IWM – Risks Elevated Medium Term, Coin Toss Near Term

Even though trade tensions particularly between the US and China have heated up, small-caps – supposed beneficiaries of a trade war – have stalled of late.  Medium term, downside risks are huge.  In the very near term, it is a … Continued

SPY Shorts With M/T Focus Have Option To Sell Weekly Puts

Bulls put foot down on major US equity indices last week.  They have the ball near term.  Shorts with medium-term focus can sell weekly puts to raise the short price. The greenback acts strong.  The US dollar index (95.98) hit … Continued

Russell 2000 Up Strong 9.1% YTD – At Critical Technical Juncture

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

Small-caps have rallied nicely year-to-date.  Supposedly, they benefit the most from last December’s tax cuts and are also considered insulated from negative effects of a trade war.  They now sit at critical technical juncture. Over the last eight weeks, the … Continued

Amid Signs Of Fatigue, Potentially Bullish ‘What If’ For US Stocks

Arguably, US stocks are giving off some signs of fatigue.  The S&P 500 large cap index (2840.35) is still below its late-January high of 2872.87.  The Nasdaq 100 index (7395.49) in the week before was rejected at six-month-old channel resistance; … Continued

Feeble Rectangle Breakout Last Week, SPY Gives Out Signs Of Fatigue

With a feeble rectangle breakout and rejection at the upper end of a rising channel last week, SPY is giving out signs of fatigue. Things look good.  Even great, some might argue.  This Friday, the first print of 2Q18 GDP … Continued

Early Signs Small-Caps Undergoing Subtle Change In Momentum

There are some early signs markets are undergoing a subtle change – particularly as relates to the dynamics between small- and large-caps. Right after Donald Trump was elected US president on November 8, 2016, small-caps became one of the go-to … Continued

Improvement In S&P 500 Earnings-Related Metrics in 1Q18 – One-Off Or Trend?

posted in: Economy, Equities | 0

In 1Q18, S&P 500 companies reported $36.54 in operating earnings, up 26.8 percent year-over-year and eight percent quarter-over-quarter.  This was non-GAAP.  GAAP was up 20.3 percent y/y and 22.5 percent q/q to $33.02. Apart from being a record quarter, 1Q18 … Continued

SPY – Medium-Term Risks Building, But Can Rally Near Term

posted in: Credit, Economy, Equities, Technicals | 0

On the weekly chart, SPY remains grossly overbought, but near term there is room to rally – duration and magnitude notwithstanding.  Options can help. US core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) increased 1.96 percent year-over-year in May – essentially two percent.  … Continued

US Corporations Splurge On Dividends/Buybacks, Cash Cushion Likely Shrinks Ahead

posted in: Uncategorized | 0

US companies are sitting on tons of cash, and are also spending tons in dividends and buybacks.  As they continue to pay back shareholders, debt load – rising – moves front and center. S&P 500 buybacks shot up to new … Continued

Early Signs Of Large-Cap Fatigue Spreading To Small-Caps, Tech

posted in: Economy, Equities, Technicals | 0

Signs of fatigue are showing up in US equities.  It began with large-caps, and now there are early signs it is spreading to small-caps as well as tech. The small-cap switch was turned on right after Donald Trump was elected … Continued