Daily State of the Markets

Have Dove, Will Travel

Yesterday's stock market action once again reinforced the idea that the key driver of this market remains the outlook for monetary policy. With the S&P 500 looking it was down for the count and ready to break the all-important support at 1980, traders got word that the Chinese leader …

Are Traders Ready to BTFD Again?

After a third consecutive losing session for the stock market, it appears that the mood may be improved today - at least in the early going, anyway. We will note that buying after 3 down days has been a profitable strategy for the last couple years. Thus, it will be interesting to see if …

Is it Time to Worry About the Divergences?

There has been an awful lot of discussion lately about the existence of "technical divergences" in the current market. In English, a "divergence" occurs on the charts when the major indices and/or sectors are not all dancing to the beat of the same drum. In short, in a strong market, "the…

Two Indicators That Make You Say, "Hmmm"

With the Fed meeting finally out of the way, traders can now turn their attention to other things happening in the markets such as rising interest rates, the wild action in the currency markets (if you haven't seen it recently, be sure to check out symbol UUP - PowerShares U.S. Dollar Ind…
Where's the Oomph? image

Where's the Oomph?

Yesterday's FOMC meeting remains a focal point for the global markets. Despite the late-day selloff in the U.S., global markets are higher overnight. In short, some analysts believe that the selling in the U.S. was overdone, particularly when considering that the "considerable time" phras…

It's Fed Day, Here's What We're Watching...

Although the surprise move by the People's Bank of China to pump 500 billion yuan (approximately $80 billion) into the country's top five banks (a move that was the equivalent of a 0.50% cut in the country's reserve requirement rate) got all the attention yesterday, today is all about Jan…

Buyers Decide to Stand Aside Until...

The word of the day appears to be weakness. Asian stock markets are down across the board this morning in response to weaker-than expected FDI (foreign direct investment) data in China, which showed inflows hitting the lowest level in at least two and one-half years. In addition, the ZEW …

The Fed is Betting Big That...

The big focus in the market last week revolved around the possibility that Janet Yellen and her merry band of central bankers may need to change their tune at this week's FOMC meeting. More specifically, the issue is if there will be tweaks to the Fed's forward guidance language, with mos…

The Fed's (VERY) Big Bets

There can be little argument that the U.S. Federal Reserve saved the banking system and in the process, the global economy, during the credit crisis. In an intense time with the financial system seemingly coming apart at the seams, Bernanke & Co. pulled out all the stops in order to k…

The Consolidation Continues, But We're Watching...

The President's new, more aggressive campaign against ISIS appears to be spooking investors in the early going today. Recall that it was less than two weeks ago when Obama said "we don't have a strategy yet." This appears to have changed as the President laid out an expanded campaign to &…