Was That It?
Stocks staged another wicked reversal on Thursday after opening sharply lower on Facebook’s poor earnings report as well as Q1 GDP coming in much lighter than expected with still sticky inflation. More than whispers of 1970s style stagflation are making the rounds. Recall that stagflation is stubbornly high inflation with essentially no economic growth. It puts the Fed in a box as they can’t cut rates to spur on the economy and it’s tough to hike too much for fear […]
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Date: April 26, 2024
The Bounce Arrived On Schedule – Now What?
The stock market bounced pretty much on schedule and looks higher this morning. I suspect the initial rally may pause in here and some pruning could be in the cards. While it’s not my preferred scenario, I guess it’s possible that stocks bottomed already, but I still think the absolute low lies ahead next month, even if it’s just at marginally lower levels. Some very high profile earnings are coming out this week with Tesla reporting some pretty awful news […]
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Date: April 24, 2024
Weak Indices Masking Some Underlying Strength
Friday was another down day on the ugly side with the S&P 500 down 1% and the NASDAQ 100 was down 2%. However, the Russell 2000 was up and there were 1000 more stocks going up than down on the NYSE. For a change, the generals were weak, but the troops were strong. Keep that tidbit under your hat and don’t toss it aside. The new week starts with all of the major stock market indices oversold on a short-term […]
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Date: April 22, 2024
Two Enemies Of The Stock Market
It has been a heavy week in the stock market, especially in the NASDAQ 100. Every early rally has been met with selling and I have found very few things that are appealing enough to buy. On the flip side, because there hasn’t been any intervening rallies, not many things have looked appealing enough to sell. Below is a culprit, long-term interest rates. I will say this and be crystal clear. The bulls absolutely do not want to see the […]
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Date: April 19, 2024
Pullback Proceeding On Schedule – Time Is Needed
Monday saw the largest down day since the stock market peaked last month. There was widespread selling with 90% of the volume in stocks going down versus up. Below is a chart of the S&P 500 with the 90% volume below. Over the past 6 months, we have seen two instances like this with stocks bouncing and then pulling back before heading to new highs again. Further supporting my thesis is the chart below. At the recent peak there were […]
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Date: April 17, 2024
Seasonally Positive Tailwind Against Middle East Escalation
Happy tax day (said with sarcasm)! The stock market has been seasonally strong on tax day as well as the day after. First, the middle of the month typically sees inflows from 401K and other retirement plans. Add on top of that the billions in last minute IRA contributions and you have a nice tailwind for two days. I think the best way to play that is to buy weakness. If stocks up higher and continue to run, I would […]
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Date: April 15, 2024
The Price of Loyalty: When to Rethink Your Financial Advisor
Loyalty is a valued trait in many aspects of life, but an unquestioned allegiance to particular financial advisors may be a costly mistake. Why? This advisor will influence or control your financial decisions that can impact when and how you live during retirement. It is important to make the right decisions. It can also be very costly if you select the wrong financial advisor. Consider this: The most expensive commodity on earth is bad financial advice. We meet with people […]
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Date: April 15, 2024
Stock Market Pullback Proceeding on Schedule – Gold, Apple & Nvidia
Since the March 27th peak, we have seen a few mild pullbacks in the major stock market indices. That March high although late in the quarter is precisely what our work had been suggesting since the year began. As usual, they didn’t make it easy. I remain of the opinion that it was not a peak of significance. Rather, the market would embark on a one to two month decline that would be less than 10% and bottom by Memorial […]
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Date: April 12, 2024
All Eyes on CPI But Does It Matter?
With the Consumer Price Index due out at 8:30am, that is almost guaranteed to be the talk of the day. As I have been mentioning all year, my thesis is that inflation remains stubbornly elevated with 3% being the new 2%. I have been writing about inflation bottoming and the last few months have certainly proven that. I don’t have strong conviction about this one single number. When I look at the yield on the 10-Year Treasury, it broke out […]
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Date: April 10, 2024
Another Strong Employment Report Confounds The Bears
On Friday, the March jobs report showed 303,000 new jobs created which was well above expectations of 202,000 once again. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8% while wages increased 4.1% over the past 12 months. The Goldilocks economy with elevated inflation continues to defy the odds and critics. One by one almost every single tried and true predictor of recession has flashed since 2021 with varying lead times until the economy shrinks. But someone forgot to tell the economy to […]
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Date: April 8, 2024
Who Turned The Lights Out?
Greetings from the Valley of the Sun where my daughter and I are hoping the UCONN men can win their second straight national championship. My body got a shock as the temp at the hotel was 90 at the same time as another major winter storm hit Vermont with another 18 inches of snow. Catching up with a childhood friend and her husband is one of the unintended benefits. As I flew to Phoenix I watched as early morning strength […]
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Date: April 5, 2024
Two-Day Decline – No One Cares
Two down days in the stock market, but it certainly didn’t feel like folks cared much as stocks closed near their high for the day on Tuesday. And the down days were barely noticeable on a chart. Here are the charts of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100. As you know I have been looking for a Q1 peak followed by a less than 10% decline that wraps up by Memorial Day. We will see if that March peak holds […]
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Date: April 3, 2024
New Week, Month and Quarter Begin – Back to Narrowness
As expected, Thursday was a very quiet day in the markets ahead of the long holiday weekend as well as closing out March and Q1. The government released its monthly Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report which is a favorite of the Fed and it showed inflation came in as expected, up 0.3% for the month and 2% for the trailing 12 months. Early last week, I discussed how the week had a strong seasonal tendency to the upside. The S&P […]
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Date: April 1, 2024
The Masses Said Small Caps Were Death & Going To Spiral Lower
Today is the last day of the week, month and quarter as markets are closed in observance of Good Friday. March and Q1 definitely flew by! As a reminder I will be conducting my quarterly webinar on Wednesday at 7:30pm where I review the events of Q1, discuss our strategies and their performance as well as take a sneak peak into what is ahead in Q2. Markets remain very quiet with low volatility. I don’t know why they do this, […]
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Date: March 28, 2024
Volatility Is Depressed But It Should Be
My publishing schedule is a bit off this week and I am not sure when I will publish the rest of the week. My apologies. This week is seasonally strong. Historically, there is an 85%+ chance that the week is up. Those are fairly good odds, but very hard to trade in a vacuum. I am glad our models covered our short trade and increased exposure to the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 into the down day on Monday. Volatility […]
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Date: March 26, 2024
Top Retirement Questions Answered By Fiduciary Financial Advisors
When you think about retirement, what comes to mind? Most people think about pleasant images of relaxation, activities (golf, pickleball), travel, and spending more time with family and friends. Ideally, your early retirement years can be very enjoyable, but you should also be preparing for your mid and late-retirement years when your lifestyle begins to change. Plus, you can be retired for 30 or more years, so the earlier you start planning, the better. Running out of money late in […]
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Date: March 25, 2024
Less Is More In 2024
The model for Fed day could not have been any more perfect. Stocks traded in a narrow range and then saw big moves in both directions before racing higher into the close as Jay Powell confirmed their forecast of interest rate cuts later in the year. Right now, I think he may eat some of those words as inflation remains stubbornly above their 2% target. Recall that I commented on Fox Business that 3% is the new 2% without recession. […]
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Date: March 22, 2024
Fed Has Cover For Rates Cuts But Inflation Not Giving Up
Today is FOMC statement day when their two-day meeting ends and Jay Powell gives his press conference after a statement is released keeping interest rates where they are, commenting on inflation and then letting everyone know that rate cuts are on the way later than sooner. The stock market model for the day is plus or minus 0.50% until 2pm and then a big move or two. Since the outlier banking issues in March 2023, I have said that the […]
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Date: March 20, 2024
Stock Market Trend Morphing As It Weakens
Anyone notice how the gains have moderated lately? The stock market seems to be transitioning from strongly up to modestly up and sideways. Here is the Dow Industrials. Not a lot to criticize nor worry about. Just an observation. Here is the NASDAQ 100. And finally, the Russell 2000. This is how markets digest or mildly correct after a big run. And as I have written for some time, I am looking for a Q1 peak, followed by a low […]
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Date: March 18, 2024
Successful Investors Do Not Sit On Their Hands
Thursday was a day to punish some bulls. Lots of the sexy and glamorous stuff got hit. My readers weren’t surprised as I have been writing about it for weeks and longer. I have spoken about good portfolio management of pruning and planting, cutting exposure and risk and in favor of the boring, stodgy and unloved. I lost count how many times I have written about booking gains in the high flyers, like Nvidia, Facebook, Marvel, Broadcom, Apple, Microsoft and […]
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Date: March 15, 2024
