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RISING BOND YIELDS ARE MAKING MARKET NERVOUS -- RETAILERS AND UTILITIES BECOME UNDERPERFORMERS -- BED BATH & BEYOND TUMBLES ON BIG VOLUME -- RISING RATES THREATEN ANY HOUSING RECOVERY

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

BOND YIELDS NEAR 5%... Bond yields reached another nine-month high today. Chart 1 shows the 10-Year T-Note Yield nearing 5%. I suggested last week that bond yields in excess of that level might make stock investors nervous. One sign that the market is taking notice of rising rates is the...   READ MORE 

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REST OF ASIA SHRUGS OFF CHINESE DROP -- JAPAN HAS BEEN WORLD'S WEAKEST MARKET, BUT MAY START DOING BETTER THAN THE US

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

CHINESE MARKET IS DUE FOR A PULLBACK... The Chinese market lost another 8.2% today. Chart 1 shows the Shanghai Stock Index threatening to break the 50-day average for the first time in nine months. To say that the Chinese market is over-extended is an understatement. Take a look at...   READ MORE 

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PRECIOUS METALS RALLY AS CENTRAL BANKERS STOP SELLING -- COMMODITIES HAVE A STRONG WEEK -- BONDS TUMBLE AS YIELDS REACH NINE-MONTH HIGH -- WAL MART HAS A BIG DAY -- DUPONT ON THE VERGE OF A SEVEN-YEAR HIGH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

GOLD AND SILVER JUMP ON GOOD VOLUME ... Apparently, central bankers have been selling some of their bullion reserves over the past few weeks which has put downside pressure on the commodity. News that the European Central Bank announced plans not to sell any more gold before September caused heavy buying...   READ MORE 

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TRANPORTS REACH NEW HIGHS -- SO DO BROKERS -- FINANCIALS STILL STRUGGLE AS BOND YIELDS TEST 2007 HIGH -- BUD TAPS OUT NEW HIGH -- MEADWESTVACO LEADS PAPER STOCKS HIGHER -- USING POINT & FIGURE CHARTS FOR PROTECTION

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

TRANSPORTS BREAK OUT ... On May 14, I showed three groups that were stalled at their early 2007 highs. One of them was the Russell 2000 Small Cap Index. Arthur Hill showed that index hitting a new high yesterday. That resolves the short-term negative divergence between large caps (which had already...   READ MORE 

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DOW REVERSES EARLY LOSSES -- RUSSELL 2000 BREAKS RESISTANCE -- REITS LEAD THE REBOUND -- VORNADO AND SIMON LEAD REITS -- GOLD EDGES LOWER AS THE DOLLAR EDGES HIGHER -- CHINESE STOCKS TAKE A HIT -- CHINA ETF CLOSES STRONG

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

DOW CLOSES ABOVE 13600... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The Dow started the day weak, but firmed in the first hour and advanced throughout the day. The key average gained over 100 points and closed above 13600...   READ MORE 

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REVIEW OF 13- AND 34- PERIOD EMAS -- MOVING AVERAGES PROVIDE OBJECTIVITY, SIMPLICITY, AND DISCIPLINE -- SO FAR, NO SELL SIGNALS HAVE BEEN GIVEN

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

REVISITING 13 AND 34 PERIOD EMAS ... I've written several past articles about a moving average system that has a remarkable track record. It's a combination of 13 and 34 period exponential moving averages. I use the word "period" because that EMA combination works in...   READ MORE 

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RISING RATES CAUSES PROFIT-TAKING IN UTILITIES AND DIVIDEND PAYING STOCKS -- CHINA AND EMERGING MARKETS STUMBLE -- S&P 500 SUFFERS SHORT-TERM DETERIORATION NEAR ITS 2000 HIGH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

RATE-SENSTIVE UTILITIES SELL OFF ... It's no coincidence that the recent jump in bond yields is causing profit-taking in utilities. That's because utilities are often considered to be the stock market equivalent of bonds. In other words, utilities do better when bond yields are falling, and get...   READ MORE 

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STOCKS MAKE AFTERNOON RETREAT -- CANDLESTICK PREFERENCES - SPY TURNS INDECISIVE -- INTEREST RATES CONTINUE HIGHER -- REITS MOVING OPPOSITE OF RATES AGAIN -- FINANCE SECTOR REMAINS A LAGGARD -- CHINA ETF HITS RESISTANCE

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

STOCKS GIVE UP EARLY GAINS... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor Stocks were higher throughout the day, but gave up their gains in the late afternoon and closed mixed. Stocks swooned after reports hit the wires that Greenspan...   READ MORE 

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JAPANESE YEN FALLS ON WEAK ECONOMIC NEWS -- THAT'S HURTING JAPAN ISHARES -- SO IS FALLING GOLD PRICES -- THE FALLING YEN, HOWEVER, KEEPS CARRY TRADE GOING -- BOND YIELDS ARE STARTING TO RISE BUT REMAIN IN LONG-TERM DOWNTREND

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

JAPANESE YEN NEARS TEST OF OLD LOWS ... I wrote yesterday about weakness in foreign currencies pressuring gold. I focused on the Euro. However, the Japanese yen is falling much harder than the others. That has a lot of ripple effects -- some good, some bad. One is that it helps...   READ MORE 

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PULLBACK IN EURO FROM OLD PEAK CAUSES PROFIT-TAKING IN GOLD -- GOLD IS ALSO BEING HURT BY LACK OF LEADERSHIP FROM GOLD SHARES WHICH ARE STALLED AT LONG-TERM RESISTANCE

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

EURO STALLS AT OLD HIGH ... Gold usually trends in the opposite direction of the U.S. Dollar. So does the Euro. That means that the Euro and gold trend in the same direction. Up until recently, both markets had been rising together. Both are now on the defensive. Part of...   READ MORE 

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EARLY MARKET BOUNCE FADES ON HIGHER VOLUME -- HOME DEPOT LEADS RETAIL GROUP LOWER -- REITS THREATEN 200-DAY AVERAGE -- AMGEN LEADS NASDAQ LOWER -- TELECOM CONTINUES TO GAIN GROUND -- SARA LEE TOUCHES 52-WEEK HIGH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

HOME DEPOT WEIGHS ON RETAILERS ... The retail group continues to weaken and is starting to weigh on the rest of the market. Chart 1 shows the Retail Holders (RTH) closing below its 50-day moving average for the first time in a month. Notice the heavy downside volume bars over the...   READ MORE 

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SEVERAL GROUPS ARE STALLED NEAR FEBRUARY HIGHS INCLUDING RUSSELL 2000, BROKERS, AND TRANSPORTS -- NASDAQ RELATIVE STRENGTH RATIO FALLS TO NEW 2007 LOW -- AON REPRESENTS ANOTHER INSURANCE BREAKOUT

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

RUSSELL 2000 IS STALLED AT FEBRUARY HIGH ... In trying to decide if the market is on the verge of a pullback, one of the clues we look for is whether or not some of the weaker market groups are able to move above their February highs. If they can, the...   READ MORE 

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FLAT CORE PPI HELPS MARKET RECOVER MOST OF THURSDAY'S LOSSES -- BUT RETAILERS CONTINUE TO SHOW RELATIVE WEAKNESS -- INSURANCE GROUP IS STARTING TO SHOW NEW UPSIDE LEADERSHIP -- AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP ON VERGE OF MAJOR BULLISH BREAKOUT

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

RETAILERS LAG MARKET ... On Saturday April 14, I ended a weekly wrapup with advice to "follow the leaders". The leaders at that time were materials, energy, utilities, telecom, healthcare, and consumer staples. One group not on that list was retailers. The next two charts show why. In a...   READ MORE 

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OVERBOUGHT MARKET FINALLY SUCCUMBS TO SERIOUS SELLING -- SHORT-TERM SELL SIGNALS KICK IN

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

OVERDUE PULLBACK STARTS ... It took a number of negative reports to finally cause some stock selling. Today's combination included bad retail sales figures, higher import prices, and a wider than expected trade deficit. It shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise however. On Tuesday...   READ MORE 

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FED STANDS PAT -- RATES JUMP AND BONDS SLIP -- DOW REMAINS OVERBOUGHT -- SEMIS CONTINUE TO LEAD TECH -- INTEL RECORDS 52-WEEK HIGH -- TEXAS INSTRUMENTS BREAKS RESISTANCE -- MAXIM COULD BE NEXT -- COAL STOCKS SHINE TOO

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

NO SURPRISES AT THE FED ... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The Fed gave the markets what they expected and left the Fed Funds rate unchanged at 5.25%. The Fed statement was also pretty much the same...   READ MORE 

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THE NUMBER OF NYSE NEW HIGHS ISN'T EXPANDING WITH PRICE HIGHS -- BOLLINGER BANDS ALSO SHOW THE MARKET DANGEROUSLY STRETCHED TO THE UPSIDE -- DESPITE OVERBOUGHT READINGS, NO SELL SIGNALS HAVE BEEN GIVEN

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

NEW HIGHS ARE SHRINKING ... Virtually every short-term indicator that we have show the market to be in an overbought condition. Some are starting to show short-term divergences. One example of the latter is the NYSE New Highs-New Lows Index ($NYHL). That's the red line line in Chart 1....   READ MORE 

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ALCOA ACHIEVES BULLISH BREAKOUT AFTER TAKEOVER OFFER -- TRAVELERS LEADS STRONG INSURANCE GROUP -- AIG AND CHUBB ARE ALSO RISING

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

ALCOA REACHES FIVE-YEAR HIGH ... Alcoa's takeover offer of Alcan Aluminum pushed both stocks sharply higher. Alcan surged 32% to a record high. Alcoa jumped more than 7% and was the market's star performer. The monthly bars in Chart 1 show Alcoa breaking through its early 2004...   READ MORE 

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WEAK JOB REPORT WEAKENS DOLLAR AND BOOSTS BONDS AND GOLD -- XAU INDEX IS STALLED BELOW RECORD HIGH AND MAY BE HOLDING GOLD BACK -- FALLING DOLLAR MAY HELP EXPLAIN RECENT ROTATION INTO LARGE CAP STOCKS

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

SLOW JOB GROWTH BOOSTS BOND MARKET... Unemployment ticked higher during April and job growth was the slowest in two years. That hint at economic weakness pushed bond yields lower and bond prices higher (bond prices and yields always move in opposite directions). Chart 1 shows the 10-year T-note yield (TNX)...   READ MORE 

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WILSHIRE 5000 HITS NEW RECORD -- S&P 500 WILL BE THE NEXT TO TEST ITS 2000 HIGH -- TRANSPORTATION STOCKS HELP PUSH INDUSTRIAL SPDR TO NEW RECORD -- SOX INDEX SURVIVES RETEST OF BULLISH BREAKOUT LEVEL -- QWEST JOINS VERIZON IN TELECOM BREAKOUT

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

QWEST JOINS VERIZON BREAKOUT ... On Monday I wrote about Verizon being on the verge of breaking out to a new five-year high. It accomplished that task on Wednesday as reported by Arthur Hill. That helped keep Telecom Holders (TTH) at the top of the leader board. Another telecom stock that...   READ MORE 

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FACTORY ORDERS POWER THE DOW -- BOEING BENEFITS FROM AIRCRAFT ORDERS -- TELECOM HOLDRS REMAIN STRONG -- VERIZON BREAKS RESISTANCE -- SPRINT NEXTEL FORMS CUP-WITH-HANDLE -- TIME WARNER HAS SECOND THOUGHTS -- SMALL CAPS STILL LAGGING

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

FACTORY ORDERS LIFT THE DOW ... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The commerce department reported a strong increase in factory orders today and this bullish news propelled the Dow Industrials to a new all time high. Factory orders...   READ MORE 

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RECENT STOCK BREAKOUTS INCLUDE FORMER LAGGARDS LIKE IBM, MMM, AND KLA TENCOR -- VERIZON MAY BE NEXT -- OVERBOUGHT MARKET COULD SUCCUMB TO SOME MAY SELLING

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

IBM IS BREAKING OUT ... IBM was one of the new Dow leaders that we showed last week. I'm coming back to it today because the Big Blue has broken through its early 2007 highs near 100 (Chart 1). The recent jump in its relative strength line shows its...   READ MORE 

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GENERAL ELECTRIC AND MICROSOFT ARE LATEST BIG BLUE CHIPS TO START LEADING

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

MICROSOFT GAPS UP 4% TO LEAD THE DOW AND NASDAQ... I've been writing lately about some of the market's largest blue chip stocks that are starting to attract new attention and exert upside market leadership. Today's two cases in point are General Electric and...   READ MORE 

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MONEY MOVES TO BIGGER STOCKS IN THE DOW AND THE NASDAQ -- MMM IS DAY'S DOW LEADER AS MCDONALDS HITS NEW RECORD -- JUNIPER AND XILINX ACHIEVE BULLISH BREAKOUTS IN NASDAQ MARKET

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

DOW LEADERSHIP IS RELATIVELY NEW ... The new popularity of the blue chip stocks in the Dow started a little over a year ago. Chart 2 plots a ratio of the Dow divided by the S&P 500. The falling ratio from 2003 through 2005 shows Dow underperformance. After rebounding...   READ MORE 

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A LONG LOOK AT THE S&P 500 -- NYSE AD LINE CONFIRMS MARKET STRENGTH -- THE AD LINE IN MAY 2006 -- SECTOR LEADERSHIP FAVORS DEFENSE -- CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY AND FINANCE LAGGING IN 2007 -- MATERIALS AND ENERGY ARE AMONG THE LEADERS

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

A LONG-TERM LOOK AT THE S&P 500 ... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The S&P 500 is up over 100 points in the last eight weeks and the index is zeroing in on its...   READ MORE 

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SOX INDEX AND SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDERS ACHIEVE BULLISH BREAKOUT -- CHIP LEADERS ARE ANALOG DEVICES, ALTERA, AND TEXAS INSTRUMENTS -- IBM IS ANOTHER BIG BLUE CHIP COMING BACK INTO FAVOR

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

SEMICONDUCTOR BREAKOUT ... Last Wednesday, Arthur Hill showed Semiconductor Holders (SMH) on the verge of a bullish breakout. It achieved that breakout today (Chart 2). The reason for that can be seen in Chart 1 which shows the Semiconductor (SOX) Index busting out of a five-month holding pattern and trading at...   READ MORE 

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MARKET SHUGS OFF THURSDAY'S ASIAN SELLING TO REACH NEW HIGHS -- CATERPILLAR AND HONEYWELL POWER DOW INDUSTRIALS TO NEW RECORD -- GOOGLE LIFTS THE NASDAQ INTO A TEST OF ITS 2007 HIGH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

ASIA RECOVERS ... Thursday's 4.5% drop in Chinese stocks caused nervous selling in other Asian markets. By the time the U.S. market opened, however, Europe had already started to recover and initial U.S. losses were modest. By day's end, the Dow had closed at...   READ MORE 

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HEALTHCARE CONTINUES TO GET BETTER -- MORE BIOTECH AND DRUG BREAKOUTS -- AN EXPLANATION OF THE DOW COMPOSITE -- TRANSPORTS MOVE THE INDUSTRIAL SPDR

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

PHARM HOLDERS CONTINUE NEW BUYING SURGE ... I happen to believe that one of the most valuable aspects of technical analysis is in the area of group rotation. In fact, that may be its greatest value. I know of no other technique (economic, fundamental, or quantitative) that works better in spotting...   READ MORE 

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YAHOO! WEIGHS ON NASDAQ -- SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDRS SURGES TO RESISTANCE -- LINEAR TECH LEADS -- XILINX BREAKS RESISTANCE -- JP MORGAN POWERS FINANCE AND THE DOW -- INDUSTRIAL METALS ALSO SHOW STRENGTH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

NASDAQ STRUGGLES AND HOLDS GAP ... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The Nasdaq struggled today as weakness in Yahoo! (YHOO) weighed on the index. The Nasdaq gapped into a resistance zone on Monday and then stalled the last...   READ MORE 

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BRITISH POUND EXCEEDS $2.00 -- THAT'S GOOD FOR UK ISHARES -- RISING OIL MAY ALSO BE BOOSTING UK -- FOREIGN SHARES LEAD S&P 500 HIGHER

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

IT NOW TAKES $2.00 TO BUY A POUND ... There's good and bad news for American travelers in Britain. The bad news is that it now takes $2.00 to buy one British Pound. The good news is that figuring out the currency conversion has become a lot...   READ MORE 

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FALLING DOLLAR BOOSTS COMMODITIES -- AS A RESULT, BOND YIELDS EXCEED 200-DAY AVERAGE -- 2007 STOCK LEADERS SHOW TREND TOWARD INFLATION AND DEFENSIVE STOCKS AS THREAT OF STAGFLATION GROWS -- FOLLOW THE LEADERS

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

DOLLAR INDEX HITS TWO-YEAR LOW... The threat of a slowing U.S. economy (combined with stronger foreign economies) continues to weigh on the dollar. The weekly bars in Chart 1 show that the US Dollar Index (which measures the dollar against six foreign currencies) fell this week to the lowest...   READ MORE 

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BIOTECHS AND DRUGS PUSH HEALTHCARE SPDR TO RECORD HIGH -- MERCK LEADS BIG PHARMA IN UPSIDE BREAKOUT -- GENENTECH WEIGHS ON BIOTECH HOLDERS -- PRECIOUS METAL LEADERS

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

HEALTHCARE SPDR BREAKS OUT ... Last Friday I wrote about new signs of life in the traditionally defensive healthcare sector. I also wrote that most of that new leadership was coming from biotechs and pharmaceuticals. Since then, healthcare has taken off. Chart 1 shows the Health Care SPDR (XLV) gapping up...   READ MORE 

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CANADA BENEFITS FROM RISING COMMODITIES -- CANADA ISHARES ALSO BENEFIT FROM RISING CANADIAN DOLLAR -- AUSSIE DOLLAR HITS SEVENTEEN YEAR HIGH -- FALLING DOLLAR AND RISING COMMODITIES ARE BULLISH FOR COUNTRIES THAT EXPORT NATURAL RESOURCES

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

RISING COMMODITIES BOOST CANADIAN MARKET ... Last Friday I mentioned that a falling dollar was good for foreign stocks. I also mentioned that rising commodities were especially good for commodity exporters like Australia, Canada, and Latin America. All three have been global leaders early in 2007. I'm going to...   READ MORE 

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GAP MARKS RESISTANCE -- MIRROR IMAGE CHARTS -- VIX FIRMS AT BREAKOUT -- FINANCE SECTOR CONTINUES TO LAG -- MEASURING RELATIVE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS -- CISCO FORMS CONSOLIDATION -- BIG PHARMACEUTICAL STOCKS SHOW STRENGTH

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

TURNED BACK AT THE GAP... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor Stocks retreated on Wednesday with big techs leading the way lower. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) met resistance from the late February gap and fell around 1%...   READ MORE 

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ENERGY SPDR HITS NEW RECORD -- BUT OIL SERVICE HOLDERS MAY BE BETTER VALUE -- GOLD INDEX NEARS BULLISH BREAKOUT -- FREEPORT MCMORAN COPPER AND GOLD HITS NEW RECORD HIGH -- WYETH AND PHARM HOLDERS BREAK RESISTANCE

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

BOTH ETFS ACHIEVE BULLISH BREAKOUTS ... Energy stocks continue their upward climb. The Energy SPDR (XLE) broke through its December high at 62.13 to reach a new record high (Chart 1). That's not all. The XLE/SPX ratio (top of chart) has broken an eight-month down trendline (black...   READ MORE 

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FALLING DOLLAR BOOSTS COMMODITIES AND COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRIES -- BOUNCE IN CHINA HELPS GLOBAL MARKETS -- BIOTECHS PUSH HEALTHCARE INTO WEEK'S TOP SPOT

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

EURO HITS TWO-YEAR HIGH AGAINST DOLLAR... The U.S. Dollar Index fell during the week and is drawing dangerously close to last December's low (green circle). The foreign currency with the biggest influence on the USD is the Euro. Expectation for continuing economic strength in Europe -- and...   READ MORE 

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QQQQ AND SPY HIT THE GAP -- COAL STOCKS SHINE -- CONSOL ENERGY BREAKS RESISTANCE - VOLUME PRECEDES PRICE -- GOLD JUMPS ON INFLATION OUTLOOK -- TIPS AND GOLD MOVING IN UNISON -- THQI RIDES THE WII WAVE

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

STALLING AT THE GAP... Today's Market Message was written by Arthur Hill. John Murphy will be back tomorrow. - Editor The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQQ) and S&P 500 ETF (SPY) both reclaimed their 50-day moving averages yesterday and then edged higher today. The market was quite...   READ MORE 

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FALLING OIL, STRONG RETAIL AND HOUSING FIGURES PUSH MARKET HIGHER -- MAJOR INDEXES CLEAR 50-DAY AVERAGES -- EBAY AND GOOGLE LEAD NASDAQ HIGHER -- A LOT OF 200-DAY AVERAGES ARE HOLDING

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

AIRLINES, RETAIL, AND FINANCIALS LEAD RALLY ... A combination of bullish factors pushed the stock market sharply higher today. One of the those was a big drop in the price of oil. Naturally, that gave a big boost to transportation stocks and airlines in particular. Airlines rose more than 3% on...   READ MORE 

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WEAK DOLLAR BOOSTS COMMODITIES DURING FIRST QUARTER -- USING 50-DAY AVERAGE TO FILTER BUY SIGNALS -- FOREIGN STOCKS OUTPERFORM US -- MERCK AND COKE ARE DAY'S DEFENSIVE LEADERS -- REGIONAL BANKS AND HOMEBUILDERS FALL --

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

COMMODITIES TOP ASSET WHILE DOLLAR IS WEAKEST ... A review of the first quarter performance numbers reveals some interesting trends. Among market sectors, the strongest (in order of relative strength) were basic materials, utilities, energy, telecom, and consumer staples. The weakest were financials and housing. From an asset class standpoint, commodities...   READ MORE 

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WEEKLY STOCK INDICATORS REMAIN NEGATIVE -- TELECOM HOLDERS ARE TOP ETF FOR THE WEEK -- MEDIMMUNE IS ANOTHER HEALTHCARE BREAKOUT -- CHINESE SANCTION WEIGH ON DOLLAR

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

CHINESE SANCTION WEIGH ON DOLLAR AND BONDS ... A Commerce Department announcement on Friday of new sanctions on imports from China took the markets by surprise. Bonds, the dollar, and stocks took the news badly. The biggest potential losers are bonds and the dollar. The Chinese are huge holders of dollar...   READ MORE 

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HOME DEPOT, TARGET, AND WAL MART WEAKEN RETAILERS -- SCHERING PLOUGH ACHIEVES HEALTHCARE BREAKOUT -- MAXIM INTEGRATED PRODUCTS PULLS SOX LOWER -- SCHLUMBERGER BREAKS OUT

by John Murphy,

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

RETAIL STOCKS ARE STARTING TO UNDERPERFORM ... With all the recent bearish news on housing, combined with rising oil prices, odds for an economic slowdown have increased. Recent economic reports show that business investment has been declining for several months. That leaves the consumer to keep the economy afloat. That being...   READ MORE