Secondary Downtrends in Primary Uptrends Create Opportunities (IBB Example) (Free)

With a pullback led by QQQ and the high flyers, several ETFs have become short-term oversold in a longer term uptrend. In Dow Theory terms, the primary trend for these ETFs is up and the secondary trend is down. A secondary downtrend within a primary uptrend is considered a correction within that uptrend and a possible opportunity.

Corrections, however, are like a box of chocolates, the Forrest Gump ones. You never know what you are going to get. Some corrections are short and sweet, some are more drawn out and some result in bigger trend reversals. The idea is that the odds favor an upside resolution at some point because the bigger trend (up) is the dominant force at work. Trading and investing is all about probabilities. There are NO certainties.

The chart below shows the Biotech ETF (IBB) hitting a new high in February and falling back to the 157 area the last three weeks. The long-term trend is up because price is above the rising 200-day and StochClose triggered bullish in early November with a move above 60 (green arrow). This indicator is part of the TrendInvestorPro Indicator Edge Plugin for StockCharts ACP.

The middle window shows RSI(14) dipping below 40 and becoming modestly oversold (yellow circle). Overall, I use the 30-50 zone to identify ETFs with varying degrees of oversold conditions. Thus, IBB is oversold within a long-term uptrend and a falling wedge of sorts is taking shape on the price chart. A break above the red resistance line would reverse this short-term downtrend and signal a resumption of the bigger uptrend.

The table below tracks trend signals (StochClose) and short-term oversold conditions for 120 ETFs in the Core List at trendinvestorpro.com. We can see that two ARK ETFs are quite oversold, two cybersecurity ETFs and a clean energy ETF. Check out the charts and do your own due diligence. Click here to subscribe and get immediate access to our ETF Trends, Patterns & Setups report, Broad Market Timing Strategies and Weekend Video. 

Weekend Video and Chartbook – QQQ Leads Lower, SPY and Oversold Conditions, Turn of the Month, Selling Climax in TLT (Premium)

Stocks corrected over the last two weeks with QQQ leading the way. IWM held up the best and RSI moved into the oversold zone for SPY. Today we will look at previous instances when RSI became oversold for SPY. Some indicators are pointing to a multi-week correction (NDX %Above 50-day), but we also have the turn of the month upon

Weekend Video and Chartbook – QQQ Leads Lower, SPY and Oversold Conditions, Turn of the Month, Selling Climax in TLT (Premium) Read More »

Timing Models – QQQ Reverses Short-term Uptrend, 3 Big Sectors Weigh, Medium-term Participation Wanes within SPX (Premium)

The long-term evidence (primary trend) is bullish, but we are seeing some short-term weakness (secondary trend). This is especially true in the Nasdaq 100 and Technology sector. SPY is holding up better because the Finance, Industrials and Communication Services are picking up the slack. The table below summarizes the broad market environment using the

Timing Models – QQQ Reverses Short-term Uptrend, 3 Big Sectors Weigh, Medium-term Participation Wanes within SPX (Premium) Read More »

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Cyclical ETFs Lead, Tech ETFs Pullback, High-Flyers Correct Hard (Premium)

February is turning into a big month for cyclically oriented ETFs. These include: Copper Miners ETF, Metals & Mining SPDR, DB Base Metals ETF, Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF, Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, Airline ETF, Transports ETF, Industrials SPDR, Regional Bank ETF, S&P SmallCap 600 SPDR, S&P MidCap 400 SPDR and Semiconductor ETF. The lists below shows ETFs with big gains over the last 17 trading days (February).

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Cyclical ETFs Lead, Tech ETFs Pullback, High-Flyers Correct Hard (Premium) Read More »

Sector Breadth Models versus a Simple Trend Following Technique

Sometimes what seems logical and helpful, is not and needs to be reconsidered. This is my conclusion with the sector breadth models. They are logical, and perhaps helpful at times, but they do not add value when it comes to timing trends in the sector SPDRs. A simple StochClose strategy performed better overall. This article will quantify signals for three breadth models using the sector SPDRs.

Sector Breadth Models versus a Simple Trend Following Technique Read More »

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Oil and Base Metals lead, XLI and XLF Hit New Highs, TLT Plunges with Outsized Decline (Premium)

Today’s video starts with a performance overview for 14 asset class ETFs, sectors and top S&P 500 stocks. Small-caps, oil and commodity-related ETFs are leading the charge here in 2021. Financials are leading as XLF hit a new high and industrials came to life with XLI hitting a new high on Friday. Even though the long-term trends are up and the market is bullish overall, participation is narrowing within

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Oil and Base Metals lead, XLI and XLF Hit New Highs, TLT Plunges with Outsized Decline (Premium) Read More »

Timing Models – Commodities Lead in 2021, SPY Extends Uptrend, Extended Conditions Extend, Fed Balance Sheet Pops (Premium)

Stocks and commodities are leading in 2021 (risk on). Small-caps took a breather this week, but the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) is still the second best performer among 14 intermarket ETFs. The DB Energy ETF (DBE) is the top performer with an 18.9% gain and the DB Base Metals ETF (DBB) gets third place with a 7.5% gain. QQQ is holding its own with a 6% gain and the

Timing Models – Commodities Lead in 2021, SPY Extends Uptrend, Extended Conditions Extend, Fed Balance Sheet Pops (Premium) Read More »

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Big Gains Since November, Big Months for Finance and Energy, A Few Corrections Underway

Making money in the stock market has been pretty easy since November. And not just stocks. Oil, base metals, agriculture and silver are also up. Gold, the Dollar and bonds are down as money moved out of stock-alternatives and into riskier assets. As shown below, dozens of ETFs are up more than 40% since early November and many are up more than 20%.

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Big Gains Since November, Big Months for Finance and Energy, A Few Corrections Underway Read More »

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Uptrends Extend with Small Gains, ETFs Go from Oversold to New Highs, Not Many Setups

After big gains the first week of February, stocks followed through with smaller gains the second week. A gain is a gain and new highs proliferated. SPY, QQQ, IWM and over half the ETFs in the Core List hit new highs this past week. The trends are up, the up trends are strong and the breadth models remain firmly bullish. Concerns remain with overextended conditions in IWM, the RSI over 50 streak,

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Uptrends Extend with Small Gains, ETFs Go from Oversold to New Highs, Not Many Setups Read More »

Timing Models – Stall after Surge, Short-term Breadth Indications, Sector Breadth Signals

The major index ETFs are in clear uptrends with the big three hitting new highs again this week (SPY, QQQ, IWM). We also saw 52-week highs in three of the eleven sector SPDRs (XLK, XLC and XLY). These three were leading throughout 2020 and they continue to lead in 2021. XLI, XLV and XLF are close to 52-week highs so I will not read too much into this short-term non-confirmation. In any case, XLK, XLC and XLY account for well over 50% of the S&P 500

Timing Models – Stall after Surge, Short-term Breadth Indications, Sector Breadth Signals Read More »

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Oversold Bounces Materialize, Trend Monitoring Phase Kicks In

There were dozens of ETFs with short-term oversold conditions and short-term corrective patterns working at the end of January. With a bounce the last two weeks, we now have a slew of ETFs hitting new highs again and 27 ETFs in the Core list (119) with double digit gains here in February. Momentum is just the gift that keeps on giving. The performance since November is extraordinary. Here are some metrics since November 1st (69 days)

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Oversold Bounces Materialize, Trend Monitoring Phase Kicks In Read More »

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Oversold Bounces to New Highs, Seasonal Patterns, Froth IWM, Flag Breakouts

The stock market went from the biggest down week since late October to the biggest up week since early November. We saw new highs in SPY, QQQ and IWM. The Russell 2000 ETF continues to show signs of over exuberance and the seasonal patterns in February are mixed at best, but price action remains strong and the correction is on hold. Treasury bonds and gold were clobbered this week as the Dollar got an oversold bounce within a downtrend. Dozens

Weekend Video and Chartbook – Oversold Bounces to New Highs, Seasonal Patterns, Froth IWM, Flag Breakouts Read More »

Timing Models – Red Herrings, Big Oversold Bounces, New Highs, RSI Streak Ended and IWM Remains Extended

Stocks shrugged off a sharp decline the last week of January and rebounded the first week of February with a strong surge. This surge extends the bigger uptrends as SPY, QQQ and IWM recorded new highs. The Technology SPDR (XLK) and Communication Services SPDR (XLC) led the sector SPDRs with new highs. The Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) came close to a new high on Thursday and could hit one with further strength on Friday. The Energy SPDR (XLE) led with the biggest

Timing Models – Red Herrings, Big Oversold Bounces, New Highs, RSI Streak Ended and IWM Remains Extended Read More »

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Oversold Bounces Materialize, Techs Lead, Energy-Related ETFs Break Out, REITs Perk Up

Dozens of ETFs became short-term oversold last week and most of these bounced this week. A combination of bullish seasonal patterns (turn of the month), short-term oversold conditions and longer-term uptrends paved the way for this bounce. Despite these bounces, stocks in general still seem ripe for a corrective period and February is historically one of the weaker months.

ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups – Oversold Bounces Materialize, Techs Lead, Energy-Related ETFs Break Out, REITs Perk Up Read More »

Turn of the Month Strategy – Strong Long-term Performance, Beats Buy-Hold, Some Weak Months

The turn of the month shows a strong bullish bias with an extremely stable equity curve that really took off the last few years. This strategy, which is only invested 38% of the time, outperformed buy and hold with a higher Compound Annual Return. Overall, the eight day percentage change at the turn of the month is positive 68% of the time for SPY. Despite strong numbers overall, February is weakest month when testing over the last twenty years, and we just happen to be in February.

Turn of the Month Strategy – Strong Long-term Performance, Beats Buy-Hold, Some Weak Months Read More »

SOXX Follows Overbought Extreme with Outsized Decline

Last weekend’s post showed the Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) with a 10 day overbought streak and several ETFs with even bigger overbought streaks. These streaks came to an end this week as SOXX fell 6.21%, its biggest weekly decline since mid March. As measured by Normalized ROC, this is an outsized decline that argues for at least a corrective period over the next few weeks.

SOXX Follows Overbought Extreme with Outsized Decline Read More »

Weekend Video and Chartbook – RSI Streak Ends, Turn of the Month Performance, Short-term Oversold, Medium-term Correction

Today’s video covers last week’s big declines and what it means going forward, both short-term and long-term. Short-term, oversold conditions and the turn of the month strategy argue for a bounce. Looking out a month or more, outsized declines and bearish breadth thrusts argue for a correction. We will look at correction targets for SPY and what this might entail for the higher-beta IWM. The decline in stocks provided an opening for Treasury bonds, but TLT

Weekend Video and Chartbook – RSI Streak Ends, Turn of the Month Performance, Short-term Oversold, Medium-term Correction Read More »

Timing Models – Weight of the Evidence, SPY Breaks RSI Streak, ROC Shocks and Bearish Breadth Signals

The weight of the evidence for stocks remains bullish because the big trends are up, the breadth models are bullish and yield spreads are narrow. Stocks are up considerably since late October and we started seeing signs of excess in January. This week we started seeing signs that some uptrends are under threat. There were outsized declines in some key ETFs, the RSI above 50 streak ended for SPY and there were three bearish

Timing Models – Weight of the Evidence, SPY Breaks RSI Streak, ROC Shocks and Bearish Breadth Signals Read More »

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