Sentiment whipsaws are masking the bear trend

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...

Time to jump on the year-end rally bandwagon?

Mid-week market update: The stock market surged last week in reaction to the soft CPI reading. It got better news this week when PPI came in lower than expected. As well, China unveiled a 16-point package to try and stabilize its cratering property market and softened some of its Zero COVID policies. Berkshire Hathaway unveiled...

Soft CPI is helpful, but it’s still a bear market

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...

Who’s swimming naked as the tide goes out?

Warren Buffett famously said that when the tide goes out, you find out who has been swimming naked. Now that the Fed is tightening financial conditions and the tide is going out, I undertake an analysis to find out what countries and sectors have been swimming naked, and who has been opportunistically swimming with the...

Why the risk-off tone? Isn’t divided government bullish?

Mid-week market update: Why have the markets gone risk-off? Isn't divided government supposed to be equity bullish?   While the exact results of the mid-term elections aren't known just yet, polling models and PredictIt odds, which represent consensus expectations, show a narrow Republican majority in the House and a probable Democrat control of the Senate....

The hidden story of investor capitulation

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...

Do the bulls have anything left in the tank for their charge?

Mid-week market update: It's always difficult to make tactical trading calls on FOMC meeting day. The S&P 500 approached the latest meeting with the 5-day RSI near overbought territory. The experience in 2022 of overbought or near overbought conditions on meeting days (March and July, n=2) has seen stock prices continue to advance. Can it...

How to trade the Fed Whisperer 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 Trend...

How far can this rally run?

Mid-week market update: How far and long can this rally run? Here is one way of determining upside potential. The S&P 500 staged an upside breakout through an inverse head and shoulders pattern, with a measured objective of about 4120, which is the approximate level of the 200 dma.     The inverse head and...

Five constructive signs of a short-term bottom

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...

Liftoff?

Mid-week market update: Recent discussions with readers made me realize that many investors may have become so numb to the endless bearish stock market impulses that they don't realize how oversold the stock market is. I have highlighted in the past the chart of the NYSE McClellan Summation Index (NYSI) to demonstrate that a reading...

How bears turn into bulls

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...

Do divergences matter anymore?

Mid-week market update: The stock market has been exhibiting a series of positive breadth and momentum divergences as the S&P 500 weakened, but the recent main driver of risk appetite has been the fixed income and currency markets.   Do divergences matter anymore?     External drivers The divergences matter less inasmuch as the stocks...

Buy now, pain later

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...

Managing fear and greed in a time of volatility

Mid-week market update: I received a number of questions from readers who were positioned for the monster rally that began on Monday, "What's your upside target?"   The answer is, "It depends." Make no mistake, the market was washed out and oversold when the rally began, but it was sparked by a rebound in bond...

Seven reasons why traders should grit their teeth and buy

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 anatomy of a failed breadth thrust

Many technical analysts turned excited in late August when the percentage of S&P 500 stocks above their 50 dma surged from below 5% to over 90%. Historically, such breadth and momentum thrusts have signaled a fresh bull market with a track record of 100% accuracy.     Since then, the percentage of stocks above their...

The BOE rescues the markets

Mid-week market update: Before going to bed last night, I check the overnight market and saw that S&P 500 futures were down as much as -1% and thought, "Here we go again!" I woke to see that the BOE had committed to buying Gilts "on whatever scale is necessary" which sparked a risk-on stampede. The...

The right and wrong way to throw in the towel

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...