Daily State of the Markets
The Train is Leaving the Station
While the uber-bears continue to pound the table about the risk of the next great disaster in the stock market, I'm reminded that two of the most famous cliches on Wall Street are, "The trend is your friend," and "Don't fight the tape."
In essence, these two old saws remind invest…
The Indicators Are Saying It's Time For...
Good morning and welcome back. Since it's Monday, let's get right to our weekly review of the state of the market and our major market indicators/models.
As usual, the first stop is a review of the price/trend of the market. Here's my current take on the state of the technical pic…
The Calendar Versus The Trend
There is no denying that the bulls have been on a roll of late. The S&P 500 has gained 9% since the post-BREXIT low seen on June 27 (the last time the pouting pundits were absolutely, positively sure that the next great calamity in the markets had begun) and has advanced 19.3% from th…
Is Sideways The New Down?
It is a given that Ms. Market's mood can change at a moment's notice (or the drop of an algo). But for the time being, it appears that sideways just might be the new down.
Since the BREXIT freak-out ended on June 27, the reality is that stocks have only had a handful of unpleasant…
Sometimes Things Just Make Sense
Good morning and welcome back. Every once in a great while, the stock market game makes sense. From my seat, this just may be one of those times. You see, Friday's jobs report, which was much, much better than expected, suggests that the economy is better than the glass-is-half-empty gang…
Jobs Report Surprises to the Upside
All eyes are on the labor department this morning as the "big kahuna" of economic data - aka the Jobs Report - showed that the economy created 255,000 new jobs in the month of July. In market vernacular, this was an upside surprise as the consensus had been for total job creation to come …
None The Worse For Wear
Stocks have been stuck in a sideways trading range for 12 consecutive days now. What is noteworthy here is that stocks have not finished with a single move of more than +/-0.5% during this time, which is the longest such streak since 1995. History shows that this type of consolidation pha…
The Reasons Stocks Are Bottled Up
Depending on when you believe the counting should begin, the S&P 500 has now been moving sideways, in an exceptionally tight range of just 0.7%, for 11-13 days. Analysts tell us that this is the tightest such range since 2013 and the third longest such range in history. The question, …
Crude's Move Becoming Rude Again
It's always something with this market, isn't it? Just about the time you assume that the "earnings recession" is ending and that investors are looking forward to better days, something always seems to crop up that causes the worries to return.
Although stocks have been strong in …
Two More Indicators Turn Green
I got a late start this morning so I'll get right to it. On this fine Thursday morning, it looks like global markets are (a) digesting the Fed statement, which appears to have been not quite as hawkish as had been feared, (b) waiting on the BOJ decision, and (c) dealing with another onsla…