Menu

Category: Paul’s Insights

Bulls Rockin’ to Start 2017

It looks like the bulls are refreshed and ready to go into 2017 with the bears perhaps still nursing a hangover. Early indications show the Dow Industrials up roughly 150 points this morning which would put them within striking distance of 20,000 this week. I have seen a number of very short-term studies over the weekend which all point to higher prices today and possibly tomorrow based off the weak close to 2017 within the context of a higher December. […]   Read More
Date: January 3, 2017

Well, Well, Well Mr. Bear

Wednesday was definitely an interesting day as opening strength was immediately sold and built upon throughout the day. That behavior is not only out of character for the post-election rally, it certainly is as well for the final few days with prices so extended. Market internals were pretty much as expected for a day like that and the Dow held up much better than the other major indices. Except for gold, sector weakness was across the board. Treasuries got a […]   Read More
Date: December 28, 2016

Dancing Sugar Plums & Dow 20K

Two days into the Santa Claus Rally and the Dow is up a whopping 26 points. While that doesn’t seem like anything, it’s fairly typical of the final five trading days of the year which often see a mild drift higher before sellers sometimes come in on the final day. Tuesday saw the bulls come right back to work early in the day with thoughts of sugar plums and Dow 20,000 dancing in the heads. Stock market internals were certainly […]   Read More
Date: December 27, 2016

Reagan’s Stock Market Analog Dies

Last month, I offered a price analog to the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. There were many similarities between 1980 and 2016 as you can see below, including the big correction early in the year and the post-election market celebration. That all ended by Thanksgiving as the 1980 pattern gave back 100% of the rally while the 2016 pattern kept powering ahead. In the next issue, we will take a look at the other analog from 1991 and 1992 to […]   Read More
Date: December 27, 2016

Will Santa Claus Call to Broad & Wall?

Yale Hirsch of Stock Trader’s Almanac fame (and a perennial must own book now written by his son Jeff) coined the phrase, “If Santa Claus fails to call, bears may come to Broad & Wall”. Research showed that if the last five trading days of the year and first two trading days of the New Year (Santa Claus rally) did not show a positive return, a bear market or significant correction was likely during the coming year. Bears love to […]   Read More
Date: December 23, 2016

Top Financial Tips to Year-End

This year-end is a very unusual one. Not only will the presidency be changing in early 2017,  but Congress will now join the party in power for the first time since the 2008 election and 111th Congress. That means for the most part, any legislation that passes Congress will likely be signed into law by the president. Before you dismiss this as a political post, read on. Because Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, has been in power for several […]   Read More
Date: December 21, 2016

Stocks Tired But No Reason to Sell Just Yet

Stocks are now in one of the most seasonally strong times of year within one of the most seasonally strong times of year. The big question is whether the market has used up most of the available fuel and needs a break first. Certainly, the last few days have seen a mild pullback. It looks like the bears have a tiny bit of work left to do on the downside. However, those looking for any significant price damage during the […]   Read More
Date: December 19, 2016

Fed to Hike Rates But All Not Well

Model for the Day As with every Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement day, there is a model for the stock market to follow pre and post announcement. Certain environments have very strong tendencies while others do not. Two meetings ago was one of the rare times where the models strongly called for a rally on statement which was correct as well as a decline a few days later which was also correct. Today, the upside edge is just outside […]   Read More
Date: December 14, 2016

Irrational Exuberance

This past weekend was the first official ski weekend for my youngest son and me. And boy was it cold in Vermont! But with mid-winter conditions, it was hard not to overdo it. I overdid it and now I am in a world of pain. Neck, back, quads, calves, fingers. Anyway, as you can imagine, I am usually a chatty one on the lift. Since we typically ride the quad or 6 pack, we are usually with strangers. When people […]   Read More
Date: December 12, 2016

Bulls Continue to Trample Ahead

On Wednesday, I gave a higher level overview of how the stock market is behaving along with the leadership and some key indicators. Nothing has really changed. Almost everything is severely overbought, but they can still become even more overbought. Pullbacks through year-end should be shallow and no more than 2-3%, lasting just a few days. Another piece of good news for the longevity of the bull market came this week. The NYSE Advance/Decline Line scored an all-time high. That […]   Read More
Date: December 9, 2016