S&P 500 Struggle To Lift Off Of 200DMA – Short Put For Premium/To Position For Earnings Bounce

Presently, the state of US trade deficit and how the Trump administration is attempting to address it is front and center. In February, the deficit came in at $57.6 billion, with the 12-month total of $589.6 billion, which was the … Continued

Stocks’ Path Of Least Resistance Up N/T – SPY Weekly Short Put For Premium

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

February and March wrought technical damage on major US equity indices, but the path of least resistance increasingly looks up near term. March-quarter earnings season is upon us.  This is the first quarter US companies will be reporting after the … Continued

Both Hard And Soft Data Not Pointing Toward Capex Resurgence Post-Tax Cuts

posted in: Uncategorized | 0

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – signed into law on December 22 last year – allows U.S. companies to repatriate the cash they have socked away overseas by paying 15.5 percent, rather than the previous 35 percent.  … Continued

Too Simplistic To Say Small-Caps Will Outperform In Case Of Trade War

posted in: Currency, Equities, Technicals | 0

As talk of potential trade war heats up, attention has shifted to U.S. small-caps.  Deserved or too simplistic? Early last week, the Russell 2000 small cap index tried to take out not one but two levels of resistance – the … Continued

Markets’ Focus Shifts To Rising Inflation And Inflation Expectations – Would Fed’s?

posted in: Credit, Economy | 0

How times have changed?  It did not take long for markets’ attention to do a 360 from fears of deflation to that of inflation. January’s consumer price index was reported Wednesday.  It was stronger than expected.  In the 12 months … Continued

Small-Cap Stocks Diverge From Small-Business Optimism

posted in: Economy, Equities, Technicals | 0

Small-business optimism remains near multi-decade highs.  Small-cap stocks do not quite share this optimism. The NFIB optimism index rose two points month-over-month in January to 106.9, just a hair’s breadth away from November’s 107.5, which was a 34-year high.  Optimism … Continued

R2K Breaks Out – Breakout Retest Matter Of Time, And Will Test Rally’s Sustainability

There is a new-found spring in U.S. small-caps’ step.  What changed all of a sudden?  More importantly, are there ingredients in place for the rally to sustain itself? The Russell 2000 small cap index just broke out.  It has been … Continued