Three Big Short-Term Changes Today
Looking at the economic news of the day, jobs created in September actually declined for the first time since 2011. On the surface, that would be shockingly disappointing and brings in calls for recession. However, all of the drop from the expected 100,000 created will be attributed to the hurricanes. The unemployment rate surprisingly fell to 4.2% from the expected 4.4%. Until the economies in Texas and Florida get back to somewhat normal behavior, job numbers are going to be […]
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Date: October 6, 2017
Signs Point Higher this Week
After a solid end to September and Q3, stocks open the new day, week, month and quarter flirting with all-time highs. Of the major indices, only the NASDAQ 100 isn’t there, but I expect to see that achievement this week. When I think of October, Reggie Jackson’s three home run game in 1977 comes to mind along with Halloween, fall foliage and stock market crashes. As I already wrote about, while October is known for huge market swings, 2017 is […]
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Date: October 2, 2017
Stocks on Solid Footing Heading into Q4
Since late July, my overall theme has been one of pause to refresh with a mild pullback as the five major stock market indices were certainly not all in gear to the upside. Two months later, with the S&P 400 and Russell 2000 recently surging, they are all getting closer together. That behavior comes at the expense of the NASDAQ 100 peaking earlier this month and moving sideways for the others to catch up. I fully expect November and December […]
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Date: September 29, 2017
Semis Breaking Out But Some Concern Out There
Stocks begin the new week on decent footing yet I remain of the belief that strength is a better selling opportunity than a buying one for now. While the underpinnings are not suggestive of recession, bear market nor 10%+ stock market correction, I continue to see evidence that a mid single digit pullback may be in the cards over the next 6 weeks. It’s also the single weakest of the year based on history. This one single week performs more […]
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Date: September 18, 2017
Semis Strong, Shouldering the Burden. Other Sectors Stepping Up.
The stock market continues to quietly drift higher, at least on the surface. The Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 have seen new highs this week while the S&P 400 and Russell 2000 look constructive but still well below their peaks. I do expect them to play catch up and see blue skies before any meaningful downside is seen. I wrote about the banks earlier this week as being a concern. Discretionary is a bit stronger but also not firing […]
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Date: September 15, 2017
Small Caps, Semis & Junk Leading. Banks Looking Sick
Stocks ended last week on firm footing as the bounce saw four nice days. With more North Korea tensions in the air, it will be interesting to see if the stock market finally cares or just uses this as an excuse to open mildly lower. Very quietly as I have mentioned before, the Russell 2000 has been leading the major indices. That does have bullish implications if it holds on. Additionally, the semis which have been the only key sector […]
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Date: September 5, 2017
Crosscurrents Abound. Enough for Bulls & Bears
Stocks continue the bounce they began two weeks ago and the same one I have been discussing. Tuesday was the day where the acceleration started. That could be slowing today. The NASDAQ 100 sits an all-time high but it’s lonely up there. The Dow and S&P 500 are within striking distance but the ever improving S&P 400 and Russell 2000 are not close. With the monthly jobs report out this morning, any strength will create a little short-term headwind for […]
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Date: September 1, 2017
Q2 GDP Baby. Stocks Like It!
This morning, the government reported that the “second look” at Q2 GDP grew by 3%, higher than the original 2.6% first reported. 3% is even higher than any of my most bullish models and it continues to show that the US economy is re-accelerating higher this year.I would love to hear from all those people who challenged my bullish view of the economy or called me out Twitter. They kept telling me that 3% was a pipe dream. My theme […]
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Date: August 30, 2017
Bulls Are Resilient
On May 8th, I first started discussing what I saw as a skewed risk/reward ratio with 500 possible points of upside and 1000 points possible on the downside. Over the years when there was a decent chance for stocks to decline, I often referred to it as a window of opportunity that stays open for a period of time before closing. Three weeks after my comments, stocks have basically gone nowhere. We saw a brief dip when the “hysteria” over […]
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Date: May 25, 2017
Looking for Mr. Volatility
Greetings from 39,000 feet as I am on my way home from the west coast. A quick visit in Scottsdale followed by my annual industry trade association conference in San Diego and I cannot wait to get home! If all goes well, that was my last trip to CA this year. It’s just brutal getting there from Hartford these days and the NY airports are a mess and awful to get to. The Fed concluded their two day meeting today […]
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Date: May 3, 2017
