The energizer bunny marches on. The S&P 500 rallied to a fresh high last week. This time around, the otherwise-laggard Nasdaq 100 joined in, meekly breaking out to a new high. Next week, the top six tech outfits are set … Continued
Last March, the Fed essentially urged investors to take on risk and go up the risk curve. They have obliged. Leverage is high in the system. This works as long as the prevailing upward momentum is in place. When a … Continued
Major US equity indices posted new highs last week, but only to reverse and give back those gains. By Friday, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000 were all sitting on channel support. Bulls cannot afford a … Continued
The S&P 500 closed 2020 with a new high. Momentum was very strong in November and December. In the past, more gains followed in the following year. For that, several things have to fall into place, including how flows, margin … Continued
After persistently remaining elevated for several weeks, investor sentiment is coming under pressure a little. Assuming institutions began distributing, retail would not be able to mop up all the supply. Record margin debt then becomes front and center. Equity bulls … Continued
Foreigners continue to wax enthusiastic about US equities. For their optimism, they have been rewarded handsomely. Although the Treasury publishes the related data with a lag, foreigners’ behavior is worth a close watch, as prior major peaks have coincided with … Continued
Company buybacks are having quite a bit of a dry spell. As corporate boards act thrifty this year, it has not had much impact on stocks. The buyback shortfall is being offset by bulled-up foreigners and investor willingness to take … Continued
Tech bulls only benefited in a minor degree from a major squeeze of non-commercials in the futures market. Concurrently, several other buying sources are increasingly acting hesitant. In the week to last Tuesday, non-commercials in Nasdaq 100 index (mini) futures … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of September 15, 2020. 10-year note: Currently net long 14.8k, up 5.3k. The Fed Wednesday said rates will stay zero-bound through the end of 2023. The fed funds rate in March was lowered … Continued
On a 12-month basis, foreigners’ purchases of US equities dropped slightly in July, with June the highest since April 2010. If this represents a turn in their sentiment, this will have come at a time when buybacks are no longer … Continued