Was It “A” Bottom or “THE” Bottom? Don’t Get Comfortable Just Yet!
As you know, I had been calling for a mid to upper single digit decline in stocks since late September. That pullback has certainly come to fruition this month with the major stocks market indices down between 7% and 10%. Last Thursday brought short-term panic readings in some indicators and that served to mitigate more weakness, at least for now. Usually when these conditions occur, the bulk of the price damage has been done for the time being and at […]
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Date: October 17, 2018
Just Like the Crash of 1987, an Interest Rate Driven Decline in Stocks
When I woke up today, I wasn’t planning on doing this update. My original plan was to begin a new Street$marts and talk about stock market crashes and the panic I saw in the market over the past two days as well as address some emails I received. This was going to be just one of the articles written. As I got going, it got longer and longer and longer with all of the charts and I ran out of […]
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Date: October 12, 2018
Crash Sequence Unfolding?
As you know from my emails, quarterly report and most blogs, I have been forecasting a stock market pullback for the past few weeks. Even when the Dow Jones Industrials finally achieved my late Q1 forecast of new all-time highs across the board on September 21, I was very concerned about a crumbling market foundation that would lead to a mid to upper single digit decline in October. I couldn’t have been any clearer when I discussed my forecast on […]
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Date: October 11, 2018
Bulls Need a Stand
After some early weakness on Monday, the bulls put up a little fight before succumbing to selling into lunch. From there, they did have enough energy to bring stocks back to breakeven. Given the semi-holiday, that was semi-impressive. The bulls now have a little momentum and are supposed to run to the upside for at least a day or so. The S&P 400 and Russell 2000 have declined sufficiently to reach their long-term trend or the average price of the […]
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Date: October 9, 2018
Bulls Fail Again
My continued theme of a stock market pullback continues. The weakness is unfolding as expected. Small and mid cap indices have been hit the worst, but now the NASDAQ 100 is joining in. The rotation into the Dow and S&P 500 remains, but they are also down as well. Semis, discretionary and transports have rolled over and now the banks are in jeopardy of following suit. Energy, industrials and healthcare are sectors where investors are trying to hide and that […]
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Date: October 8, 2018
The Bulls Better Step Up, and Fast!
For most of Thursday, the bears growled loudly with the largest losses being seen since the Q1 correction. But rallies and bull moves do not die easily. The bull fight and fight and fight until they finally throw in the towel and the market sees what I termed the “gap of recognition”. It is a sharply lower opening that continues lower throughout the day. The bull never recover the gap until after the decline ends and the next rally begins. […]
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Date: October 5, 2018
Haves & Have Nots
As you know my theme over the past month has been about this “split” market developing and persisting. By “split”, I am referring to the number of stocks making new highs as well as new lows. The numbers keep climbing. Price hasn’t wavered although recently, the masses and media caught on to the fact that the Russell 2000 has been under pressure while the Dow Industrials have soared higher. That’s unhealthy behavior. What you see above is pretty egregious. Almost […]
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Date: October 3, 2018
Q4 is Here But Market Still Biding Time
I cannot believe Q4 begins today. That’s just crazy. My grandmother continues to be right when she told me years ago that the older you get, the quicker time flies by. That woman who has always been my favorite family member never gave me bad advice and always listened to me. Even the night before she passed in her sleep at the young age of 98, she told me to only buy investments that go up. I should leave the […]
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Date: October 1, 2018
Bears Taking the Ball
Monday saw the not so unusual weakness we have seen lately. However, Tuesday did not see what has become the typical bounce back since the stock market last bottomed in Q1. While I don’t want to assign too much emphasis on one single trading day, especially when it’s in my best interest, perhaps the market’s character is beginning to change. I continue to look for a bull market pullback in the mid to upper single digits. So far, price, the […]
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Date: September 28, 2018
***Fed Update – Rates Going Up Today. More to Follow***
Stock Market Behavior Models 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. Over the past few meetings, many of the strongest trends were muted and today looks a lot like the August 1 meeting day. I drew arrows below so you can see what the S&P 500 looked like heading into […]
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Date: September 26, 2018
Can the Bears Make Any Move?
While the Dow declined almost 200 points on Monday the other indices were down much less with the NASDAQ 100 closing higher, a good sign for the bulls. Overall participation was poor and the defensive sectors were hit the hardest which was little bit of a head scratcher. As I mentioned yesterday, this week is the weakest week of the year on a seasonal basis. It is also another down Monday with an opportunity for an up Tuesday. I mention […]
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Date: September 25, 2018
Junk Hanging In While Pullback Begins
This post is going to be short as I am planning on writing my special Fed piece as well as a full Street$marts before I head to New York City tomorrow. Nothing new to report. I remain negative for the next few weeks or so as the window of opportunity for a mid to upper single digit pullback has opened. I have written about the split market and small warning from the NYSE A/D Line, however high yield bonds are […]
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Date: September 24, 2018
And FINALLY, the Dow Rings the Bell
Well folks, with the Dow Industrials finally scoring fresh all-time highs, we have every major stock market index plus all four key sectors seeing new highs since the bottom of the Q1 correction. My forecast is now complete. I can’t count how many times people told me that a new bear market started or this time I was going to fall flat on my face. Don’t get me wrong. I fall on my face plenty times. I just keep getting […]
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Date: September 21, 2018
Buy Yom Kippur But Participation is Waning
As the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur is here, so ends the seasonal trend of selling Rosh Hashanah and buying Yom Kippur. It worked out very well this year, if you did the exact opposite! Rosh Hashanah was the most recent little low and stocks quietly rallied right through to Yom Kippur. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 have reasserted themselves while the Russell 2000 and NASDAQ 100 have lagged, not exactly the healthiest backdrop. In sector land, banks […]
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Date: September 18, 2018
Hindenburg, Titanic, OH MY!
As I did my usual weekend research and overview I am even more convinced that there is valid reason to have some short-term concern. By short-term, I am looking at the next three to five weeks and nothing more than a single digit pullback, worst case. Lots of little things have ans continue to pop up to go along with the negative seasonal headwind this time of year. However, the real and nasty bearishness of September has been muted by […]
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Date: September 17, 2018
Gold a Bit Perplexing. Stocks Due for Pullback
Let’s start with gold. A few weeks ago, I wrote a longer article in Street$marts about a major low in gold forming. It’s USUALLY not that difficult to spot. However, this time, gold and the gold stocks have been diverging with the metal holding the bottom while the stocks made new lows. See the charts below. I can tell you that it’s been a bit perplexing, but not unprecedented. And although I have been long-term bullish on the dollar since […]
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Date: September 14, 2018
Becoming a Little Concerned
Sell Rosh Hashanah, buy Yom Kippur. The age old stock market adage for this time of year. I can tell you that no one was discussing that at synagogue over the past two days. As you can imagine, it was AAT, all about Trump, the good, the bad, the ugly and the otherwise. Normally, as you know, I would insert myself right into the conversation. However, given the holiday and toxic nature of politics right now, why bother. Everyone has […]
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Date: September 12, 2018
Role Reversal
The NASDAQ 100 and by default, the technology sector has led the markets all year. That’s certainly no secret. Value stocks have lagged not only this year, but every year since the bull market began. In fact, they are about as cheap relative to growth as they have ever been. This week, there has been somewhat of a reversal of fortunes as the tech-laden NASDAQ 100 has come under strong selling pressure while value stocks have held their own. Does […]
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Date: September 6, 2018
The Misunderstood Bearishness of September. The Real Facts
I cannot believe that September is here. That was the fastest August ever! With the turn of the calendar, the stock market now enters what has historically been the worst month if you look back 100 years. Of course, none of us have been investing that long and as we all know, markets can and do morph. In other words, over time, markets are at least efficient enough to arbitrage away most known calendar effects. Sometimes, the trend starts early, […]
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Date: September 4, 2018
Growth/Value Back to Dotcom Bubble Peak
Under the large umbrella of the U.S. stock market, there are indices, sectors, market capitalizations and style boxes. For example, the five major stock indices are the Dow Jones Industrials, S&P 500, S&P 400, Russell 2000 and NASDAQ 100. Sure, you can argue that the NASDAQ belongs instead of the 100. We also have large cap, mid and small cap along with growth stocks and value stocks. I often write about different kinds of leadership in good times and bad […]
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Date: August 31, 2018
