KEY TAKEAWAYS * Building a diversified portfolio takes a lot of planning, but it doesn't have to be complicated. * Diversification helps you manage risk, though it can't eliminate it entirely. * StockCharts has all the tools you need to construct a sector-diversified portfolio. You already know about... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The broader stock market indexes break their two day winning streak. * Gold prices hit a new all-time high. * European stocks are in a solid uptrend. Tuesday's stock market action marked a reversal in investor sentiment, with the broader indexes closing lower. The S&P... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The stock market indexes rebounded with Real Estate, Energy, and Consumer Staples leading. * Retail sales data for February were slightly below expectations but better than January's data. * Investors are looking forward to Wednesday's FOMC meeting to hear what the committees thoughts are on economic... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * At the moment, we're seeing a big shakeup in sector rankings. * Healthcare has entered the top five. * Technology is dropping to last position. * All defensive sectors are now in the top five. Big Moves in Sector Ranking The ranking of US sectors continues to shift. At... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Gold has dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in 2025. * Gold prices remain in a primary uptrend, with our Market Trend Model reading bullish on all time frames. * Gold stocks are outperforming physical gold, and could represent a "catch up" trade going into... READ MORE
Is a new market uptrend on the horizon? In this video, Mary Ellen breaks down the latest stock market outlook, revealing key signals that could confirm a trend reversal. She dives into sector rotation, explains why defensive stocks are losing ground, and shares actionable short-term trading strategies for oversold... READ MORE
It's been rocky for the S&P 500 and particularly rocky for some industry groups and sectors. The market does appear ready to give us a good bounce, but past that we aren't overly bullish. Tariff talk has really pummeled the Retail (XRT) industry group... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Communication Services (XLC) maintains top spot, Tech (XLK) plummets * Shift towards defensive sectors evident in rankings * Consumer Discretionary (XLY) showing signs of weakness * Portfolio slightly outperforming SPY benchmark Sector Shake-Up: Defensive Moves and Tech's Tumble Last week's market volatility stirred up the sector... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Once our "line in the sand" of SPX 5850 was broken, that confirmed a likely bear phase for stocks. * We can use Fibonacci Retracements to identify a potential downside objective based on the strength of the previous bull trend. * A confirmed sell signal from the Newer... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * 2025 is off to a rough start with SPY, QQQ and IWM sporting losses. * ETFs with gains are bucking the market by showing relative and absolute strength. * The Biotech ETF broke out in January and is battling its breakout zone. 2025 is off to a rough start for... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Communication services maintains top spot in sector ranking. * Financials moves up to #2, pushing consumer discretionary down to #3. * Technology and utilities hold steady at #4 and #5 respectively. * Portfolio performance now on par with benchmark after recent outperformance. Sector Rotation: Financials Climb as Consumer Discretionary Slips While... READ MORE
Growth stocks just took a sharp hit—what does it mean for the market? In this video, Mary Ellen breaks down the impact, reveals why NVDA could soar higher, and highlights safer stocks with strong upside potential! This video originally premiered February 28, 2025. You can watch it on our... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Long-term Keltner Channels are trend-following indicators that identify volatility breakouts. * The Russell 2000 ETF triggered bearish this week and reversed a 14 month uptrend. * The S&P 500 SPDR remains within an uptrend and the current pullback is an opportunity. The Russell 2000 ETF triggered... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The retail sector has been trading sideways for almost three years. * Wall Street sees moderate growth for retail in 2025. * Retail may be presenting both swing trading and position trading opportunities right now. As "economic softening" increasingly emerges as the prevailing narrative driving the markets, the... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Utilities entering the top-5 * Industrials dropping out of top-5 portfolio * Real-Estate and Energy swapping positions in bottom half of the ranking * Perfomance now 0.3% below SPY since inception. Utilities enter top 5 Last week's trading, especially the sell-off on Friday, has... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Large cap growth stocks regaining favor as market faces pressure * Cap-weighted sectors outperforming equal-weighted counterparts * S&P 500 struggling to break above 610, suggesting potential trading range * Exceptions in mega-cap dominated sectors (Communication Services, Technology, Consumer Discretionary) With the market selling off into the... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Gold and silver are crushing the commodities markets and the S&P 500. * Gold is hitting record highs, fueled by sentiment and speculation. * Consider the key levels to watch for investment opportunities in gold and silver. There's been a lot of wild speculation surrounding gold&... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Market breadth is improving in some stock market sectors. * Monitoring the Bullish Percent Index (BPI) can help you strategize your investments. * The broader stock market indexes are still bullish. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released minutes from its January 28–29 meeting. There weren't any surprises... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Communication services (XLC) claims the top spot, pushing consumer discretionary (XLY) to second place * Technology (XLK) shows strength, moving up to fourth and displacing industrials (XLI) * Industrials displaying weakness, at risk of dropping out of the top five * RRG portfolio outperforming SPY benchmark by 69 basis points Shifting... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The stock market has been trading sideways for an extended period. * Tariffs, deregulation, inflation, and tax cuts are likely to occupy investors' minds for the next few years. * Monitor the charts of the broader stock market, inflation expectations, and industries that are likely to benefit from the... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Price represents a distillation of all news, events and rumors. * Our job is to set biases aside and focus on price action. * Chartists should focus on uptrends, relative strength and bullish setups. The news cycle is in high gear lately, leading to some extra volatility. Traders reacting to... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Top-5 remains unchanged * Healthcare and Staples jump to higher positions * Price and Relative trends remain strong for XLC and XLF No Changes In Top-5 At the end of the week ending 2/7, there were no changes in the top-5, but there have been some... READ MORE
In this video, Mary Ellen reviews the market's flat momentum as uncertainty reemerges after weak AMZN, TSLA and GOOGL reports - PLUS more tariff talk from Trump. She also highlights the move into defensive sectors as growth stocks continue to struggle. Lastly, she shares the top stocks that are... READ MORE
While the major equity averages are certainly up year-to-date, we're detecting a growing number of signs of leadership rotation. As the Magnificent 7 stocks have begun to falter, with charts like Apple Inc. (AAPL) taking on a less-than-magnificent luster in February, we've... READ MORE
In this video, Mary Ellen unpacks the week after the news drop roiled markets; coupled with major earnings reports, it's been a rough week. She highlights what drove the biggest winners last week as we head into one of the busiest time for earnings! This video originally premiered... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Technology (XLK) re-enters top 5 sectors, displacing Energy (XLE) * Consumer Discretionary (XLY) maintains #1 position * Weekly and daily RRGs show supportive trends for leading sectors XLY and XLC * Top-5 portfolio outperforms S&P 500 by nearly 50 basis points Technology Moves Back into Top-5... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * XLF, heavily weighted in bank stocks, broke into all-time high territory, though conviction appears low. * Breadth, momentum, and technical strength are leaning bullish. * A likely pullback signals an opportunity for entry. As the FOMC prepared to announce its rate decision on Wednesday, the Financial Select Sector SPDR... READ MORE
I woke up this morning noting that NASDAQ futures had been down nearly 1,000 points at their overnight intraday low. Later, I tuned into a couple of general purpose, as opposed to financial, cable news channels. They, too, were talking about the sell-off and its rationale. I began... READ MORE
In this video, Dave reviews the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) from a technical analysis perspective. He focuses on the recent failure at price gap resistance, the breakdown below price and moving average support, and the frequent appearance of bearish engulfing patterns which have often indicated major highs over the last... READ MORE
In this video, Mary Ellen reviews the new uptrend in the S&P 500, and highlights what's driving it higher. She then shares new pockets of strength that are poised to take off, and what to be on the lookout for ahead of next week's... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * No changes in top-5 sectors * XLC showing strong break from consolidation flag * XLE remains just barely above XLK as a result of strong daily RRG No changes in the top-5 At the end of this week, there were no changes in the ranking of the top-... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) broke out of a six-month base this week, suggesting further upside potential. * While the breakout in SMH appears bullish, the ETF still has yet to eclipse a key price gap from July 2025. * A bearish engulfing pattern to end the week... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * The Mag7 ETF (MAGS) is outperforming the market and in a strong uptrend. * MAGS broke out of a short-term bullish continuation pattern this week. * Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon and Meta are powering MAGS higher. The Mag7 ETF (MAGS) formed another short-term bullish continuation pattern as it worked... READ MORE
The Biotech industry group is making a comeback, with the 'under the hood' chart displaying new strength coming into the group. We have a constructive bottom that price is breaking from and, while it does need to overcome resistance at the 200-day EMA, it looks encouraging. What... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * SMH has broken out of its three-month trading range. * Trump's $500 billion Stargate AI initiative has injected optimism into the sector, accelerating gains in AI-related semiconductor stocks. * Monitor the key levels for Nvidia, Broadcom, and TSMC for buying opportunities. In the last quarter of... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Short term strength drags enery sector up * Long term strength keeps consumer discretionary on top * Massive upside potential ready to get unlocked in EOG I have been traveling in the US since 1/15 and attended the CMTA Mid-Winter retreat in Tampa, FL 1/16-1/17... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * While the stronger US Dollar suggests caution for growth stocks, the ratios shows that growth continues to dominate value. * While macro conditions appear beneficial for small cap stocks, large caps are back to a confirmed leadership role. * Measures of offense vs. defensive suggest that investors are favoring offense... READ MORE
I have been expecting a bull market correction for about a month, but it's not been as deep as I expected. Now, however, several indexes have completed small bullish two-bar reversal patterns on the weekly charts. If they work, that would be a characteristic of a bull... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Energy replaces Technology in top-5 * Financials rise to #2 position pushing XLC down to #3 * Top-5 portfolio out-performs SPY 0.52% * A closer look at the (equal) weighting scheme Energy Replaces Technology At the end of this week, 1/17/2024, the Technology sector dropped... READ MORE
KEY TAKEAWAYS * Financials represent one of the top sector weights in the IWM, and banks have kicked off earnings season with renewed strength. * A resurgence in biotech stocks, one of the largest industries represented in the IWM, could provide an upside catalyst. * US Dollar strength could adversely impact mega cap... READ MORE