Crude oil sits at a critical juncture. Depending on which way it breaks probably decides stocks’ path of least resistance near term. Last week, OPEC announced its commitment to cutting output to between 32.5 million barrels per day and 33 … Continued
During the August 31-September 15 period, the Nasdaq composite rallied 0.7 percent – quite an achievement considering that at the lows on September 12 it was down as much as 2.2 percent. The tech-heavy index’s performance was also in contrast … Continued
Next week brings three important housing-related data points: the NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index (September), existing home sales (August), and housing starts (August). In July, starts rose 2.1 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million units, … Continued
In the August 15-31 period, there was not much of a trend among major industry/sector ETFs, with nearly half down period-over-period and half up (Chart 1). The real story, however, lies in how short interest changed on an index level. … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of September 6, 2016. 10-year note: Is the ECB reaching the end of the stimulus rope? This is not a consensus thinking, but the bank may very well be trying to … Continued
Of late, there is a spring in small-caps’ step. Can it be sustained? In August, the Russell 2000 small cap index (1239.91) jumped 1.6 percent, even as the S&P 500 large cap index inched down 0.1 percent and the Dow … Continued
Short squeeze played a big role in the equity rally since the February lows this year. Charts 1 and 2 are proof. Since the February 11th bottom through the all-time high this Tuesday, the Nasdaq composite rallied just north of … Continued
That the green line in Chart 1 is increasingly taking the form of a coiled spring is non-debatable. That the longer it stays compressed in oversold territory, the higher the odds of a spike higher is non-debatable. What is debatable … Continued
Following up on Tuesday’s blog, here is some additional food of thought on XLY, the SPDR consumer discretionary ETF. Three sessions ago, it arguably broke out of a five-week congestion; the ETF rose to a new intra-day high of $82.38, … Continued
U.S. equities continue to enjoy short-interest tailwind, but are likely to face difficulty doing so in the weeks to come. In the latest period, on an index level, short interest continued to drop. The July 15-29 two-week period saw it … Continued