Arthur Hill, CMT

ETF Grouping and Ranking Report – Outsized Declines, Retracement Targets, Patience During Corrections, Gold and Bonds Balk

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Stocks were hit hard from Friday to Tuesday with the S&P 500 SPDR, Nasdaq 100 ETF and others recording outsized declines. Today we start with these outsized declines and show what they entail going forward. Stocks were already extended and these sharp declines signal the start of a corrective period. At this point, I will treat any weakness in SPY and QQQ as a correction within a bigger uptrend.

SPY: You Spin Me Right Round

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The S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) fell over 2% this week for the biggest weekly decline since June. The long-term trend is still up because SPY remains well above the rising 40-week SMA. However, a big Spinning Top candlestick formed last week and a volatility indicator ticked higher. Spinning Tops signal indecision that

Weekend Video – Spinning Top, Indicators Turn Mixed, Correction Targets, Bond Breakouts Fail, Banks Buck Selling and More

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The extended uptrend in stocks hit a speed bump this week with a sharp decline on Thursday-Friday. Today we will review the percent above 200-day SMA indicators and their extended nature. Attention then turns to the medium-term indicators, which turned mixed this week. The odds for a correction were already brewing and it looks like some sort of correction is unfolding. I will look at potential targets for SPY and QQQ, as well as for several ETFs in the ChartBook. Elsewhere

Timing Models – Bears Fire a Shot, SPY Tags and Pulls Back, Volatility Ticks Up and Breadth Model Review

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The bears fired a shot across the bow, but one or two days is not enough to reverse a strong uptrend. There were already warnings of a correction or pullback because SPY has been more than 10% above its 200-day since August 12th and QQQ has been 20% above its 200-day since July 6th. Of course, overbought indicators are not very good for timing a correction. In fact, I have yet to find a good indicator for timing a peak/pullback during a strong uptrend.

Trend Composite Turns Fully Bullish for Verizon

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Verizon (VZ) participated in the first leg up from late March to mid April, but then stumbled with a decline into mid June. This stumble, however, looks like a classic correction and the stock broke out with a strong move over the last six weeks. In addition, the TIP Trend Composite, which aggregates five trend-following indicators turned positive in early August. Let’s investigate further.

Weekend Video – Breadth and Key Indicator Overview, Flag Breakouts (IWM), REITs Perk Up, GLD Winds UP and Bonds Extend Pullback

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Today’s video starts with an overview of the breadth models for the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Mid-caps and Small-caps. We then turn to the all important medium-term trend and the four key indicators to watch. Diving into the chartbook, there are flag breakouts working in IWM and XLI. REITs are perking up and making good on their Bollinger Band breakouts. The gold and silver ETFs have bullish patterns and mean-reversion setups in the making. Bond ETFs, however, extended their pullbacks after the Fed announcement. The video finishes with

Timing Models – Overextended, but Breadth and Medium-term Indicators Support Current Upswing

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We all know that the S&P 500 is driven by large-caps, especially the big four, which account for over 20% of the index (AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL). Furthermore, most of us are aware that breadth measures are not as strong as the S&P 500 and this is reflected in the S&P 500 EW ETF (RSP), which has yet to clear its June high. Breadth, however, is not exactly weak. It is just strong enough to sustain the advance. In other words, the cup is half full, not half empty.

ETF Trend/Pattern Ranking and Grouping – Strong Extensions, Second Winds, Modest Extensions, Corrective Patterns, Laggards and Breakdowns

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Stock-related ETFs remained strong and many so-called overbought ETFs became even more overbought as their uptrends extended. Many ETFs are in the trend-monitoring or waiting phase. The early breakouts occurred in July and these ETFs followed through with further gains the last several weeks. Some tech-related ETFs stalled in late July and early August, but caught a second wind with breakouts over the last few weeks.

Picking Moving Average Combos that Adapt to Changing Environments – Comparing Daily, Weekly and Monthly Signals

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This article will explore and backtest different moving average combinations on the S&P 500 SPDR over the last twenty years. Most moving average strategies work great when SPY trends, regardless of the period settings. However, SPY (aka, the market) does not always trend and trends are not uniform. Some are short and fast, while others are long and steady. This means we need moving averages that can best adapt to different environments.

New 52-week Highs Underwhelm, But Outpace New Lows

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The total number of new highs in the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 continues to underwhelm. Even so, new highs are still outpacing new lows and this is enough to keep the uptrend since late March going. The first chart shows new highs and lows for the three indexes with horizontal lines at the 10% level (e. g. 50 and -50 for the S&P 500).

Timing Models – SPY Tags a New High, Medium-term Indicators Favor the Bulls and SPX Breadth Model Remains Bullish

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The bulk of the evidence remains bullish for large-caps, large-cap techs and mid-caps, but mixed for small-caps. I am also seeing mixed performance within the S&P 500, especially when looking at the equal-weight sectors. Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary remain strong, while Finance, Energy and REITs are weak. Finance is the only big sector that shows underlying weakness though.

ETF Trend/Pattern Video – Bonds Oversold, Gold Turns Volatile, XLY Holds Chandelier, REITs Vulnerable and Dollar Springs Bear Trap

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Today’s video will focus on the core ETF charts. We will start with the scatter plot and see that the bond ETFs in the upper left, which means they are oversold and in uptrends. On the ranking tables, ETFs related to Consumer Discretionary, Healthcare and Technology are leading. I continue to follow the Chandelier Exits for several ETFs as their uptrends extend (XLY, ITB, XRT). Elsewhere

ETF Ranking, Grouping and Analysis – Mean-Reversion Setups in Bond ETFs, Bounces in Biotech ETFs and Breakouts in Two Healthcare ETFs

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Despite the usual pockets of weakness, there is still plenty of strength out there in ETF land. Housing, Retail and Consumer Discretionary ETFs moved to new highs. Tech-related ETFs remain mixed with some hitting new highs and some moving back into their consolidation patterns. Precious metals ETFs got sizable mean-reversion bounces, but it looks like volatility is picking up in this group.

Timing Models – Participation Broadens as Two Key Sectors Perk Up and Mid-cap Breadth Improves

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Even though the current advance is getting quite extended, the broad market environment remains bullish and the medium-term uptrends rule. Tech-related ETFs and stocks drove the market higher from late March to late June. Even though the tech surge slowed, participation broadened over the last six weeks as other groups picked up the slack. The Industrials SPDR (XLI) is the top performing sector since July 1st

ETF Ranking and Grouping – Uptrends, Overbought Conditions, Pullbacks and Breakout Failures

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There are still a lot of uptrends out there in ETF land, and this includes some key stock-related ETFs. Nevertheless, we are seeing some rotation at work the last few weeks. The tech-related ETFs slowed their advance and some even failed to hold their breakouts. Meanwhile, ETFs related to consumer discretionary continued higher and are leading the pack. However, some of these new leaders are getting extended (XLY, XHB).

Four Stocks Poised to Drive Healthcare Higher

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The Healthcare SPDR (XLV) is one of the strongest sectors in 2020. Even though it does not sport the biggest gain, XLV recorded a new high in July and some 80% of its components are above their 200-day EMAs. The new high points to a long-term uptrend and upside leadership, while the percentage of stocks above the 200-day EMA points to broad strength within the sector. Sector SPDRs, however, are only as strong as the sum of their parts (component stocks).

Timing Models – Falling Volatility Powers SPY and Breakouts Hold, but Participation Continues to Wane

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The chart below shows year-to-date performance for the top 20 stocks in the S&P 500. Overall, the year is mixed with eleven up and nine down. Amazon is up over 70%, Apple is up over 50% and Microsoft is up over 30%. Facebook and Home Depot are dragging their feet with gains greater than 20%. As strong as the stock market seems, strength is clearly concentrated in a few stocks. Moreover, these few stocks are up big, really big.

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