This means that the Junk Bond ETF and the S&P 500 move in the same direction most of the time. It could, therefore,... READ MORE
GERMAN DAX STABILIZES NEAR LONG-TERM SUPPORT ... A couple of Thursdays ago (September 15), I included in my market message a story about the German DAX Index trying to bounce from oversold territory after having reached a potential support level. The weekly bars in Chart 1 show that's still... READ MORE
Stocks continued their choppy ways with small and mid-caps leading the market lower on Wednesday. Oil, industrial metals and gold were also down sharply. The Dollar moved higher and US Treasuries were flat. The big trend for the stock market is down after the August breakdown, but trading since early... READ MORE
AET Reverses at Key Retracement. ANF Stalls after Gap. LULU Breaks Trendline with Gap Down. Plus JWN and MDT. This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need... READ MORE
With a strong open and weak close on Wednesday, hundres of stocks made the cut for the bearish engulfing scan (177 Nasdaq and 183 NYSE). The chart below shows Google ($GOOG) breaking wedge support last week and forming a bearish engulfing after a three day bounce. You can find more... READ MORE
SMALL AND MID-CAPS LEAD STOCKS LOWER... Link for todays video. Stocks moved lower on Wednesday with small-caps leading the way. Before looking at the charts, just a note on the current Euro-Greek hysteria. It all boils down to the economy. If the US economy were strong and growing, the European... READ MORE
What a mess. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has been trading between 110 and 123 since early August (seven weeks). During this timeframe, the ETF has crossed the midpoint (116.50) at least 11 times. There have also been nine swings of at least five percent. This is... READ MORE
Recent volatility is making rare patterns not so rare. The chart below shows the Basic Materials SPDR (XLB) with its second Island Reversal in as many months. The most recent pattern formed with a gap down on Thursday, a consolidation Friday-Monday and a big gap up today. Shorts on Thursday-Friday-Monday... READ MORE
Stocks surged on Monday with the finance, energy and materials sectors leading the way. These three were also the most oversold. While Net Advancing Volume was fairly strong, Net Advances for the Nasdaq and NYSE were not that strong. Net Advances equals advancing issues less declining issues. Showing Net Advances... READ MORE
CSCO Forms Inverse HS Pattern ELN Breaks Resistance with Volume. NVDA Declines to 61.80% retracement. Plus ABC, LRCX and WM 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... READ MORE
September has not been nice for the broader market, but one key industry group is holding up quite well. The Semiconductor Index ($SOX) actually shows a gain month-to-date and shows relative strength. The S&P Retail Index shows a relatively small loss, as does the Airline Index ($XAL). Banks,... READ MORE
GOLD IS IN ITS FIFTH CORRECTION SINCE 2006... Link for todays video. Despite a sharp decline the last two weeks, the Gold SPDR (GLD) remains in a long-term uptrend. Chart 1 shows daily closing prices for Spot Gold ($GOLD) over the last six years. The Zigzag indicator is overlaid and... READ MORE
After a broad decline last week, stocks became short-term oversold and consolidated most of Thursday and Friday. This does nothing to change the short-term or medium-term downtrends. Overall, the medium-term trend is clearly down after a break below the September lows. For SPY, this area also marked neckline support for... READ MORE
ELLIOTT WAVE COUNTS SHOW FIFTH WAVE STARTING... Link for todays video. The Elliott Wave picture shows the S&P 500 in Wave-5 of a five-wave decline (red numbers). Chart 1 shows the S&P 500 peaking in the spring as it hit the fifth (green 5) of the... READ MORE
The chart below shows the five key intermarket securities with each ranked on the right side of the chart. The US Dollar Index ($USD) and 30-Year US Treasury ($USB) are at the top (strongest), while the S&P 500 and Spot Light Crude ($WTIC) are at the bottom (weakest)... READ MORE
Needless to say, the indicator summary remains decidedly negative. With another sharp move lower this week, the SPY momentum indicators moved from neutral to bearish. The Nasdaq AD Line and NYSE AD Volume Line hit new lows this week. The volatility indices surged above 40 to confirm high levels of... READ MORE
Looks like everyone ran for the exit at the same time, whatever the reason. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke below the early September lows with a plunge below 112 intraday. There was a big gap below 114, an intraday dip below 112 and a last hour surge... READ MORE
Stocks were down sharply on Thursday with all sectors moving lower on the day. There were, however, a few select pockets of strength. These can be found by looking for shades of green in the market carpet. The image below shows the Consumer Staples sectors with a few gainers. Click... READ MORE
GLOBAL BEAR PULLS US MARKET LOWER... One of the basic elements of intermarket analysis is the close linkage among global stock markets. In other words, they rise and fall together. Right now, they're falling. A bad sign for the U.S. market is that foreign markets are falling... READ MORE
It is getting ugly. Asian and European stocks are down sharply. Gold, the Euro and oil are also down. The Dollar and US Treasuries are the only positive spots. It is a classic flight to safety or move to the risk-off trade. The Fed pretty much echoed the sentiments of... READ MORE
YIELDS PLUNGE AND TREASURIES SOAR ON THE FED TWIST ... Link for todays video. The Fed made Operation Twist official today. As the name implies, the goal of this program is to twist the yield curve by buying 6-30 Year Treasuries and selling Treasuries with maturities of three years or less.... READ MORE