Market and ETF Report – Correlations Rise, Gasoline Weighs on DBE, Base Metals Breakdown, Gold Falls As 10yr Rises (Premium)

SPY is testament to the volatile world we live in right now. The ETF surged some 14% in 22 days (.64% per day) from July 22nd until August 16th and then fell 8% the last 11 days (.73% per day). The fall, so far, is sharper than the rise. The reversal occurred with an upside down V as the ETF gapped down on August 22nd and continued sharply lower the last four days. It is hard for stocks and stock-based ETFs to buck the broader market with the speed and depth of these moves. As such, participation on the downside broadened as more stocks and stock-based ETFs succumbed to selling pressure. Clean energy, dirty energy (oil) and utilities are holding up the best.

About the ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups Report

This report contains discretionary chart analysis based on my interpretation of the price charts. This is different from the fully systematic approach in the Trend Composite strategy series. In this ETF Trends, Patterns and Setups report, I am looking for leading uptrends and tradable setups within these uptrends. While I use indicators to help define the trend and identify oversold conditions within uptrends, the assessments are mostly based on price action and the price chart (higher highs, higher lows, patterns in play). Sometimes the chart assessment can be at odds with the indicators.

This Week's Commentary Schedule

  • Tuesday – 16 August: Market-ETF Report and Signal-Rank Table Update
  • Wednesday – 17 August Market-ETF Video and Market Regime Update
  • Thursday – 18 August: Market-ETF Report and Signal-Rank Table Update
  • Saturday – 20 August: ETF Signal and Rank Table

You can learn more about my chart strategy in this article covering the different timeframes, chart settings, StochClose, RSI and StochRSI.

Correlations Continue to Rise (DBA, FXI, AGG)

Stocks and stock-based ETFs are highly correlated to broad market movements, especially when the long-term and short-term trends align. The S&P 500 peaked on August 16th and is down 8% over the last 11 days. SPY is also down 4.5% over the last five days. The Energy SPDR (XLE) is the only sector showing a gain over the last 11 days, but it too is down over the last five days. The table below shows the top performing ETFs over the last five days. Almost all industry-group ETFs are down. The Uranium ETF (URA) and the Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO) are the only two with gains.

Elsewhere, the 20+ Yr Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is up over the last five days, but the other bond ETFs are down (TIP, IEF, AGG, LQD, MBBB, JNK). Some Chinese-based ETFs are showing gains, but the China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) is well below its falling 200-day and down over 10% from its June high. The Wheat ETF (WEAT) and Corn ETF (CORN) are up, while the DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) is flat. The Palladium ETF (PALL) is the only metal showing a gain (green arrows). WEAT, DBA and PALL were covered on Tuesday.

The Momentum Composite aggregates signals in five momentum-type indicators to identify short-term overbought and oversold conditions. This indicator is part of the TIP Indicator Edge Plugin for StockCharts ACP

Defensive ETFs are Not Immune (XLU, XLP, PPA)

The short-term trend is down for the major index ETFs and we are in a bear market. This is a powerful combination that can lead to broadening participation on the downside. Even ETFs that are defensive in nature can succumb to selling pressure. These include the Utilities SPDR (XLU), Infrastructure ETF (IFRA), Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP), Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ), Select Dividend ETF (DVY), Water Resources ETF (PHO) and Healthcare SPDR (XLV). I would also throw in the Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA). The PerfChart below shows performance for SPY, IWM and these eight “defensive” ETFs. SPY (red line) is down the most since May (-8%). Notice how these lines pretty much move in unison (red and green arrow-lines). All rose in May, fell in the first half of June, rose from mid June to mid August and fell over the last five weeks. The defensive ETFs are holding up better, but they are not immune to broad market weakness.

The next image shows CandleGlance charts for SPY, IWM, the eight defensive groups, the Medical Equipment ETF (IHE) and the 1-3 Yr Treasury Bond ETF (SHY). The Utilities SPDR (XLU) is the only one that is above its 200-day SMA (upper right). The Food & Beverage ETF (PBJ) and Utilities SPDR (XLU) are the only two ETFs showing gains year-to-date (green shading). SPY is down 16.8% so far this year. The Water Resources ETF (PHO), Medical Equipment ETF (IHE) and Healthcare SPDR (XLV) are down double digits this year (yellow shading).  The four other defensive ETFs are down much less than SPY and holding up better (IFRA, XLP, DVY, PPA).

You can learn more about exit strategies in this post,
which includes a video and charting options for everyone.

Gasoline Weighs on DBE (RB1!, CL1!, DBE)

Gasoline is a big component in the DB Energy ETF (DBE) with NY Harbor Unleaded accounting for 28% and Gasoline 19%. Gasoline is the weakest of the three components (oil, gasoline, natural gas). The chart below shows NYMEX Gasoline Futures (RB1!) breaking down from a pennant and falling sharply the last two weeks. This could be tied to the breakdown in the stock market and the potential for slowing demand.

The next chart shows Light Crude Futures (CL1!) breaking out of a falling wedge with a surge on Monday and then giving it all back with two big down days. This breakout is failing and weighing on DBE.

After hitting a new high and retracing 2/3 of the prior advance, DBE firmed in the 24 area for a few weeks and broke out in late August. This breakout is also failing as DBE fell back sharply the last two days. The red line marks the ATR Trailing Stop at 24.35, which is 3.5 ATR(22) values below the highest close since the breakout.

The Trend Composite aggregates signals in five trend indicators: Bollinger Bands (125,1), Keltner Channels (125,2), 5-day Rate-of-Change of 125-day SMA, StochClose (125,5) and CCI-Close (125). The Trend Composite and ten other indicators are part of the TIP Indicator Edge Plugin for StockCharts ACP

Copper Leads Base Metals Breakdown (DBB, CPER, COPX)

The demand for base metals is also similar to the demand for oil and gasoline (driven by economic performance). There are other supply factors at work as well, but these are complicated and harder to quantify. We can quantify the economic outlook simply by looking at the stock market. The chart below shows the DB Base Metals ETF (DBB) plunging to a 52-week low in mid July and then retracing half of this decline with an advance above 20. This is a normal retracement for a counter-trend bounce within a bigger downtrend. A rising channel of sorts also formed and DBB broke support with a sharp decline the last three days. This signals a continuation of the bigger downtrend.

The next charts show the Copper ETF (CPER) and Copper Miners ETF (COPX) with similar characteristics.

Precious Metals Not Offering an Alternative (GLD)

Precious metals are not offering a viable alternative to stocks with the Silver ETF (SLV) and Gold Miners ETF (GDX) hitting new lows, and the Platinum ETF (PLTM) testing its mid July lows. The Gold SPDR (GLD) is also in a downtrend and nearing its July lows. Last week I was watching GLD as it bounced near a support/reversal zone (blue shading). There was and is one BIG problem with this short-term setup. The bigger trend was and is down. This is the dominant force at work and this force acts as a headwind for short-term bullish setups. In other words, the chances of a successful long trade are reduced when the bigger trend is down. GLD did not close above 164 to trigger a breakout and fell sharply the last four days.

Inflation-Protected Bond ETF Plunges (TIP)

The Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (TIP) was also featured as a short-term setup last Thursday, but never broke out at 116 for confirmation and fell sharply on Wednesday. The short-term setup was similar to the setup in GLD as TIP firmed in the resistance-reversal zone. As with GLD, the long-term trend was down and this was a short-term setup with the wind in its face.  

TLT Fails to Bounce as 10-yr Treasury Yield Rises (TLT, $TNX)

The Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (TIP) is still a bond and aligned with the price moves in Treasury bonds. Treasury bonds are the natural alternative to stocks, but SPY and TLT have been positively correlated in 2022 (moving in the same direction). The long-term trend for the 20+ Yr Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is down and the ETF broke rising wedge support on August 11th. This break reversed the short-term uptrend and signaled a continuation of the long-term downtrend. Even though TLT managed to firm the last five days, it has yet to break short-term resistance based on last week’s high and show any material signs of strength. The only reason I am marking short-term resistance is because the stock market is extremely weak and money may find its way into the bond market as a safe haven.

You can learn more about the ATR Trailing Stop and exit strategies in this post,
which includes a video and charting options for everyone.

The 10-yr Treasury Yield ($TNX) is in an uptrend and broke out of a falling channel on August 11th, the same day TLT broke down. The channel breakout signals a continuation higher and projects a move above 3.5%. The green line at 3% marks short-term support.

Previous Commentary and Video

Wednesday Market and ETF Video (here)

Market Regime Update with Breadth Model and Yield Spreads (here)

Topics Covered in Tuesday’s Report (here)

  • Composite Breadth Model Remains Bearish
  • Short-term Breadth Breakdowns for SPY and QQQ
  • Big Three Reverse Near Falling 200-day SMAs (SPY, QQQ, IWM)
  • Lots of ETFs Reversing Near their Falling 200-day SMAs
  • Oil Edges Higher as Natty Consolidates (NG1!, CL1!, DBE)
  • Energy-Based ETFs Extend Wedge/Pennant Breakouts (XOP, FCG, XES, AMLP…)
  • Clean Energy ETFs Hold above Breakout Zones (TAN, ICLN)
  • Biotech ETFs Hit Resistance Near 200-day SMAs (IBB, XBI, LIT)
  • Lithium Battery Tech ETF Battles 200-day (LIT)
  • Palladium ETF Holds Up (PALL)
  • DB Agriculture ETF Gets Boost from Wheat and Coffee (DBA, WEAT, JO)

You can learn more about my chart strategy in this article covering the different timeframes, chart settings, StochClose, RSI and StochRSI.

Thanks for tuning in and have a great day!

Market/ETF Video – Declines from Falling 200-day SMAs Extend, Correlations Rise as Participation Broadens, Ag and Uranium Buck the Selling (Premium)

Stocks moved sharply lower the last two weeks with ten of the eleven sector SPDRs declining and almost all industry group ETFs falling. Energy-related ETFs and the Uranium ETF were exceptions. The long-term trend for

Market/ETF Video – Declines from Falling 200-day SMAs Extend, Correlations Rise as Participation Broadens, Ag and Uranium Buck the Selling (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – SPY and QQQ Become Oversold After Failures, Energy Continues to Lead, Agriculture Perks Up (Premium)

Stocks were hit hard again over the last two days and are now short-term oversold. While short-term oversold conditions could give way to an oversold bounce, we saw some important failures near falling 200-day SMAs over the last two weeks. These failures are long-term negative so I would not read too much into an oversold bounce

Market and ETF Report – SPY and QQQ Become Oversold After Failures, Energy Continues to Lead, Agriculture Perks Up (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Defensive ETFs Leading with Choppy Uptrends, Gold hits Short-term Support-Reversal Zone (Premium)

The weight of the evidence remains bearish for stocks, but SPY became short-term oversold after a sharp decline the last five days. Even though this could give way to a bounce, the bears reasserted themselves and risk looks above average for stocks. Today’s report will

Market and ETF Report – Defensive ETFs Leading with Choppy Uptrends, Gold hits Short-term Support-Reversal Zone (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Numerous Failures at the Falling 200-day SMA, Oil and Energy ETFs Buck the Stock Market, Ag ETFs Pop (Premium)

The Composite Breadth Model hit its moment of truth and failed to turn bullish as stocks moved sharply lower the last five days. Correlations rose as the vast majority of stock-based ETFs declined. Only energy-based

Market/ETF Video – Numerous Failures at the Falling 200-day SMA, Oil and Energy ETFs Buck the Stock Market, Ag ETFs Pop (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – SPY and QQQ Reverse, Key Sectors and ETF Follow, Energy and Ag Buck the Trend (Premium)

Stocks fell sharply the last two days and these declines were enough to reverse the short-term uptrends in many stock-based ETFs. In particular, the short-term uptrends reversed for SPY and QQQ. This is a big deal because the Composite Breadth Model was

Market and ETF Report – SPY and QQQ Reverse, Key Sectors and ETF Follow, Energy and Ag Buck the Trend (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – SPY Hits Another Make or Break Area, Short-term Uptrends Rule until Reversed, September Seasonality (Premium)

The short-term uptrends are dominating the landscape, or at least this seems to be the case. SPY is below its falling 200-day SMA, but is up some 16% from its mid June low. It is a strong move that has yet to be reversed. In fact, there are dozens of ETFs with similar characteristics:

Market and ETF Report – SPY Hits Another Make or Break Area, Short-term Uptrends Rule until Reversed, September Seasonality (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Composite Breadth Model hits Make or Break Point, Bonds Break Down, More Sectors in Downtrends than Uptrends  (Premium)

The thrust that began in mid July extended into mid August and triggered bullish signals in the Thrust Breadth Models. The Trend Models, however, remain bearish, as does the 5/200 day SMA cross for the S&P 500. At best, the market is split and more work is needed to turn bullish. At worst, the market is overbought

Market/ETF Video – Composite Breadth Model hits Make or Break Point, Bonds Break Down, More Sectors in Downtrends than Uptrends  (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Stocks Surge, but Bonds Fall, Overbought and Staying Overbought, Trend Composite Settings (Premium)

Stocks surged on reports that inflation was less than expected. Bonds did not. This is interesting because bonds are supposed to be more vulnerable to inflationary pressures. The news, however, is just the reported news we can never be sure of the true reasons for the price moves.

Market and ETF Report – Stocks Surge, but Bonds Fall, Overbought and Staying Overbought, Trend Composite Settings (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Keys to Short-term Advance, Biotech and Clean Energy Breakouts, Wheat and Agriculture Firm (Premium)

The Composite Breadth Model remains bearish and SPY is in a long-term downtrend, but the short-term trend is up and has yet to reverse. Today’s video will mark some short-term support levels to watch for a few key ETFs and the line-in-the-sand for a short-term breadth indicator. We are seeing sharp counter-trend bounces in a

Market/ETF Video – Keys to Short-term Advance, Biotech and Clean Energy Breakouts, Wheat and Agriculture Firm (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Resistance-Reversal Zones in Play, More Trend Composite Signals, Stops with Loose Pants (Premium)

We are seeing more bullish Trend Composite signals, but the weight of the evidence remains bearish for stocks. Of the 274 ETFs in the master list, there are 22 ETFs (13%) with positive Trend Composites (uptrends) and 152 (87%) with downtrends. The uptrend signals are

Market and ETF Report – Resistance-Reversal Zones in Play, More Trend Composite Signals, Stops with Loose Pants (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Short-term Breadth Indicators for Thrust and Overbought Conditions, Tech ETFs Break May Highs, JO Intrigues Again (Premium)

Today’s report starts with some short-term breadth indicators. One of the three triggered a bullish breadth thrust, but the other two have yet to show the upside participation needed for a thrust signal. They have yet to cross that line and are actually looking short-term

Market and ETF Report – Short-term Breadth Indicators for Thrust and Overbought Conditions, Tech ETFs Break May Highs, JO Intrigues Again (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Resistance Reversal Zones are Nigh, Oils Tests Support, TLT Forms Bearish Pattern, Working with ATR Trailing Stops (Premium)

Stocks surged in July and this surge was enough to trigger a bullish breadth thrust in the S&P 500. However, we have seen this movie before with bullish breadth thrusts that failed in late March and late May. The Composite Breadth Model needs more than just a bullish breadth thrust to turn the corner. Elsewhere, yield spreads

Market/ETF Video – Resistance Reversal Zones are Nigh, Oils Tests Support, TLT Forms Bearish Pattern, Working with ATR Trailing Stops (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Bear Market with Slim Pickings, Running into Resistance-Reversal Zone, Palladium Shines (Premium)

Despite a big advance in June, the Market Regime remains bearish and risk is above average for stock-based ETFs. In addition, the Trend Composite is negative for the vast majority of stock-based ETFs. A few ETFs related to clean energy, fossil fuels, consumer staples,

Market and ETF Report – Bear Market with Slim Pickings, Running into Resistance-Reversal Zone, Palladium Shines (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Widespread Weakness in Stocks, Downtrends in Metals and Agriculture Extend, Oil Tests Spring Lows (Premium)

The Composite Breadth Model remains in bear mode, yield spreads show stress in the bond market and the major index ETFs are in downtrends. Other groups are not picking up the slack because most precious metals, industrial

Market/ETF Video – Widespread Weakness in Stocks, Downtrends in Metals and Agriculture Extend, Oil Tests Spring Lows (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – SPY Consolidates within Downtrend, Oil in Downswing, Defensive ETFs Holding Up the Best, PALL Breaks (Premium)

Stocks became oversold after a sharp decline in June and the bounced to varying degrees. Some of these bounces were quite sharp (ITB, IBB) and some ETFs simply consolidated (SPY, KRE). Almost all ETFs are in downtrends and this means the bounces are considered counter-trend

Market and ETF Report – SPY Consolidates within Downtrend, Oil in Downswing, Defensive ETFs Holding Up the Best, PALL Breaks (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – Oversold Bounces, Oil Swings Lower, Healthcare Shows Relative Strength, Biotechs Get Extended (Premium)

After becoming very oversold in mid June, the major index ETFs are in the midst of oversold bounces or consolidations over the last three weeks. Predicting the extend of a bounce is tricky, but the current bounce since mid

Market and ETF Report – Oversold Bounces, Oil Swings Lower, Healthcare Shows Relative Strength, Biotechs Get Extended (Premium) Read More »

Market/ETF Video – Oil Succumbs to Widespread Weakness, Dollar Leads, Bonds Bounce, ETFs Showing Relative Strength by Holding Up Better (Premium)

Cracks in the stock market began to appear in the second half of 2021 and spread to large-caps in early 2022. Defensive groups within the stock market were holding up, but got hit hard in June. Industrial metals and agricultural commodities were holding

Market/ETF Video – Oil Succumbs to Widespread Weakness, Dollar Leads, Bonds Bounce, ETFs Showing Relative Strength by Holding Up Better (Premium) Read More »

Market and ETF Report – A Sea of Red, Energy ETFs Tests Support, Healthcare/Biotech Show Relative Strength (Premium)

My screen for today’s price action is a sea of red right now. Stock futures are modestly lower, energy futures are lower, gold is slightly lower, industrial metals are sharply lower and agricultural commodities are sharply lower. The US Dollar Index is the only thing higher and it is trading at a new high

Market and ETF Report – A Sea of Red, Energy ETFs Tests Support, Healthcare/Biotech Show Relative Strength (Premium) Read More »

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