Written by Gary
Opening Market Commentary For 01-20-2015
Premarkets were up +0.6% until WTI oil started to fall, but the futures only fell to +0.3% by the opening. Markets opened up and withing several minutes began to slide downward on moderate to heavy volume.
By 10 am the fall had slowed and there technical signs of a reversal in the making.
Whether or not the market reverses in kind of a moot point as the overwhelming trend now seems to be down. How much down, that is another story, but I am not expecting a waterfall. I do expect oil to descend to the 40 level and some knowledgeable sources now say 25 is not an unrealistic entry point.
Our medium term indicators are leaning towards sell portfolio of non-performers at the opening and the session market direction meter is 97 % bearish. (Traders are enjoying the volatility.) We remain mostly conservatively bullish, neutral in other words. Right now now I am getting very concerned any downtrend could get very aggressive in the short-term and any volatility may also promote sudden reversals. The SP500 MACD has turned down, but remains below zero at -9.02. I would advise caution in taking any position during this uncertain period and I hope you have returned your ‘dogs’ to the pound.
Having some cash on hand now is not a bad strategy as market changes are happening everyday. As of now, I do not see any leading indicators that are warnings of a ‘long-term’ reversal in the near-term. There may be one later in 2015, but any market fluctuations we see now are more of a internal market rectification than a bear market.
Investing.com members’ sentiments are 36 % Bearish. (Lowest it has been in months.)
CNN’s Fear & Greed Index is 26. Above 50 = greed, below 50 = fear.(Chart Here)
Investors Intelligence sets the breath at 49.2 % bullish with the status at Bear Confirmed. (Chart Here ) I expect a market reversal at or before ~25.0 should the markets start to descend.
StockChart.com Overbought / Oversold Index ($NYMO) is at -2.44. (Chart Here) But anything below -30 / -40 is a concern of going deeper. Oversold conditions on the NYSE McClellan Oscillator usually bounce back at anything over -50 and reverse after reaching +40 oversold.
This $NYA200R chart below is the percentage of stocks above the 200 DMA and is always a good statistic to follow. It can depict a trend of declining equities which is always troubling, especially when it drops below 60% – 55%. Dropping below 40%-35% signals serious continuing weakness and falling averages.
StockChart.com NYSE % of stocks above 200 DMA Index ($NYA200R) is at 48.41 %. (Chart Here) The next support is ~37.00, ~25.00 and ~15.00 below that. December, 2011 was the last time we saw numbers in the 20’s.
Many indicators are showing markets leveling off or rounding indicating market softness that could lead to lower values and investor’s should watch carefully. The SP500 MACD, $BPNYA, $BPSPX, $TNX and the $NYA all show rounding off the tops which in the past has lead to a downturn.
Also, the SP500 10 DMA has crossed over the 20 DMA (12-11-14) always indicating a ‘correction’ underway. The 50,100, 145 and 200 DMA are all going flat which is never a good omen for a continuing bull run. Watch for the 50 DMA to cross over the 100,145 and 200 DMA to indicate how deep the correction will be.
These are not ‘leading’ indicators as such, but depicting ‘trends’ in the making showing data accumulated over the past several months, but needs to be watched.
StockChart.com NYSE Bullish Percent Index ($BPNYA) is at 53.44. (Chart Here) Next stop down is ~57, then ~44, below that is where we will most likely see the markets crash.
StockChart.com S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index ($BPSPX) is at 62.40. (Chart Here) In support zone and rising. ~62, ~57, ~45 at which the markets are in a full-blown correction.
StockChart.com 10 Year Treasury Note Yield Index ($TNX) is at 17.83. (Chart Here) The Stock Market Is Just Noticing What The Bond Market Has Known For Months
StockChart.com Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) is at 69.13. (Chart Here)
Chris Ciovacco says, “As long as the consumer discretionary ETF (NYSEARCA:XLY) holds above [66.88], all things being equal, it is a good sign for stocks and the U.S. economy.” This chart clearly shows that dropping below 65.00 / 62.75 (and staying there) should be of a great concern to bullish investors.
StockChart.com NYSE Composite (Liquidity) Index ($NYA) is at 10,651. (Chart Here) Markets move inverse to institutional selling and this NYA Index is followed by Institutional Investors. It is a very important index for investors to watch. We are above the support (10,301) but is this a test of the next resistance (triple top) at ~11,000 to 11,108, watch to see if these numbers decline back down. Next stop down is 10600, 9750, then 9250, and 8500.
It is still possible that Mr. Market is not through playing with the averages and even newer historical highs are a distinct possibility. Historically, accordingly to Eric Parnell, “major bull markets have almost never reached their final peak in a sideways grinding pattern. Instead, they have almost always peaked with flourish including one final crescendo toward a new all-time high before finally rolling over and succumbing to the forces of the new bear market”.
A lot of notable analysts are starting to tout the prospect of bearish scenarios and should be paid attention to. But that does not mean to start shorting and general selling – not just now at least.
Greenspan Throws a Wet Blanket on Hopes for Growth Breakout
Just when you thought the U.S. economy was roaring back to health, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is here to tell you otherwise.
“The United States is doing better than anybody else, but we’re still not doing all that well,” Greenspan, 88, said today (12-30-2014) in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” with Betty Liu. “We still have a very sluggish economy.”
Greenspan said the economy won’t fully recover until American companies invest more in productive assets and the housing market bounces back.
“Almost all of the weakness in the last four, five, six years has been in long-lived investments” in capital goods and real estate, Greenspan said. “Until these pick up, we’re not going to get the kind of vibrant growth that everyone is hoping for.”
The longer 6 month outlook is now 50-50 sell and will remain somewhat bearish until we can see what the effects are from the oil slide, the Euro collision with Greece and the U.S. Fed possibly triggering a deflationary slide. The markets are at a crossroad of sorts, indecision of which way to go, with a bias to the downside. Investors should employ the first thing one learns while in a foxhole; keep their head down.
Bill Gross wrote recently that the “Good Times Are Over” may be a bit premature, because looking out a year ahead, there is no recession foreseen for the next 12 months. Mr. Gross goes on to say, “When the year is done, there will be minus signs in front of returns for many asset classes,” Gross, 70, wrote in the outlook. “The good times are over.”
ECRI Recession Watch: Weekly Update
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The DOW at 10:15 is at 17458 down 54 or -0.32%. (Historical High 18,103.45)
The SP500 is at 2016 down 4 or -0.19%. (Historical High 2,093.55)
SPY is at 201.36 down 0.24 or -0.12%.
The $RUT is at 1169 down 8 or -0.65%.
NASDAQ is at 4633 down 2 or -0.04%. (Historical High 5132.52)
NASDAQ 100 is at 4146 up 5 or 0.12%.
How the Popular ‘VIX’ Gauge Works
$VIX ‘Fear Index’ is at 20.92 down 0.05 or -0.24%. Bullish to Neutral Movement
(Follow Real Time Market Averages at end of this article)
The longer trend is up, the past months trend is net negative, the past 5 sessions have been net negative and the current bias is negative.
Brent crude falls below $50 as Goldman cuts outlook
WTI oil is trading between 48.82 (resistance) and 46.66 (support) today. The support floor is ~46.70, below that and we are in free fall again. The Iranians say they are comfortable with $25 and I’ll bet the Saudi’s will do everything possible to make it painful for them. The session bias is negative and is currently trading up at 46.92. (Chart Here)
Brent Crude is trading between 49.94 (resistance) and 47.78 (support) today. The session bias is negative and is currently trading up at 48.23. (Chart Here)
The general consensus is that gold prices will actually fall in the next twelve months (Sept to Aug. 2015). Goldman Sachs estimates that gold will fall to $1,050 an ounce, a drop of nearly 19%.
Gold rose from 1272.49 earlier to 1294.33 and is currently trading down at 1289.10. The current intra-session trend is elevated and sideways. (Chart Here)
Dr. Copper is at 2.574 falling from 2.614 earlier. (Chart Here)
The Consequences Of A Strengthening U.S. Dollar
Will 2015 be the Year of the Greenback?
The US dollar is trading between 93.16 (highest since 2003 and ~92 is a very substantial resistance with 92.53 representing a triple top) and 92.67 and is currently trading up at 93.09, the bias is currently elevated, volatile and sideways. (Chart Here)
Resistance made in Aug., 2013 (~85.00) has been broken and now is support. This support has gotten much stronger since August, 2014 and isn’t likely to fall easily. The current level (~91 / 92) is the resistance (substantial) and could be a triple top of sorts. Historical chart Here.
The markets are still susceptible to climbing on ‘Bernankellen’ vapor, use caution!
“Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation inequities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.” – Warren Buffett
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Real Time Market Numbers
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Written by Gary