Small Caps Getting Ready to Lead While Worries about Trump Persist
Yesterday, I wrote about the major stock market indices and how the Russell 2000 was finally waking up. Below is an old chart which I first offered in early January. You can see that the small caps have been in a tight trading range all year and are now trying to break out to the upside. With so many studies pointing lower, this is one index which could counter some of the negativity and give the market a little push […]
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Date: February 10, 2017
Bears Still Struggling to Make Progress
Happy snow day to those of you in the northeast! For several weeks, there have been all kinds of studies which indicate that the risk/reward for stocks is skewed to the downside over the coming weeks and few months. The same can be said of some daily studies. When I say skewed, I mean favors a typical and normal pullback of 2-5%. Yet each time the bulls look tired, they somehow prevent the bears from making any progress. In the […]
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Date: February 9, 2017
Bulls Win Big on Friday But Still Not Ready
Very nice day for the bulls on Friday as the monthly jobs report was really the Goldilocks scenario. Not too strong and not too weak. The U.S. saw decent growth with some mild revisions lower but almost no wage inflation which caused expectations for a March rate hike by the Fed to decline to roughly 20%. I would not hang my hat on the Fed staying put in March. There are many data points between now and then and I […]
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Date: February 6, 2017
Dow 20,000 Already Forgotten
Last week, the Dow hit my longstanding target of 20,000, first given on CNBC’s Squawk Box in 2010 just after I forecast that the Fed’s balance sheet would hit a staggering $5 trillion. If we see 5 consecutive closes above 20,000, the next upside target will be created. Since Dow 20K, it’s been even more Donald Trump and politics on the financial channels. I think the Q4 GDP report is now totally forgotten. Market sentiment had become a little frothy […]
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Date: January 30, 2017
Dow Breaking Out & Q4 GDP Miss the Last
After hitting yet another one of my upside targets, 20,000, the Dow has yet to pause. Five straight closes above 20,000 will open up new upside targets before the bull market ends. As you can see below, the Dow has been consolidating sideways since early December. That’s often referred to as a flat top or box. When prices finally exceed the flat top, they oftentimes see a spurt in the same direction. Although momentum is on the side of the […]
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Date: January 27, 2017
Bulls Wake Up and Attack
No sooner did the ink dry on Monday’s piece than the market quickly tossed aside my thinking for a bit more of a pullback before racing to new highs. Since December 13, four out five of the major stock market indices have been digesting post-election gains and pulling back in a very orderly fashion. Only the NASDAQ 100 has really moved meaningfully higher. After a morning of selling on Monday, the bull pushed stocks higher into the close. On Tuesday, […]
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Date: January 25, 2017
“Buy the Election, Sell the Inauguration”
That’s been a popular refrain over the past week as stocks continue in stall mode, basically since December 13. In fact, the Dow and Russell 2000 are now down on the new year. Only the NASDAQ 100 which I thought would go from laggard to leader has had the power to forge ahead in 2017. However, that index is now looking a bit tired and in need of a little rest which won’t be so bad. For most of the […]
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Date: January 23, 2017
Bulls & Bears Even But Opex Tilts Down
Bulls and bears come into the new week on equal footing, both still fighting it out in the trading range. The bulls have done nothing wrong to indicate anything more than a 3-5% pullback and the bears will have a lot to prove at that point. Since early December, the small cap Russell 2000 has lagged and the bulls are getting to that point where it’s time to step up. Clearly, the unpopular NASDAQ 100 has been the leadership index. […]
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Date: January 17, 2017
Dow 20,000 on Hold for Now
On Friday the Dow Jones Industrials failed to touch the vaunted 20,000 level, missing by less than a single point. It’s been interesting to watch the media fall over themselves, cheering, pushing and encouraging the Dow to touch 20,000. Frankly, it’s kind of embarrassing. What’s worse has been the pundits who actually believe Dow 20,000 actually means anything. It’s just a number although I guess eclipsing milestone levels does add to the euphoria. For me, it’s been a target I […]
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Date: January 9, 2017
Santa Came a Callin’ But Who Cares…
The Santa Claus Rally (SCR) has officially ended with the bulls winning by almost 1/2%. That’s supposed to portend positive things for the year ahead. However, as with most Wall Street adages and assumptions, it just stand up to scrutiny when doing the research. First, let’s remember that during most long-term periods, stocks rise at least 2 out of every 3 years, so a permanent kind of tailwind to support the bulls. As I started to update the stats on […]
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Date: January 6, 2017
