VIX:VXV itching to move higher, which could put stocks under pressure VIX suggests calm, but SKEW points to institutions buying tail-risk protection Put-to-call ratios have had extreme readings past several sessions on both CBOE, ISE The S&P 500 Large Cap … Continued
Economy was probably not reason why QE2/3 got launched, stock sell-off was One month after QE1/2 ended, stocks began to act sick, prompting Fed into action Year-end rally may or may not happen; impending sell-off to test Fed’s pain threshold … Continued
Improvement in gold’s price action in recent sessions Key will be if non-commercials begin to add to net long gold futures Looks to be bottoming, but still tentative; short GLD puts safe way to go for now Gold ($1,187.9) is … Continued
Big tailwind for stocks has come from grossly oversold technical conditions Several indicators are lagging – failing to confirm recovery highs in major U.S. indices Some signs stocks want to rest; could be important as SPX sits right underneath major … Continued
Even during recent sell-off, Investors Intelligence bears never went over 20 Overall sentiment too smug, but buy-the-dip complacency has paid off – so far Risk is, stretched sentiment readings mean there are too many on one side of trade After … Continued
For second week running, hedge funds stayed net long VIX futures Three times since 2009 when this has happened, equities have gone on to rally Ideal scenario: SPX goes lower and successfully tests 1900, just in time for year-end rally … Continued
VIX looks to be setting up to move higher near-term Medium-term technicals halfway through unwinding overbought conditions Long-term, potentially saucer bottom in making, could be headed a lot higher in months to come Last Friday, even as all the major … Continued
Margin debt continues to hover near all-time highs, with some subtle differences underneath Fourteen-percent rise in SPX since Feb unable to inspire more leverage-taking Naz correlation suggests margin debt headed lower in outer months In today’s algo- and dark pool-dominated … Continued
Shorts continued to raise bets, with short interest at multi-year highs October 15th reversal followed by sharp advance probably caused short-covering With QE gone and broken trendline resistance on S&P 500 intact, shorts could get active again Bulls probably took … Continued
Spot VIX has had topsy-turvy ride this month First time in three years, hedge funds went net long VIX futures last week On three other occasions past five years, this preceded lower VIX in outer weeks/months The VIX has done … Continued