May 31, 2020

The NASDAQ Composite Index ended a volatile week by posting a higher closing high on strong month-end volume Friday. The week saw big swings off the intraday highs and lows on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before the index found solid support at the 10-dma on the final trading day of the week.   ... Read More

May 27, 2020

The market has been showing some interesting divergence here as the indexes push back toward all-time highs. The NASDAQ Composite Index and the NASDAQ 100 Index have slowed their upside paces while the NYSE-based indexes have acted relatively better. Both NASDAQ indexes sold off yesterday with the NASDAQ 100 getting hit with a big-volume reversal off the highs. Today... Read More

May 24, 2020

The market ended the week quietly as it consolidated prior gains. The NASDAQ Composite Index was up slightly on lighter volume ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend holiday. After a move to higher highs on Wednesday, the two-day pullback on declining volume looks benign.   ... Read More

May 20, 2020

The market pulled its signature move once again by suddenly selling off into the close yesterday but then gapping up sharply this morning to erase the bearish losses in bullish fashion. This is part and parcel of the market’s zombie-walk rally protocol. After getting hit hard in the first part of the week last week and stumbling backward, much like a zombie taking potshots from a shotgun,... Read More

May 17, 2020

The major indexes did a little bit of the zombie walk this past week, posting higher highs on Monday before selling off hard on Tuesday and Wednesday. The final two days of the week were spent stumbling back to the upside as the NASDAQ Composite Index found support along its 20-dema. Volume was higher on an options expiration day, but below-average levels seen in the Tuesday and... Read More

May 13, 2020

I find that the process of only taking initial long entries on bona fide OWL set-ups and shunning breakouts usually puts me in the position of running out of things to buy as a market rally gets extended. As the environment goes from an initial target-rich state to a target-scarce state, that naturally causes one to back off on the long side. At that point you can just let the breakout buyers keep... Read More

May 10, 2020

The markets made history again this week when the fed funds futures moved into negative interest rate territory on Thursday. The market looked to me like it was ready for at least a pullback after Wednesday based on various divergences and the late-day weakness we saw for the second day in a row. But on Thursday all of this was overridden by what we might now consider QE to Infinity &... Read More

May 6, 2020

When you take one-part Infinite QE, one-part Good News at the Margin, mix them up in the market and set the algo switch to “BUY,” it’s not difficult for the market to rip a big rally right in everyone’s faces. And that’s why I keep long ideas in my back pocket at all times, right there with my short ideas, and then let the set-ups materialize as they will. This is the essence of the 360-degree... Read More

May 3, 2020

The zombie walk continues. Alternating bullish and bearish action in the indexes and, more importantly, individual stocks, remains the order of the day. Most notably, the strength we saw in semiconductors on Wednesday completely evaporated into a downside scramble on Thursday. This type of action has been the story of this environment which remains far from being a business-as-usual market. Other... Read More

April 29, 2020

The major market indexes are doing the standard zombie-walk higher, suffering one or two-day setbacks, but quickly regaining their balance and stumbling forward. The NASDAQ Composite Index leads the pack, helped along by the NASDAQ 100 Index which, believe it or not is now in positive price territory for the year. It posted a higher high on higher volume... Read More