With the major indices down 4-8% I am once again getting questions whether the bull market has ended and a multi-year decline is unfolding. I don’t think so.The New York Stock Exchange Cumulative Advance/Decline line recently scored an all time high. When bull markets end, we typically see this indicator peak months, quarters or even years before the Dow and S&P 500. The same can be said of the high yield bond sector. Bear markets are usually associated with restrictive monetary conditions and excessive valuations. It’s very hard to argue we are seeing those right now.
This decline continues to look like a pullback, meaning less than 10% in the Dow and S&P 500. It will end when the weaker bulls give up hope and thrown in the towel, something that has not happened yet. Sometimes that takes a few weeks while others it takes months or even quarters. Remember, my 2014 forecast called for a digestive type year like 1992, 2004 and 2007. That’s what we have seen so far.
Stocks are very oversold in the short-term and on their way to oversold in the intermediate-term. However, as we saw on the way up, overbought and oversold can get more overbought and oversold until a reversal takes hold. Just watching the volatility (fear) index, VIX, breach 20 should give us a hint that the decline is coming close to the end. We have already seen volume in inverse ETFs begin to spike which indicate that investors are running for downside protection.
What’s making headlines right now is the veracity of the decline in the former high flying market leaders like biotech and Internet. Those sectors led on the way down and I am keenly watching them for signs of stability and life. I am also watching them because we now own sizable positions in our sector program. It’s too early to tell if they have peaked for good, but once the market bounces, these should rally hard.
It doesn’t look like the stock market has hammered in a good bottom yet. The typical pattern would see a rally that lasts more than a day or two followed by another decline below the previous low. Today was only day one of a rally. Aggressive and nimble traders can look to sell a 1% rally and try to buy again at new lows, but that should only be contemplated for traders who can sit and watch and have a plan. Otherwise, there should be a better buying opportunity this quarter. Investors continue to hide in consumer staples, utilities and REITs on the equity side and my favorite investment that everyone hates, long-term treasury bonds which we happily have a big position in our global macro strategy.
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