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The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) wandered sideways to a large degree today, closing at 4514, up 6 points or 0.1%. SPX opened the week at 4407, setting up a strong weekly gain of 2.4%. Trading volume peaked above the
50-day moving average (dma) on Tuesday and then declined all week.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 13.8%, down about 9% from the open at 15.2% on Monday.
I track the Russell 2000 index with the IWM ETF, which closed today at 178.3, up over two points or 1.4%. IWM opened the week at 168.2, setting up a very strong weekly gain of 6%. IWM broke out above its 50 dma on Monday but remains about one percent below its 200 dma.
The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 14,125 , up 12 points or 0.08%. NASDAQ opened the week at 13,746 for a weekly gain of 2.8%. Trading volume peaked above the 50 dma on Tuesday but declined the rest of the week. Friday’s trading volume was over 25% below the 50 dma.
This recent bull market has been quite strong, rising over nine percent since October 30th. The market has opened and gapped higher seven times and we have only experienced one bearish trading session over this period of time. Pullbacks in this market have occurred with higher bond yields or remarks from Powell or any member of the FOMC that suggested more discount rate hikes are coming. Market analysts interpret each economic news or data in light of whether it might lead to the end of rate hikes, and thus a stronger market, or additional rate hikes that may lead to a hard landing. This makes it difficult to predict market trends. On one day positive economic news may lead to a market increase, but at another time, it may lead to a pullback.
It seems we are all whistling in the dark, hoping that huge government debt doesn’t eventually crush us. Paying the interest on the debt continues to take a larger share of the government’s budget.
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The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) put on a show today, closing at 4415, up 68 points or 1.6%. SPX opened the week at 4364, setting up a weekly gain of 1.2% (yesterday’s large decline resulted in the inconsistency). Yesterday’s loss found support at the 50-day moving average (dma). Trading volume ran below the 50 dma all week.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 14.2%, down over one point today and down nearly 8% for the week.
I track the Russell 2000 index with the IWM ETF, which closed today at 169.1, up almost two points or 1.1%. IWM opened the week at 174.5, setting up a gain of over three percent for the week. IWM remains far below both its 50 dma and 200 dma.
The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 13,798, up 277 points or
2.1%. NASDAQ opened the week at 13514 for a weekly gain of 2.1%. The weekly gain was affected by Thursday’s large pullback. Trading volume ran near average all week, with the exception of yesterday. Curiously, trading volume was significantly lower on today’s strong run higher.
This strong bullish run higher began in late October and was characterized by several gap openings higher. But trading volume has not been particularly high as the market ran upward. The one exception was a volume spike on yesterday’s strong decline after Powell’s remarks.
The danger in recent markets is due to either bond auctions that result in higher yields or remarks from any member of the FOMC that may be interpreted as suggesting additional rate hikes. Case in point: consider yesterday’s severe market decline versus today’s strong bullish run higher. A weak bond auction started the decline yesterday and Powell's remarks accelerated the drop. Today, the market forgot all about it and roared higher. Note that the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at their highs today, characteristic of a strong bull market.
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The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) impressed us last Friday and that run continued this week, faltered yesterday and collapsed today with SPX losing 22 points or 0.5% to close at 4328. We opened the week at 4289 for a weekly gain of 0.9%. However, at Thursday’s open the S&P 500 was up 2.1%. Trading volume came in above the 50 day moving average (dma) yesterday
and today.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 19.3%, after spiking to 21% earlier in the day. This intraday spike matched last Wednesday’s VIX spike and makes me wonder if we are headed lower.
I track the Russell 2000 index with the IWM ETF, which closed today at 170.3, down 1.4 points or 0.8%. IWM’s low today was 169.7, essentially matching last Friday’s low of 169.5. IWM has lost everything it gained in this recent rally. Another day of losses may signal the beginning of another downturn.
The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 13,407, down 167 points or
1.2%. NASDAQ opened the week at 13,326 for a weekly gain of 0.6%. NASDAQ broke above the 50 dma on Wednesday, fell back below the 50 dma yesterday and extended that loss today. Trading volume on NASDAQ fell well below average today.
The S&P 500 roared higher last Friday and that large move convinced IBD to declare the correction to be over and moved to a market assessment of Confirmed Uptrend. Friday’s rally continued into this week, took a breather yesterday, and may have fallen out of bed today. IBD reassessed the market after the close today and moved to Uptrend Under Pressure. Indeed.
The turn lower on SPX and NASDAQ today wasn’t severe, but the Russell 2000 really took it on the chin, effectively surrendering all of the gains since last Friday.
The talking heads attributed the weakness to CPI coming in at +0.4%, down from 0.6%. You would think that was a positive sign of inflation declining. But apparently some economists had expected CPI to decline to an increase of 0.3%. As is often the case, the talking heads don’t have a clue.
The optimists would point out that the correction low is often retested and sometimes more than once before the new upward trend begins.
I entered several new trades this week and that may have been premature. I aggressively rolled out several positions today to reduce the capital at risk. We’ll see what happens on Monday.
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The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) closed today at 4224, down 54 points or 1.3%. SPX opened the week at 4342, setting up a weekly loss of 2.7%. Today’s loss solidly broke down through the 200-day moving average (dma). Trading volume increased steadily all week, peaking today at 2.7 billion shares, well above the 50 dma at 2.2 billion shares. That increase in trading volume was an endorsement of the downtrend.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 21.7%. VIX opened at 19.1% on Monday and declined to 17.2% at the close on Monday, but steadily rose all week.
I track the Russell 2000 index with the IWM ETF, which closed today at 166.4, down 2.2 points or 1.3%. IWM opened the week at 171.7, setting up a 3.1% weekly loss. On Monday, IWM’s 50 dma crossed down through the 200 dma.
The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 12,984, down 202 points or
1.5%. NASDAQ opened the week at 13,454 for a weekly loss of 3.5%. NASDAQ broke its 50 dma last Friday and is now approaching its 200 dma at 12,730. Trading volume was below average all week, with the exception of yesterday.
The weak state of this market may be summarized by noting that the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 have now broken both of their 50 and 200 day moving averages. NASDAQ has broken its 50 dma but remains above its 200 dma.
Last week, I was skeptical of IBD’s move to Uptrend Under Pressure, because the market looked weaker to me. Monday and Tuesday’s relative strength fooled me. I should have started moving to cash. The marked decline of the Russell 2000 last week was the warning shot. I entered several new trades cautiously last week and remained in them this week. That was a mistake. Many of those trades could have been closed for gains on Monday and Tuesday. Mea culpa.
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The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) put on quite a show today, running up 50 points or +1.2% to close at 4309. SPX opened the week at 4285 for a weekly gain of 0.6%. The low this week on Tuesday and each day afterward was just above the 200-day moving average (dma), so it appeared to be finding support, but today’s move was dramatic. Trading volume ran close to or just above the 50 dma all week.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 17.5%, down significantly from the intraday highs this week around 21%.
I track the Russell 2000 index with the IWM ETF, which closed today at 173, up 1.7 points or one percent. IWM opened the week at 176 for a loss of 1.7% for the week. IWM is the weakest broad market index, having broken both the 50 dma and the 200 dma during this correction. IWM would have to gain nearly 5% just to recover its 200 dma.
The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 13,431, up 212 points or
1.6%. NASDAQ opened the week at 13,218 for a weekly gain of 1.6%. NASDAQ appeared to find support near its lows from mid-August.
VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, closed today at 17.5%, down significantly from the intraday highs this week around 21%.
The broad market context for the past several weeks was ugly to say the least. All of the broad market indices had broken down through the 50 dma and the Russell 2000 had broken down through the 200 dma. S&P’s decline since 7/27 was 8.5%; that got my attention. I bought some SPX puts for protection, but today’s spike higher forced me out of those. Hopefully, it doesn’t whipsaw on me next week.
When I was a boy growing up in Florida, hurricane Donna came through Orlando. Dad built our house in preparation for that night, so we were quite safe. Suddenly the sound of the wind and rain stopped. We walked out into the yard. You could see the stars. It was eerie. We quickly went back inside. You don’t know the size the eye of the hurricane. This market reminds me of that night. Perhaps the storm is over, but the winds may come up again next week.
This is still a good time to be in cash.
