Analysis Archives (>6 months old)

Weekend Video – Downside Participation Expands, 8 Sectors Hold Up, 3 Break Down, Commodity ETFs Lead Market (Premium)
The S&P 500 fell 5.75% this week and this as the biggest weekly decline since March 2020 (covid crash). It was the second biggest weekly decline since October 2020 (5.6%). Declines like this are normally associated with a selling climax that could give way to a short-term oversold bounce. Longer-term, however,

Mkt/ETF Commentary – Oversold Conditions Surface, RSP Holds Up, Housing and Semis Break December Lows (Premium)
Stocks continued their recent ways with small-caps (IWM) and high-beta tech stocks (QQQJ) leading the way lower in January. IWM is down around 8% year-to-date and QQQJ is down around 11%. The year is starting just how it ended: growth and high beta remain out

Mkt/ETF Commentary – Normalizing in 2022, Pockets of Weakness, Staples, Energy and Finance Lead, December Breakouts to Watch (Premium)
Last Tuesday, I wrote about the transition phase currently underway in the markets. Actually, there are a number of transitions underway and perhaps they are linked. While I do not like to dive deep into the fundamentals, the macro backdrop for 2022 is looking very different from 2020 to 2021.

Weekend Video – Market Remains Bullish and Mixed, Banks, Energy, Materials and Infrastructure Lead, Tech and High Beta Lag (Premium)
The weight of the evidence is bullish for the broader market, but there are some sizable pockets of weakness, as seen when looking at the percentage of stocks above the 200-day SMA for the various indexes. Yield spreads show no signs of stress and the Fed Balance sheet is

Mkt/ETF Commentary – Transition Phase, Banks and Energy Lead, EVs and Copper Hold Breakouts, URA Firms at Key Retracement (Premium)
The transition process is difficult and the markets are undergoing a transition from a covid-driven economy to a normal economy. A covid economy implies Fed easing, fiscal stimulus and falling Treasury yields. A normal economy means no more balance sheet expansion, no more fiscal stimulus and a normalization of Treasury yields.

Weekend Video – Defensive ETFs Lead, Banks and Energy Extend on Breakout, 10-yr Yield Breaks Out, Tech ETFs Break Prior Lows (Premium)
The stock market is as mixed as it ever with defensive issues leading, banks and energy breaking out, materials and infrastructure holding up and tech stocks taking it on the chin. Healthcare ETFs were also hit quite hard this week. Six of the magnificent seven (stocks) are under pressure and this is weighing on cap-weighed SPY and QQQ.

Mkt/ETF Commentary – Techs Weigh, Defensive Groups Lead, TLT Breaks Down, XLE Hits New High, URA Sets Up (Premium)
Stocks were rattled on Wednesday with Technology, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary leading the way lower. As noted on Tuesday, the magnificent seven dominate these three sectors. Selling pressure was not limited to tech as REITs, Biotechs, Airlines and

Tough Time for Tech, the Magnificent Seven, Lagging Tech ETFs, Leading Tech ETFs, Signal Expectations (Premium)
QQQ and the Technology SPDR are holding up and near new highs, but there are still some serious pockets of underperformance within the tech sector and even within the top stocks. Today’s commentary will look at QQQ breadth, the big seven and QQQ’s little brother, QQQJ. We will analyze charts

Market/ETF Commentary – SPY/QQQ Lead, Bonds Plunge, Banks Bounce, Energy Surges, Gaming for Gamers (Premium)
Stocks started the new year with gains, but there were still some pockets of weakness. The Nasdaq 100 Next Gen ETF (QQQJ) fell as money shied away from high beta tech, weakness in transports weighed on the Industrials SPDR and the Materials SPDR fell over 1%. The Russell 2000 ETF gained

Market/ETF Commentary – A Big Split, Defensive Groups Lead, Uranium Firms, Oil Bounces, Base Metals Break (Premium)
The Composite Breadth Model flipped back to bullish with the bounce in stocks over the last five days. Even so, the market remains quite divided right now. Large-caps are still leading, small-caps are still lagging and mid-caps remain caught in the middle. The divide is visible within some sectors as well.

Thursday Video – Divided Stock Market, Healthcare Leads, XLK and SOXX Hold Strong, Metals Make a Move (Premium)
The stock market is about as divided as can be. It is clear that this is no longer a bull market that lifts all boats. Should we get a bear market, it may not be one that sinks most boats. The Composite Breadth Model is net bearish, but could go either way as the percentage of S&P 1500 stocks above the 200-day SMA gyrates around

TLT Forms a Big Wedge, GLD goes for Breakout, Dollar Stalls after Becoming Overbought (Premium)
This commentary will cover bonds, gold, silver and the Dollar. Oil was covered in the ETF Report on Wednesday. TLT and the 10-yr Yield have big continuation patterns working, but the swings within these patterns are going the other way. Gold is going for a breakout as silver surges off support. The Dollar became overbought after a big advance and stalled the last few weeks.

Market/ETF Commentary – A Big Split, Defensive Groups Lead, Uranium Firms, Oil Bounces, Base Metals Break (Premium)
Even though the Composite Breadth Model is net bearish, the stock market seems to be more split than anything. This means we could see some sort of rotation instead of a broad bear market. In fact, we are already seeing some signs in December and there are splits within sectors. In Consumer Discretionary

Market/ETF Commentary – SPY Volatility, QQQ Relative Performance, IWM Inconsistency, Cyber Setup, Healthcare Consolidation (Premium)
Stocks fell sharply the last three days with QQQ and SPY leading the way as they fell 4.12% and 3.32%, respectively. Small-caps held up better as IWM fell just 1.4%. Nevertheless, IWM is trading near its summer lows and the weakest of the three over the past month and since March.

Friday Video – Risk Aversion Remains in Play, Utes, Staples and Healthcare Lead, 10-yr Treasury Yield Reverses Upswing (Premium)
Risk aversion is spreading in the stock market. High-beta ETFs bore the brunt of selling pressure over the last several weeks and QQQ is starting to show some signs of buckling. On the flipside, money is moving into defensive groups with Utilities, Staples, Healthcare and REITs hitting new highs.