Draghi surprises; FXE downtrend accelerates, nears support

As discussed last week that non-commercial futures traders might just once again be ahead of the curve in anticipating market reaction to Thursday’s ECB decision, they indeed were.  By Tuesday (last week), they had raised net shorts in euro futures … Continued

Small-cap shorts getting squeezed?

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

The answer to the question above is a probable yes. Twice since early March this year, small-caps have come under decent amount of pressure.  The first was a nine-week, 11-percent decline that began early March, followed by a nine-percent drop beginning … Continued

Beaten-down euro’s next move — look for clues in futures markets

The expected decline in the euro never came.  Back on August 11, it looked like the currency was ready for a bounce.  Just a bounce, as long-term technicals were only midway through unwinding overbought conditions hence did not call for … Continued

Nasdaq mini breakout, odds grow S&P 500 at least tests recent highs

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

The Nasdaq Composite (4508.31)has managed to pull off a mini breakout, and is trading above the level identified previously.  As a matter of fact, indices/ETFs such as the S&P 500 Large Cap Index and XLF (financials) have convincingly taken out … Continued

Nervous money managers sticking with their longs, but buying protection

posted in: Derivatives, Equities | 0

In a global survey of 200 institutional money managers, the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch found that the pros are worried about the stock market and are buying protection against a crash.  They are worried about geo-political events and about interest … Continued

Oversold bounce, or opportunity to go long?

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

The rally the past couple of sessions, is it an oversold bounce or is there more to it than meets the eye?  Particularly on Monday, money did come out of defensives such as utilities and health care, and into offensives … Continued

Bulls and bears duel for euro’s near-term direction, former likely to win

posted in: Currency, Derivatives, Technicals | 0

Non-commercials further added to net shorts in euro futures.  They are now net short 129k contracts – a two-year high.  In recent weeks these large speculators have been adding more shorts than cutting longs.  Since early June, they cut longs … Continued