Tag Archives: S&P 500

While the stock market is the only game in town - for now - stocks will not continue to out perform all other asset classes indefinitely. Eventually either bonds and gold will rally or stocks will crash very hard. It is one, the other, or even more likely a mixture of both.

We have NEVER been this overextended above this line at any point in the last 20 years. Indeed, if you compare where the S&P 500 is relative to this line, we're even MORE overbought that we were going into the 2007 peak at the top of the housing bubble.

Over the past 6 years, when the yield on high yield bonds (junk bonds) broke above resistance of bullish falling wedges, the S&P 500 ended up declining between 17% & 50%. Will it be different this time?

The Dow is just a "pinch away" from a series of resistance lines, ranging from 13 years to 31 years, that have marked important emotional highs & lows in the past suggesting that once the Dow reaches 16,000 or so it will correct.

The S&P 500 is trading at near record high levels on the back of liquidity glut in the financial system. I mention the liquidity factor because all other fundamental factors do not support current levels and valuations.

Dr. Copper, as it is affectionately known, has been a longstanding barometer of economic growth and historically has shown a high positive correlation to the S&P 500. However, over the past several quarters there has been an increasingly large disconnect between the performance of major indices and the price of copper. With copper hitting YTD lows it suggests that there is less demand and that growth is slowing down and this, in turn, forecasts lower levels for the S&P 500. Words: 420

Changes in economic indicators, copper and other commodity prices and stock market trends are covered in this month's market intelligence infographic.

A lot has been made of strong stock market returns around the world so far this year, but adjusting for currency moves, the returns look a little less flattering. The U.S. dollar is up nearly 4% year to date, while currencies like the Japanese yen, the British pound and the euro are all down. Below is a look at the year-to-date stock market performance of 21 major countries around the world. For each country, we highlight its 2013 performance in local currency vs. U.S. dollar adjusted terms.

The average S&P 500 stock is currently 4.33% above its 50-day, which is a very high reading. The S&P 500 itself is trading 3.5% above its 50-day. Below is a list of the 35 S&P 500 stocks that are currently trading the farthest above their 50-days and a list of the 35 that are the farthest below.

My portfolio version of Benjamin Graham’s time- tested strategy for defensive investors has has only trailed the markets in 3 of the last 12 years and has dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 during that period realizing a 19% (annualized) return vs. only 2% (annualized) for the S&P 500. Let's take a look at the method and this year's group of Graham stocks. Words: 790