ITB, the iShares Home Construction ETF, has broken out. Support at $26 goes back to May 2013, and was defended several times during late April and early June. Since late April, ITB had also been trading within an ascending channel. … Continued
One look at Chart 1, and it is hard to notice a significant change in momentum behind the U.S. high-yield debt market. Through July, issuance totaled $188.4 billion. Annualized, 2015 is on track to issuing north of $300 billion – … Continued
Of late, volatility has been volatile. Twice in the past 15 sessions, VIX, the S&P 500 Volatility Index, has surpassed 16, only to quickly reverse to the downside, and broken below 12 three times, only to reverse to the upside. … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 11, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: How might the renminbi devaluation impact the Fed’s desire to hike rates this year? The devaluation is at least disinflationary as far U.S. … Continued
An options trade may be brewing on IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF. In the July 15-31 period, shorts’ bearish bet on IWM paid off. Short interest went up nearly five percent during the period. The ETF fell 2.1 percent, … Continued
Markets are acting very fidgety. Emerging ones are no exception. On Monday, off Friday’s intra-day high, VIX, the S&P 500 Volatility Index, dropped 16-percent plus. Yesterday, at one point it was up 17-percent plus. TLT, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury … Continued
A July 2nd post discussed the possibility that operating earnings for S&P 500 companies might decline this year over 2014. The assessment was based on the relationship between SPX earnings and the BEA’s measure of corporate profits (adjusted for inventory … Continued
The SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) went through a lot last week – down 2.4 percent, as media and consumer discretionary stocks like Walt Disney (DIS) took it on the chin. On a weekly basis, the ETF is overbought and … Continued
Small-caps were big laggards last week. IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, lost 2.5 percent, versus drops of 1.3 percent for the S&P 500 Index, 1.8 percent for the Dow Industrials and 1.7 percent for the Nasdaq Composite, among others. … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 4, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell told CNBC on Wednesday that he has not made up his mind yet on whether interest rates should … Continued