Setting up to climb a Wall of Worry?

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...

A clash of sentiment

Mid-week market update: What should one make of sentiment readings? Credit Suisse reported that long/short hedge funds are now in a crowded long position: One result of April’s latter month short covering is an all-time high net long exposure among equity long/short managers globally, albeit on a historically low gross exposure.   That's contrarian bearish,...

Buy the dip, or sell the rip?

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...

Looking through the FOMC meeting noise

Mid-week market update: It is always to discern short-term market direction on the day of an FOMC meeting, but a number of trends have developed that can support a short-term risk-on tone. The most notable is the possible change in leadership. For quite some time, the trends of US over global stocks, growth over value,...

Factor review: Narrow leadership and its implications

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...

Why this volatility isn’t unprecedented

I have heard comments from veteran technical analysts who have become bewildered by the market's action. The word "unprecedented" is often used. I beg to differ. The violence of the sell-off, and subsequent rebound is not an unprecedented event. Recall the NASDAQ top of 2000. The NASDAQ 100 fell -39.8% from its March 2000 high,...

Back to normal?

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...

Don’t forget about the recession

Mid-week market update: Back on March 9, 2020, which seems like a lifetime ago, I declared a recession (see OK, I'm calling it). The call was based on the combination of a coronavirus epidemic in China that disrupted supply chains that began to spread to other countries, and tanking oil prices due to a Saudi-Russia...

A Dash for Trash countertrend rally

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...

The 4 reasons why the market hasn’t seen its final low

Stock prices raced upwards last week on the news that the COVID-19 outbreak is improving in New York and other parts of the US, and on the news that the Fed unveiled another $2.3 trillion bazooka of liquidity. Despite these positives, I am not convinced that this bear market has seen its lows yet. This...

Don’t press your bullish bets

Mid-week market update: After yesterday's downdraft and red candle, the bears must be disappointed that there was no downside follow through. Yesterday's pullback halted at support, which was a relief for the bulls, but I would warn that the current environment is very choppy, and traders should not depend on price trends to continue. At...

Time to sound the all-clear?

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...

The bear market rally stalls

Mid-week market update: The bear market rally appears to have stalled at the first Fibonacci resistance level of 2650. The bulls also failed to stage an upside breakout through the falling trend line. Instead, it broke down through the (dotted) rising trend line, indicating the bears had taken control of the tape.     Deteriorating...

The dawn of a new bull?

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...

The makings of a primary low

Mid-week market update: Did the Economist do it again with another contrarian magazine cover indicator? At the top of the market, their issue cover was entitled "Big tech's $2trn bull run". Last weekend, their cover featured a "closed" sign on the earth. The market staged an upside breakout through a falling trend line yesterday, and...

This is insane! Where’s the bear market rally?

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...

Where’s the bottom?

There is little question that the stock market is wildly oversold. My intermediate term bottom spotting model has been flashing a buy signal for over a week. This signal is based on the combination of an oversold signal on the Zweig Breadth Thrust Indicators, and the NYSE McClellan Summation Index (NYSI) turning negative. In the...

So bad, it’s good?

Mid-week market update: This bear market has astonishing in its ferocity, but we may be reaching the it's so bad things are good point. Here are some "green shoots" that are starting to show up. Baron Rothchild was famously quoted as saying, "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets, even...