US corporate profits rose to a new high in 2Q18, but prior quarters were revised lower by $739 billion. Second-quarter US corporate profits were published Wednesday. Profits adjusted for inventory valuation and capital consumption rose 7.7 percent year-over-year to a … Continued
The Nasdaq 100 index enjoyed a mini-breakout Tuesday, only to find itself right underneath seven-month channel resistance. A breakout would be massive. Could shorts come to longs’ rescue in due course? The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (7570.25) Tuesday rose to yet … Continued
Here is a brief review of period-over-period change in short interest in the August 1-15 period in nine S&P 500 sectors. XLB (SPDR materials ETF) XLB ($59.13) mid-August once again successfully tested support at $57. As if anticipating this, shorts … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of August 21, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 700.5k, up 2.3k. The 10-year T-yield (2.83 percent) lost five basis points this week. The neckline of a potentially bearish head-and-shoulders formation has been … Continued
Major US equity indices are at/past late-January highs. Investor sentiment, on the other hand, is nowhere near as giddy. Is this good or bad? The Russell 2000 small cap index (1722.54) just broke out of a two-month pennant. Of major … Continued
QQQ bulls faced channel resistance a month ago, but defended channel support of different duration. They are, however, facing headwinds of waning momentum. The bull-bear tug of war continues on QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust). On July 25, bulls were rejected … Continued
Bulls put foot down on major US equity indices last week. They have the ball near term. Shorts with medium-term focus can sell weekly puts to raise the short price. The greenback acts strong. The US dollar index (95.98) hit … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of August 14, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 698.2k, up 111.9k. In the 12 months to July, the US Treasury issued $544.1 billion in notes and bonds. A year ago, issuance totaled … Continued
Small-caps have rallied nicely year-to-date. Supposedly, they benefit the most from last December’s tax cuts and are also considered insulated from negative effects of a trade war. They now sit at critical technical juncture. Over the last eight weeks, the … Continued
SPY last week was rejected at channel resistance, coming up $0.63 short of surpassing the all-time high of $286.63 reached January 26. The path of least resistance is down. A covered put might help. There are interesting dynamics at play … Continued