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
Reversing the prior week’s weakness, major US equity indices put up strong performance last week. The S&P 500, for instance, defended a rising trend line from last March. VIX collapsed, landing on low-20s, a breach of which opens the door … Continued
Last week, the S&P 500 as well as the Nasdaq 100 started out strong but finished poorly. The Russell 2000, on the other hand, stayed strong, closing near the week’s high. Before one interprets this as markets’ way of telling … Continued
Stocks are ripping higher. Sentiment is exuberant. Several technical indicators are extended. The Fed’s aggressive action was a catalyst in March when major US equity indices bottomed. Its asset holdings continue to grow, but the pace of growth has decelerated. … Continued
Gold has regained its shine. Sort of. In the past three months, the metal has rallied 23 percent. At the same time, it is running into important resistance, including Fibonacci and eight-year horizontal. The metal likely takes a breather near … Continued
The FOMC meets this week. No change in expected. But in the remaining four scheduled meetings, markets have priced in at least two cuts. The Fed has a juggling act in hand. The unemployment rate is near a six-decade low, … Continued
Stocks rallied for three months in defiance of deteriorating macro data. By essentially putting an end to the tightening cycle, the Fed is acknowledging this. Stocks could be the next. What just happened? Many are probably asking that question after … Continued
With the U.S. unemployment rate at a nearly 17-year low and job growth still healthy, some divergence is popping up in jobs-related data. November created 228,000 non-farm jobs. With one month to go, this amounts to a monthly average of … Continued
Semis have come a long way. Through last Thursday, SMH, the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF, rallied 21 percent since the August 24th low and nearly 11 percent since the September 29th low. The latest rally in particular came in a … Continued
Since last Wednesday, there has been a sudden pickup in QE talk. That was when Bill Dudley, president of the New York Fed, said that “the decision to begin the normalization process at the September FOMC meeting seems less compelling … Continued