April’s struggles have continued through much of May as the S&P 500 and other major indices have been unable to regain their strength. Fundamental issues such as the April employment report miss and the return of default fears for Greece have sidelined buyers for now. The lack of buying has resulted in the flattening of [...]
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spent much of April bouncing between the 15 and 20 levels as we witnessed an increase in the trading volatility and uncertainty in the market. This serves as a great opportunity to talk about the difference between a spike in volatility and a shift in the trend. Typically, spikes in [...]
Short selling is a strategy used by traders to profit from a stock dropping in price. A short seller borrows shares of a stock today, immediately sells them, and then hopes to buy them back at a future date, hopefully at a lower price, in order to return them to the entity that lent them [...]
Investors love a breakout. There’s a feel of confidence that comes with buying a stock or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that is making a new 3-, 6- or 12-month high. For this reason, we love to track various measures of new highs to indicate the strength of a trend. As with many market-based situations , there [...]
One of the best-known market “strategies” is the approach that follows the catchy saying of “Sell in May and Go Away”. Perhaps due to its simplicity, the rule has traction among investors as one ofthe Golden Rules to follow. It is likely that you will hear clients asking about your thoughts on this strategy, given the [...]
The major market indices moved back above their respective 50-day moving averages last week, indicating that the short-term action is likely to move stocks back to their April highs. As of Friday, 59 percent of the copmpanies in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their respective 50-day moving averages, compared to only 39 percent [...]
With the market having pulled back almost 5% from its April 2 highs, investors are looking at the recent weakness as a pause that refreshes as stocks appear to be revving up for a run back to their highs. With earnings besting analysts’ recommendations and some technical support beginning to show signs of building, now [...]
The CBOE Volatility Index, better known as the “Fear Index” has been trading higher over the last few weeks as investors are starting to feel as though the short-term market direction is due for a change. After touching below the 15 level in late-March, the VIX has been trending higher as the S&P 500 has [...]
We’re starting to see a shift in the momentum of the market as the S&P 500 and other major indices are consolidating after a strong beginning of the year may have some traders looking to lock in profits ahead of what has become a seasonally weak week of trading. To date, the S&P 500 is [...]
Earlier this week I wrote about the Golden Cross pattern currently forming on the S&P 500 Index (Click here to read A Golden Opportunity for the S&P 500 on the Horizon). This bullish pattern, when completed, has some impressive bullish implications for the market, but aside from investing in an index-based exchange traded fund (ETF), [...]