Yet another fortnight and yet another show of strength by equity bulls. During the March 31st-April 15th period, the S&P 500 large cap index rallied one percent, the NYSE composite 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq composite 1.4 percent, among others. … Continued
With five sessions to go in April, the Nasdaq 100 index (4474.19) is down 0.2 percent, while the Russell 2000 small cap index (1146.69) is up 2.9 percent. Last week made a big difference, as the former was down 1.5 … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of April 19, 2016. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: That this is even being discussed in the press and among economists is a sign of how insane things have gotten in central … Continued
On Wednesday, spot VIX (13.95) did something it had not done in a while. It dropped below 13, to 12.50, before reversing with a hammer candle (Chart 1). The last time it had a sub-13 session was on October 28th … Continued
In early April, the S&P 500 (2080.73) is rejected by a July 2015 declining trend line. After a subsequent slight pullback, the index reenergizes itself and goes for that resistance again. Last Thursday, it succeeds (Chart 1). But is the … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of April 12, 2016. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Glass half full or half empty? Yet again, the IMF issued a downward revision to its prediction for global GDP growth, cutting 2016 … Continued
The magnitude of the equity rally the past couple of months has surprised many. Off the February 11th low through Thursday’s high, the S&P 500 index rallied 15 percent. This, despite the fact that equity flows into U.S.-based funds have … Continued
U.S. stocks look vulnerable here. The only question is that of duration and magnitude. Here is why. Off the February 11th intra-day low through the April 1st high, the S&P 500 large cap index rallied nearly 15 percent (Chart 1). … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of April 5, 2016. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: The FOMC minutes for the March 15-16 meeting were released this week, and there was nothing substantially new. That said, maybe because FOMC … Continued
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