Buyback-induced breakouts — signal or noise?

posted in: Economy, Equities, Technicals | 0

GE stages massive breakout Friday on back of massive buyback announcement S&P 500 companies splurged $565 billion on share repurchases in 2014 As/when buybacks dry up, support zones become more vulnerable Before last week, GE shares had been on a … Continued

End-March short interest: Indices flat, lots of changes industry- and sector-wide

posted in: Equities | 0

Short interest as of the end of March was flat on an index level, but action was hot and heavy on an industry/sector level. On the NYSE, short interest was 15.68 billion, down from 15.69 billion two weeks ago.  On … Continued

Short interest dynamics between NYSE and Nasdaq, and in SMH and IBB

posted in: Equities | 0

NYSE short interest rises to match mid-Oct highs, diverges from Nasdaq Within Nasdaq, shorts aggressive in pure tech, but less so in biotech Relatively low short interest on IBB probably does not help longs It is getting a little difficult … Continued

Short interest fuel aplenty, can bulls exploit?

posted in: Equities | 0

Bulls have consistently climbed wall of worry, that is, elevated short interest Past 3 months, Naz/NYSE short interest sideways, shorts giving up? Hedgopia Risk Reward Index pokes head out of reward zone Post-FOMC, Wednesday sure felt like a session in … Continued

Squeezed and hurt, shorts likely to begin to rebuild position in XLU, XLE, IWM

posted in: Equities, Technicals | 0

Short interest inched up on NYSE and Nasdaq, and hovers near multi-year highs Shorts squeezed out of several sector ETFs since mid-Oct bottom in stocks Shorts probably will get active and rebuild position in XLU, XLE, IWM Short interest inched … Continued

Breakouts deserve respect, successful test will validate move

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

Amidst deteriorating U.S. earnings picture and geopolitical uncertainty, stocks resilient Major indices break out, but how much buying power did bulls expend? Breakouts deserve respect, unless they are proven false Are U.S. equities trying to tell us something? Almost out … Continued

Can bulls continue to climb wall of elevated short interest worry?

posted in: Equities | 0

Bull markets need fuel for continued push higher. Money can leave other asset classes, such as bonds, and into stocks.  Or, they can come out of, let us say, money-market funds into stocks.  Foreigners can raise net purchases of U.S. … Continued

Onus on bulls to regroup — little margin of error this week

posted in: Equities, Technicals | 0

Major U.S. indices approaching/sitting on/slightly under critical technical levels U.S. indices give back Eurozone QE gains; key would be if European bourses do so U.S. bulls probably swimming against tide for now, but technical damage not irreparable U.S. equity indices … Continued