Analysis Archives (>6 months old)
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Weakness Expands, Shocks to the System, Defense and Cybersecurity Pull Back (Premium)
The markets are dealing with some serious systematic shocks and volatility remains well above average across the board. First and foremost, the Composite Breadth Model is
Weekend Video – Weight of Evidence is Bearish, Defensive Groups Shine, Some Commodities Go Parabolic (Premium)
This video starts with broad market analysis and then moves to the individual ETFs. The broad market section includes the Composite Breadth Model, Fed balance sheet and yield spreads. Breadth indicators, SPY, QQQ, bonds, gold and the Dollar are also covered.
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Price Action and Indicators, Hard Assets Lead, Two Tech ETFs Holding Up (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model is bearish so I am focused on ETFs that are not correlated to stocks (commodities), ETFs that are defensive (staples, utilities) and ETFs that are perhaps less correlated to stocks (agribusiness, steel, defense). Volatility is
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Retail Trends Lower, Finance Looks Vulnerable, Breakouts in Defense, Uranium and Steel (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model remains bearish and the S&P 500 SPDR is in a downtrend since the January breakdown. The S&P SmallCap 600 SPDR (IJR) held up a little better than SPY in January-February, but remains short of a resistance breakout that would negate the January breakdown. In short, the trends
Weekend Video – Two Day Reversal vs 2022 Technical Damage, Yield Spreads Widen, Commodity-Related ETFs Still Leading (Premium)
Stocks staged a big intraday reversal on Thursday and followed through on Friday with strong breadth (one day). The two-day sequence is impressive, but not enough to undo the technical damage done the last two months (%Above 200-day, bearish breadth thrusts, expanding new low list). In addition, yield spreads continued to widen and show rising stress
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Big Moves in the Direction of Existing Trends, Commodities Up, Stocks Down, Dollar and Gold Up (Premium)
The markets are getting rattled with big moves after the invasion of Ukraine, but these moves are in the direction of existing trends. Oil, industrial metals, gold and agriculture were already in market leading uptrends. They are also up strong today. SPY, QQQ and many ETFs were already in downtrends after impulse declines in January. There were oversold bounces in February, but
Weekend Video – 5/200 Cross Flips CBM, Breadth Deteriorates Further, Spreads Widen, Commodities Lead, Techs Get Slammed (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model flipped back to bearish this week as the S&P 500 led the broad market lower. New lows expanded and some 60% of stocks in the S&P 1500 are below their 200-day SMAs. Throw in widening yield spreads and the Market Regime is clearly
Mkt/ETF Commentary – CBM Flips, Commodity Related ETFs Lead, Finance and Staples Related ETFs Hold Up, Tech Turns Volatile (Premium)
The stock market is as divided as ever with the pockets of weakness at the risk-on end. Risk-off ETFs and commodity-related ETFs are performing the best right now. Finance-related ETFs are also holding their own as the 10-yr Treasury Yield exceeds 2%. There are some
Weekend Video – Big Pockets of Weakness, Yield Spreads Remain Elevated, Commodity ETFs are Leading (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model is net bullish because the 5-day SMA for the S&P 500 is above the 200-day SMA. Even so, some 55% of S&P 500 stocks are below their 200-day SMAs and fewer than 40% of mid-caps and small-caps are above their 200-day SMAs. There are more long-term downtrends than
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Risk-Off ETFs and Uptrends, Market Laggards Get Biggest Bounces, Commodity-Related ETFs Continue to Lead (Premium)
February is the month of the big bounce. As is normal after a big decline, names that led the way lower and fell the most are getting the biggest bounces. Most of the ETFs with the biggest bounces were in downtrends already and these are still considered oversold bounces within downtrends.
Weekend Video – CBM Flips Bullish, Small and Mid Cap Breadth Lags, Commodity Related ETFs Lead, Banks and Insurance Bounce (Premium)
Strength within the S&P 500 flipped the Composite Breadth Model bullish this week, but the %Above 200-day SMA and High-Low Percent indicators show more pockets of weakness than strength in the broader market (S&P 1500). The Trend Composite is bearish for all
Mkt/ETF Commentary – Volatility Remains, QQQ Bounces after Break, Energy and Defensive ETFs Lead, Metals and Ag Hold Up (Premium)
Small-caps were the talk of the town in mid November as they broke out of a seven month range and the skies opened up. Volatility then reared its ugly head in late November when the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) fell some 12 percent from a new high. IWM continued lower in January and hit a 52-week low. The Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) led the way as money fled high-beta stocks and ETFs.
Weekend Video – More Downtrends than Uptrends, Oversold with Excessive Bearish Sentiment, Commodity ETFs Lead (Premium)
January was a rough month for stocks so far as QQQ fell 11.6% and IWM fell 12.2%. SPY and the S&P 500 EW ETF (RSP) held up much better with declines of around 6%. Again, we are seeing more weakness in mid-caps, small-caps
Mkt/ETF Commentary – CBM Turns Bearish as Market becomes Oversold, Commodity ETFs Hold Up, Downtrend Signals Expand (Premium)
There were lots of downtrend signals this past week and over the past month. Selling pressure expanded and broadening participation on the downside was enough to push the Composite Breadth Model back into bear market mode. Note that I will update the Market Regime page on Friday morning. For now, the pickings are slim among the equity-related ETFs
Market Commentary – Value Sectors Hold Up, Quantifying Reversal Days, SPY Trend Signal and Oversold Condition (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model has yet to trigger bearish as stocks recovered on Monday and closed strong. Despite this reversal, the technical damage has already been done to several big sectors and key industry group ETFs. Even so, the S&P 500 EW ETF (RSP) managed to hold its