Recent Posts from Chart Trader and System Trader:

Differentiating between Short-term Distractions and Setups with True Potential
Traders can improve their odds by ignoring distraction signals and focusing on setups with real potential. In general, short timeframes are better suited for mean-reversion, while long timeframes

ChartTrader – AI Trade Revs Up – Discretionary Lags – Housing Fades – Symbols: TLT, $TNX, RSPD, ITB, NOC, VRSN (Premium)
Nvidia (NVDA) released blowout results yet again and surged some 6.5% higher in after hours trading. This move is stoking the large-cap tech and AI trade. AMD (chips), HPE (data center), DELL (data center) and TSM (chip manufacturing) are all

ChartTrader – Bull Confirmed – XLK Still Leading – Symbols: IGV, CIBR, SOXX, SKYY, FINX, BBH, IBB, XBI, ADP (Premium)
Stocks remain strong with strength broadening. Even so, the old leaders are still the current leaders. The S&P 500 SPDR, Nasdaq 100 ETF and Technology SPDR hit new highs over the last few days. Large-caps and large-cap tech continue to

ChartTrader – Bitcoin-Related Asset Sets Up with Classic Continuation Signal – Part 2 (Premium)
We are seeing a bullish setup in an ETF related to Bitcoin. As with IBIT, the long-term trend is up and a corrected unfold over the last few months. The pattern and retracement amount make this a classic correction. More importantly,

Bitcoin Sets Up with Classic Continuation Signal – Part 1
There is a certain ebb and flow in uptrends. Often we see some sort of stair step higher with big advances and smaller corrections along the way. In Dow Theory terms, the primary trend is up and declines within a primary uptrend are

ChartTrader – SPY/QQQ Lead – Symbols: TLT, $TNX, $WTIC, IBIT, SOXX, IGV, SKYY, CIBR, FINX, DKNG, HUBS, MEDP, NBIX, SQ (Premium)
Stocks reacted positively to the CPI report and surged as Treasury yields fell, and TLT continued its May bounce. SPY and QQQ hit new highs on Wednesday. Also note that QQQ is leading the way since the mid April lows with a 9.22% advance

ChartTrader – Make or Break is Here – XLK and late August – Symbols: MAGS, NVDA, CIBR, IGV, SKYY, AMD, SMCI, LLY, MRK, TMO (Premium)
SPY and QQQ remain at make or break levels and this week is key. Another push higher would likely show a short-term expansion in upside participation and add some legs to the current bounce. Failure to push higher at this stage could mark a short or intermediate top. There are two inflation-related

Six Leaders, but One Is Getting Real Frothy
After sharp declines into mid April, stocks rebounded over the last three weeks and the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) came within 1% of its March high. This March high acts

ChartTrader – SPY and QQQ Hit their Make or Break Levels – Symbols: KBE, VRTX, CLFT, UNP, ORCL, VRNS (Premium)
There is no change in the broader market situation. Short-term, SPY and QQQ are at their make or break levels for this oversold bounce. Why? Because the short-term breadth indicators have yet to show enough upside participation

ChartTrader – SPY and QQQ Hit Moment of Truth – Symbols: ITB, LEN, DHI, CIBR, CRWD, SKYY, IGV (Premium)
SPY and QQQ are at their moment of truth for the current bounce. Stocks surged the last three days with SPY gaining 3.24% and QQQ advancing 4.44%. The current bounce started after oversold conditions in mid April. Over the last 11 days

Is this a Dead-Cat Bounce or a Bounce with Legs?
Stocks fell sharply into late April and then rebounded over the last two weeks. SPY fell 5.34% from March 28th to April 19th and then rebounded with a 3.26% gain the last two weeks. Does this bounce have legs? Chartists can separate

ChartTrader – Correction within Uptrend for SPY/QQQ, Symbols: TLT, XLV, XBI, KBWB, IGV, CIBR, SKYY, SOXX (Premium)
The Fed has come and gone, but earnings season remains in full swing and SPY is in corrective mode. This is not an ideal time for stock setups and signals. Volatility is above average and I prefer to avoid setups in stocks with upcoming earnings reports. As such, today’s report focuses on ETFs

ChartTrader – Correction within Uptrend, Oversold Bounce within Correction, Symbols: TLT, $TNX, XLU, XLP, PBJ, URA, SOXX, TXN ADI, MCHP (Premium)
Volatility is on the rise as we saw outsized declines into mid April and breaks below the 50-day SMAs for SPY and QQQ. Both rebounded the last six days and they are approaching the underside of their 50-day SMAs, which may turn into resistance. Overall, the long-term evidence remains bullish for stocks, but the short-term evidence

ChartTrader – Defensive Sectors Lead, Offense Lags, Correction Underway, Correction Lessons from META and NVDA (Premium)
Some 75% of stocks in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 report earnings in the next three weeks. Ugh! META reported last night and the stock fell around 13% in after hours trading. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL) report after the close today. AMZN reports on April 30th, Apple

ChartTrader – Finding Clues to Signal an End to the Correction, Tech ETFs Lead Lower, Defensive ETFs Hold Up (Premium)
Stocks were hit with strong selling pressure in April, but the weight of the evidence remains bullish. This means the decline is viewed as a correction within a bigger uptrend. Most stock-based ETFs and stocks will remain under pressure as long as SPY and QQQ are in corrective mode. I am marking

ChartTrader – Outsized Declines, Bearish Breadth Thrusts, Oversold Conditions and Correction Targets (Premium)
Stocks were hit with strong selling pressure here in April. This selling pressure triggered outsized declines and bearish breadth thrusts. The uptrend, which began with the November breakout, has been derailed. Even so, the longer term indicators are still bullish and this is considered

ChartTrader – Downside Participation Expands, SPY Breaks, QQQ Holds, Yields Rise, SOXX Joins ITB and XRT (Premium)
SPY fell 3.6% so far in April and is below its 50-day SMA for the first time since October. This looks like the start of a pullback because downside participation expanded significantly, just as it did in mid August. Some 83% of S&P 500 stocks were above

Using Outsized Moves to Identify Trend Reversals – Checking in on ITB and SOXX
Trends often start with outsized moves. But how do we measure and identify such moves? Chartists can measure moves in Average True Range (ATR) terms using the ATR Trailing Stop SAR indicator (ATR-SAR). ATR is a volatility indicator developed by Welles Wilder.

ChartTrader – ATR-SAR Holds for SPY/QQQ, Beaks for XRT/ITB, Yields Rise, Breakouts Fail for ADI/MCHP (Premium)
Weakness is spreading as the 10-yr Treasury Yield rises above 4.5%. Even though the rise is not that sharp, the market is re-pricing interest rate expectations going forward. This is especially visible in the Consumer Discretionary sector and Small-caps. Selling pressure increased markedly over

Internet Boom, Apple’s Run, AI and Nvidia
I am mostly a technical analyst and trading system developer, but I also like to understand the companies behind the

ChartTrader – 4wk HL% Triggers, but Short-term Evidence Still Bullish – Symols: FAN, PRNT, BR, MCHP, NBIX, NTNX, NVDA (Premium)
The weight of the long-term evidence remains bullish, but the short-term evidence is starting to turn as the 4-wk High-Low Percent indicator combo turned bearish. I consider this strike two against the short-term bulls. Strike one was the gap down

ChartTrader – ST Evidence Bullish, IWM Lags, Symbols: XLE, XLC, XLK, IGV, SKYY, CIBR, AMD, FTNT, LLY, HPE – (Premium)
Stocks fell on Tuesday and then recovered somewhat on Wednesday. Overall, SPY is leading the market with the strongest short-term uptrend. QQQ stalled since March 1st, but this is just a consolidation within a bigger uptrend.

ChartTrader – Long and Short Term Uptrends, Watching TLT and $TNX, Symbols: CPER, URA, XBI, VRTX, REGN – (Premium)
The weight of the evidence is bullish for the long-term and the short-term. Long-term, the Composite Breadth Model is positive. Short-term, 4wk High-Low Percent for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 remains net bullish, while SPY and QQQ continue to stair-step higher.

Overbought Conditions Reflect Strength and Said Strength Drives Momentum Rotation Strategies
Momentum and trend strategies are off to a roaring start here in 2024. More often than not, these strategies buy leading stocks that appear overbought. Buying stocks that appear overbought often goes against our “gut feel”, but overbought conditions reflect strong buying pressure and this is clearly