Are we seeing a classic ‘stocks turn ahead of fundamentals’ phenomenon? U.S. equities in general bottomed on February 11th after a brutal sell-off in January. From late-December 2015 highs through the afore-mentioned low, the S&P 500 index dropped 13 percent … Continued
“Manufacturing and net exports have continued to be hard hit by slow global growth and the significant appreciation of the dollar since 2014… Low oil prices have also resulted in large-scale layoffs in the energy sector and adverse spillovers to … Continued
In the latest week, non-commercials cut net longs in gold futures by three percent period-over-period to 169,512 contracts. This was the first weekly reduction in eight weeks (Chart 1). The prior week’s holdings were the highest since February 3rd last … Continued
On February 11th, spot gold closed up 4.1 percent to $1,263.9/ounce, surging intra-day as much as 5.6 percent (blue arrow in Chart 1). It was a high-volume session. A healthy $535 million moved into GLD, the SPDR gold ETF, in … Continued
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” The above remark is often attributed to John Maynard Keynes, the British economist, although some dispute it. Regardless who said it, it is a nice quote. More … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of March 8, 2016. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: The FOMC meets next week, and it is a given. They will stand pat on interest rate, but the dot plot likely sees … Continued
Since the February 11th low up until this Monday, if we just use small-caps to measure the pulse of investor mood, it has been risk-on. From that low through the intra-day high this week, the Russell 2000 rallied north of … Continued
U.S. small-caps are rallying. Rallying hard. Harder than several of their peers. Since the intra-day low on February 11th, the Russell 2000 small cap index is up just north of 14 percent, also breaking out of 1035. This level approximates … Continued
QQQ, the PowerShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, is showing signs of fatigue. Off the February 11th low through last Friday’s intra-day high, the ETF rallied nearly 10 percent in 11 sessions (Chart 1). Yes, this preceded a 17-percent drop since December … Continued
U.S. stocks began 2016 on the wrong foot. That is an understatement. In fact, major indices peaked intra-day on December 29th (2015). Using that high, the S&P 500 large cap index through the intra-day low on January 20th lost 13 … Continued