Tag Archives: S&P 500

[No wonder you are confused!] Several technical and fundamental indicators have flashed caution to no avail and this has given way to an uncomfortable tension beneath the surface as investors try to find answers while keeping pace with performance. Below are 10 mixed signals about the near-term direction and theme of the markets.

There continues to be an uncanny relationship between a company’s market capitalization and year-to-date returns. The largest 500 stocks in the Russell 3000 are up an average of 8.5% this year, while the smallest 500 are down an average of -6.1%. What is driving this incredibly strong relationship between market cap and return?

The average U.S. stock is DOWN over 1% thus far in 2014. How can that be when we’re being told almost daily that the Dow and S&P 500 are hitting new all-time highs? The answer is likely to surprise you.

Market historians will recall the term “Nifty 50” originated in the 1960’s bull market to describe 50 wildly popular large-cap stocks at the time. Interestingly, some of the same names from that list are leading the market higher today. The question for investors, of course, is what this selective advance means for the markets going forward.

The current U.S. equity market has something for everyone. Whether you are bullish or bearish, there is no shortage of indicators or charts you can use to support your thesis. Let’s run through both the Bull and the Bear case here. In the spirit of Confirmation Bias, feel free to skip ahead to the part that best supports your current positioning.

Where do we go from here? The trend is up in the broad markets (above 200MA and Advance/Decline line is at all-time highs) and the S&P 500 is on the verge of a breaking through resistance at 1929. Why 1929? What would it mean if it did?

Are we near the end of one of history's great stock market rallies? I don't think so. Yes, prices are in the upper half of their long-term trends, but it's not what you might call "scary-overvalued." There is still plenty of room on the upside before historical precedents are violated. Let me explain further.

A big short term move in both stocks and gold is probably fairly imminent as periods of extremely low volatility like we are currently experiencing are invariably followed by periods of very high volatility that are brought about by a trigger event of some sort. There will probably be an advance warning somewhere, in a corner of the markets that perhaps isn't widely watched...[so] keep a close eye on these 12 inter-market signals.

Should markets around the world really care about what the Nikkei 225 Index does? The Power of the Pattern suggests "yes"! Here's why.

When Staple sector (i.e. defensive) stocks started to reflect greater relative strength than Discretionary sector stocks back in 2000 and again in 2007, the S&P 500 began to fall dramatically in the ensuing months. That's happening again. Can a collapse of the S&P 500 be far behind?