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Author:

Paul Schatz, President, Heritage Capital

Spurt or Pullback???

Stocks continue to digest the gains made in early November without giving up against the negative news backdrop. That’s a well supported, resilient market. When the major indices close above their November highs, we should see a quick spurt to the upside. If they fail to do so this week, I would not be surprised at all to see a mild 1-3% pullback lasting a week or two to set up the Santa Claus rally into 2016. My theme remains […]   Read More
Date: December 1, 2015

Stocks are no Turkey

I hope everyone had a great and meaningful Thanksgiving. As I type this, my stomach has settled down and I am just about ready for an evening snack at halftime of the Packers/Bears game before they honor Brett Favre. Friday is another seasonally strong day on the heels of Wednesday. Don’t forget that the stock market closes at 1pm est. In my previous post I mentioned that the seasonal stats don’t forecast magnitude, just direction. What a perfect example as […]   Read More
Date: November 26, 2015

Come on in Bears; the Water is Nice!

Although overnight indications had stocks down .5% two  nights ago, by the time the closing bell rang, the major indices recouped all that and then some in yet another sign of resilience. It seems like every call and email I get and most conversations I have are with folks who have a very negative view of the markets. I continue to feel like I am on an island alone in my bullish view. The masses just dismiss the upside as […]   Read More
Date: November 25, 2015

Bulls Come Back to Life

Stocks came into the week on their heels from the recent pullback and the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris. In my previous post, I offered that the odds favored some more weakness with a reversal this week. The market saw a quick bout of weakness to open the week, but quickly reversed into a very strong day for the bulls on Monday. While Tuesday saw some internal soft spots, the bears will have a tough time taking control unless stocks […]   Read More
Date: November 18, 2015

Pullback Deeper Than Expected

Stocks continue under pressure as they pullback from the huge run last month. Last week, I offered that this week would be the buying opportunity, but the pullback has been deeper than I expected. “Relentless” would be an exaggeration, but there has certainly been some strong selling. While Friday’s action did show the major indices mostly down 1%+, the selling was less severe than Thursday. Going in to next week, volatility should continue to be on the high side and […]   Read More
Date: November 13, 2015

Pullback Orderly and Constructive So Far

The pullback that began last Wednesday in the major stock market indices continues. It’s been orderly and constructive so far and if the super bullish case remains, it should wrap up sooner than later. The stock market is digesting the better than expected employment report and is coming to terms with a December rate hike by the Fed. The banks and discretionary continue to lead which is a positive sign over the intermediate-term. Transports are transitioning to leadership and that’s […]   Read More
Date: November 10, 2015

Pullback to Buy

Stocks are finally seeing some pause in the relentless rally that began a little over a month ago. It should be mild, relatively painless and in the 1-3% range. As I continue to mention, any and all weakness is a buying opportunity until proven otherwise. And there’s a chance that the “proven otherwise” won’t be seen until well into 2016. Internally, the stock market has been and is on solid footing. As you can see from the chart below, the […]   Read More
Date: November 5, 2015

Stepping on the Bears’ Throats

As bullish as I have been, and I don’t think many have been as positive as I have been, the stock market is now starting to surprise even me on the upside. Coming in to the week, stocks were looking a little tired and in need of some rest, either by going sideways for a few weeks or by seeing a mild pullback of 1-3%. Instead, stocks are continuing to move higher although the rate of acceleration has slowed. I […]   Read More
Date: November 3, 2015

Yet ANOTHER Bullish Q4 Study

After my research on post-crash behavior was complete, I turned to stock market performance. With both August and September closing lower, I wondered if there was any trend for Q4. Over the past 35 years, there were only 6 occurrences and all led to a positive Q4 by an average of +10.86%! You can view the study here. http://investfortomorrowblog.com/archives/1936 With the help of my friend and colleague Dana Lyons, http://jlfmi.tumblr.com, I analyzed stock market returns since 1950 when the S&P […]   Read More
Date: October 30, 2015

Fed Day Again?!?!

Boy did six weeks fly by! Here we are again. At 2pm we will hear from the Fed that interest rates remain unchanged, but their economic outlook is probably on the positive side. I also expect a comment or two about China and then the laying of groundwork for a possible rate hike six weeks from now. I still do not agree with any rate increase, but it seems like it’s coming. The stock market model for the day is […]   Read More
Date: October 28, 2015