On the daily chart, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke support from the mid April lows and plunged to the 50% retracement mark. I am not sure what to make of the intraday plunge below 106 - except that I would hate to have had a sell order filled... READ MORE
Today's wild day cause the Volatility Index ($VIX) to spike up above 35 for the first time during the current market uptrend. The follow chart shows what the market has done in the past when that signal has occurred: Click here for a live version of this chart.... READ MORE
The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) is gearing up for the first test since the support break at 49. With a decline back to 46.70, the ETF is now back to broken resistance from the January highs. This area now becomes a possible support level to watch in the coming... READ MORE
DOW RECOVERS SOME GROUND... A selling panic hit stocks earlier this afternoon which pushed the Dow Industrials down 1000 points and put it close to its February low where some chart support is likely (see Chart 1). The Dow has since regained about half of its earlier losses. I'... READ MORE
NOTE: THIS MESSAGE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THIS AFTERNOON'S STOCK PLUNGE...PLEASE SEE FOLLOW-UP MESSAGE... Toward the end of 2007, the media started talking a lot about "global decoupling". At the time, U.S. stocks were being pulled lower by subprime mortgage concerns and a collapsing... READ MORE
I don't usually start with fundamental items, but Friday could be a real doozy. First, the German parliament is scheduled to vote on the Greek bailout. Needless to say, the German public is not too happy about subsidizing early retirement (55) and other Greek benefits. A NO vote... READ MORE
Despite a sharp decline in the stock market on Tuesday, Wal-mart managed a small gain near support and then surged on Wednesday with pretty good volume. This stock is a big part of the consumer staples sector. Click this image for details... READ MORE
SPY AND QQQQ FIRM WITH SPINNING TOP CANDLESTICKS... Link for todays video. After support breaks and sharp declines on Tuesday, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) formed spinning top candlesticks on Wednesday (Charts 1 and 2). These candlesticks feature a small real body (open-... READ MORE
The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke range support with a gap down and long red candlestick. Selling pressure was broad based as all nine sectors were down. Healthcare held up the best with a .58% loss. On the daily chart, the next support zone stems from broken resistance... READ MORE
NYSE INDEX BREAKS 50-DAY LINE -- MATERIALS TUMBLE... Last Tuesday, I showed the NYSE Composite Index testing its January high and its 50-day average, and suggested that it needed to stay above both lines to maintain its spring uptrend. Chart 1 shows the NYA falling below both support lines... READ MORE
SERIOUS PROFIT-TAKING ... Global stocks and commodities are experiencing heavy profit-taking today. Major stock indexes in the U.S. are down more than 2%. Biggest losses are being seen in economically-sensitive groups like energy, materials. transports, and technology. Semiconductors are down more than 4% and are helping lead... READ MORE
The most active lists for Monday show 9-1 winners-losers for the NYSE and 8-2 for the Nasdaq. This table is updated throughout the day on the Free Charts page. Users can even click the CandleGlance link to see 10 small charts of these most active stocks. The... READ MORE
SPY is going everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The ETF has moved on either side of 120 nine times in the last three weeks. Overall, the ETF has been stuck in a range bound by 122 on the top and 118 on the bottom (about a 3.33%... READ MORE
STOCKS SURGE AS MAJOR INDEX ETFS HOLD SUPPORT ... Link for todays video. With stocks short-term oversold and many key indices near support zones, positive economic news spurred the bulls into action and stocks move sharply higher on Monday. The major index ETFs gained around 1.5% on the day... READ MORE
Home Depot formed a rare evening doji star last week. Note the long white candlestick and surge above 36, the gravestone doji with the gap up and the long red candlestick last Monday. Also note the gaps on either side of the gravestone doji. Click this image for details... READ MORE
SPY is starting the week with a support test around 118. Also note that the Dow SPDR (DIA) and Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) are near range support today. There were a few bearish developments last week. First, SPY gapped down on Monday morning and moved sharply lower to form a... READ MORE
Hello Fellow ChartWatchers! There is a TON of great stuff happening at StockCharts.com right now. First off, I want to make sure that everyone is aware that our SPRING SPECIAL is going on right now. Subscribe or extend your account for 12 months and we'll give you... READ MORE
Three Thursdays ago (April 8), I wrote about the upturn in the price of gold and gold stocks. At the time, gold was breaking through a bullish "neckline" in a head and shoulders bottom while the Gold Miners Index was breaking through its March high. On Tuesday, I... READ MORE
In my last article I suggested the financials were topping and that would make any further advance in the market difficult. Well this past week the action on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000, home of the high beta stocks, confirmed the bearish action. We've seen several warning signs... READ MORE
We are rather interested in the manner Copper is trading at present, for Copper has shown itself in recent months to be a leading indicator of the path of the S&P 500. Perhaps this is due to it's economic sensitivity, or perhaps it is due to... READ MORE
With the third long red candlestick in three weeks, the Dow Industrials is once again testing support in the 11000 area. The senior average first exceeded 11000 on April 14th and then moved into a trading range. While a support break would be short-term bearish, it would not be... READ MORE
SIX-MONTH SEASONALITY: Research published by Yale Hirsch in the Trader's Almanac shows that the market year is broken into two six-month seasonality periods. From May 1 through October 31 is seasonally unfavorable, and the market most often finishes lower than it was at the beginning of... READ MORE
FINANCE SECTOR FEELS THE HEAT... Link for todays video. With Goldman Sachs under the congressional microscope, the finance sector has been under pressure the last two weeks. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) hit a new 52-week high (closing) last Friday, but the Financials SPDR (XLF) peaked over... READ MORE
The French CAC 40 ($CAC) and the Shanghai Composite ($SSEC) are down year-to-date and lagging other world indices. In contrast, the Nikkei 225 ($NIKK) is up 3.59% this year and the S&P 500 is leading with a 8.22% gain this year. Click this image... READ MORE
There is no change in the Stock Market Summary this week. The bulk of the evidence turned bullish again on March 5th and remains bullish. All 10 indicators are in bull mode. Selling pressure hit the market hard on April 16th and April 27th, but the market rebounded the very... READ MORE
Overall, the trend on the daily chart remains up. SPY forged a higher high last week and held short-term support this week. Even a break below this week's low would not be enough to reverse the medium-term uptrend because we should allow room for a correction... READ MORE
Copper ($COPPER) fell with the stock market over the last two weeks. And like the stock market, copper firmed on Wednesday with a support zone around 330-340. The indicator window shows copper with the S&P 500. Notice how closely these two have been tracking over the last... READ MORE
GOLD MINERS INDEX HITS THREE-MONTH HIGH ... Three Thursdays ago (April 8), I wrote about the upturn in the price of gold and gold stocks. At the time, gold was breaking through a bullish "neckine" in a head and shoulders bottom while the Gold Miners Index was breaking... READ MORE
That is the question. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) became short-term oversold after a sharp decline on Tuesday and then firmed with an indecisive candlestick on Wednesday. Taken together, we have a harami or inside day. In addition, the ETF has support around 118.5 from last... READ MORE
Sprint (S) advanced the last seven weeks and broke triangle resistance in the process. This is the longest weekly string in over 2 1/2 years. Volume has been pretty impressive too. Click this image for details... READ MORE
STOCKS FIRM AS FED STANDS PAT... Link for todays video. There were no surprises from the Fed today. After a two day meeting, the FOMC issued its policy statement at 2:15 today. Fed officials voted to keep the Fed Funds target rate in its current range (0 to 0.... READ MORE
With a gap down and long red candlestick, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) broke below the lower trendline of the Raff Regression Channel. This is the second long red candlestick (sharp decline) in two weeks. In fact, the channel break is starting to look similar to the mid... READ MORE
TREASURIES RALLY ... I wrote a message on April 17 to the effect that Treasury bond prices were starting to bounce from chart support (as yields were backing off from resistance at 4%), and suggested that a bounce in bond prices might cause a pullback in stocks. That's because... READ MORE
Frontier Communications (FTR) broke consolidation resistance with a surge above 7.6 in early April. Notice that this surge occurred with a green price bar, which indicates an upturn in the Elder Impulse System. The bars are currently blue as the stock consolidates. Look for another green bar to signal... READ MORE
There is overbought and then there is OVERBOUGHT. Overbought conditions after a two week surge show early inning strength, but overbought conditions after a seven week surge show maturity in the late innings (baseball). I also noted in last night's Market Message that the CBOE Put/Call Ratio... READ MORE
Despite a potential rescue package from the EU and IMF, the Athens General Index ($ATG) fell rather sharply over the last three days and is testing its February low. Greek equities are not impressed. Click this image for details... READ MORE
INDUSTRIALS AND CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY SECTORS POWER LATEST LEG ... Link for todays video. Perfchart 1 shows the performance of the nine sector SPDRs since the last upswing began in early February. All nine sectors are up with five up double digits. The S&P 500 is up double digits with... READ MORE
With another strong week, the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) surged to a new closing high for the move. The ETF was up four of five days and gained over 2%. Reaction to last week's earnings reports and news was positive overall. With the new closing high,... READ MORE
The Nasdaq has been outperforming the NY Composite since December and outperformance is accelerating. The green trendline defines the first rate of outperformance. The blue trendline, which is steeper, defines the second rate of outperformance. Also notice how the Nasdaq:NY Composite price relative shot higher in April. Click this... READ MORE
EURO BOUNCES OFF PRIOR LOWS AS GREECE ACCEPTS AID... Link for todays video. Debt-laden Greece formally requested assistance from the EU and IMF. News of possible bailout to help Greece get through the year lifted the Euro. Chart 1 shows the Euro ETF (FXE) finding support near the prior... READ MORE