Remember when I called for a bond market rally (see What a bond market rally could mean for your investments). The 10-year Treasury yield broke support last week and shrugged off a hot CPI print. Is the bond market tempting FAIT, or the Fed's Flexible Average Inflation Targeting framework? Here are some of...
Mid-week market update: Traders have an adage, "Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs just get slaughtered." It's time for equity bulls to be near-term cautious on stocks, though I expect any market weakness to be relatively shallow. In my weekend update, I had set out a number of tripwires (see Time is running...
The monthly NFIB update is always useful as a window on the economy. Small businesses tend to have little bargaining power and they are therefore sensitive barometers of economic trends. A month ago, NFIB small business optimism surged (see NFIB conservatives grudgingly turn bullish). The latest report saw optimism stall as readings edged back from...
Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...
Several readers asked me to address the valuation warning from Jason Goepfert of SentimenTrader, who found that the S&P 500 is wildly overvalued based on a combination of real earnings yield and dividend yield. Let's begin by unpacking Goepfert's chart (annotations are mine). There were five instances since 1970 when the market appeared...
Mid-week market update: Even as the S&P 500 remains range-bound, market internals are constructive. I interpret these conditions to mean that the market can grind higher in the short-term, and the intermediate-term trend is still up. Don't short a dull market. A risk appetite revival A survey of risk appetite indicators...
Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...
The trader Alex Barrow recently observed that the sentiment backdrop is setting up for a bond market rally. While Barron's is not as reliable as The Economist as a contrarian magazine cover indicator, the stars appear to be lining up for a counter-trend rally in bond prices. Here is what a potential bond...
Mid-week market update: I wrote on the weekend that one of my bullish tripwires were violations of relative support by defensive sectors (see Is the pullback over?). The bulls have largely achieved that task. The S&P 500 appears to be on its way to a test of the old highs. In addition,...
Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...
It is said that the only free lunch in investing is diversification. That's especially true for US-based investors in light of the elevated valuations of US equities. With that idea in mind, let's take a quick tour around the world to see where the opportunities are, and where they're not. Geographically, the world...
Mid-week market update: I wrote on the weekend (see Where's the fear?) that the relief rally that began last Thursday was unconvincing and my base case scenario called for a retest of the lows. The retest appears to be underway. Spikes of the VIX Index above its upper Bollinger Band (BB) were signals...
Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...
Did anyone notice the upside breakouts in both gold and gold mining stocks? In the short-term, gold may have to contend with overhead resistance at the site of its 200-day moving average (dma). While I am no gold bug, the breakout could be a technical signal of an intermediate bullish phase for precious metals. ...
Mid-week market update: I have been saying for several weeks that the stock market is vulnerable to a setback but it is a bifurcated market. Value stocks have held up well, but growth stocks were getting smoked. The bears finally broke through this week and they are showing signs that they are seizing control of...
Investors received some data points today that is highly revealing about the economy. The most important was the NFIB small business survey. Small business sentiment is especially important as they have little bargaining power and they are therefore sensitive barometers of the economy. The other is the March JOLTS report of labor market conditions, which...
This will be the final Q1 Earnings Monitor as 88% of the S&P 500 has reported and the results are mostly known. It was a solid earnings season and beat rates are well above average. Callum Thomas of Topdown Charts observed that analysts have scrambled to revise their estimates upwards in response to earnings reports and...
Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade. The Trend...
How expensive are US equities? Fed Governor Lael Brainard warned about "stretched valuations" in the preamble to the May 2021 Financial Stability Report: Vulnerabilities associated with elevated risk appetite are rising. Valuations across a range of asset classes have continued to rise from levels that were already elevated late last year...The combination of stretched...
Mid-week market update: Should you Sell in May and go away? While many traders are familiar with the Wall Street adage, what "Sell in May" really means is the six months starting May 1 has experienced subpar returns compared to the six months starting in November 1. It's not necessarily bearish. While it's...
Our site uses cookies and other technologies so that we, and our partners, can remember you and tailor your user experience on our site. See our disclaimer page on our privacy policy, how we manage cookies, and how to opt out. Further use of this site will be considered consent.
