State of the Markets

Understanding The Algos and Systematic Sellers

By: David Moenning

Before we dive in to any sort of subjective analysis about the current state of the markets or what may or may not come next, I think it is important to note that our Indicator Boards did a pretty darn good job of waving yellow flags well before the current correction began. While…

What Is Real And What Is Artificial?

By: David Moenning

What a difference a few days can make in this business, right? Seven days ago, the Dow closed at a fresh all-time high. The market narrative at the time was well known. The economy was booming, and rates were rising for "the right reasons." At that time, the thinking was that stocks could…

Assuming The Worst

By: David Moenning

Not surprisingly, I spent much of yesterday afternoon on the telephone speaking with advisors about what the heck was happening in the stock market. With the Dow just five days removed from an all-time high, the 832-point plunge clearly needed some explanation. As such, I thought I'd shar…

Time To Hit Reset?

By: David Moenning

As long-time readers are aware, the main objective of my oftentimes meandering market missive is to identify the driving forces behind the action in the stock market. For the past 20+ years, my thinking has been that if I can stay in tune with what is happening and why in Ms. Market's gam…

Ignore The Headline And Focus On Yields

By: David Moenning

It's the first Friday of the month, which means it is time for the Big Kahuna of economic data - the jobs report. So, without further ado, let's get to the report and review the bevy of numbers. Point number one: Ignore this month's headline. You see, Hurricane Florence played a r…

Bulls Remain In Charge, But Divergences and Caution Signs Exist

By: David Moenning

It was a busy weekend filled with family, travel, and the passing of a pet, so I'm going to skip the subjective analysis of the stock market and let the indicators do most of the talking on this fine Monday morning. Briefly, the bottom line is the indicator boards continue to sugg…

Will Valuations Spoil The Bull's Party?

By: David Moenning

In spite of the escalating trade "skirmish" and a long list of purported negatives, stocks continued to trudge higher last week with the DJIA finishing at a new all-time high on Friday. The S&P 500 wasn't far off the pace, closing just 0.04% off Thursday's record high. However, for th…

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

By: David Moenning

My quote system confirms that stocks finished higher on the week and that the S&P 500 gained ground all five days last week. And with the venerable index closing Friday at the second highest level ever on a daily basis (and the highest ever on a weekly basis), one can't be blamed for …

What If Something Bad Actually Happens?

By: David Moenning

In case you have somehow missed it, the ten-year anniversary of Lehman's collapse is upon us. The fall of Lehman Brothers, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that Wall Street didn't bail out the firm, is widely viewed as the trigger for the ensuing credit crisis and the "Great Recessi…

The Pause That Refreshes?

By: David Moenning

Now that the S&P 500 has managed to move to new all-time highs, the obvious question becomes, where do we go from here? Our furry friends in the bear camp contend that the prolonged period of consolidation that occurred between January 26 and August 24 means the current run fo…