Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Stock Market Set To Surprise

Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2010 Mar 29, 2010 - 12:43 PM GMT

By: Captain_Hook

Stock-Markets

Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleWithin the space of 24-hours we discover the Fed is still scared stiff (of deflation), the ECB is bailing out Greece (because deflation is already occurring), and the Japanese are doubling recent monetization efforts (because they have been deflating for decades), all pointing to a continuation of a highly accommodative stimulus disposition world wide. This is a large part of the reason stocks are enjoying a record advance, where now we also know why bonds look precarious moving forward, with US Treasuries center stage given a breakout from long-term resistance (see Figure 2) is in the making.


Here, it appears the reason this will be occurring is not just due to exploding government deficits; but also, continued strength in stocks aided by bearish speculators who don’t seem to be able to get enough puts in their portfolios as well.

The following is commentary that originally appeared at Treasure Chests for the benefit of subscribers on Thursday, March 18th, 2010.

Just give these people a reason to buy more puts and they will, with a constant flow of bad news and other reasons (historical, technical, etc.) to speculate on a top in stocks. For this reason then, we would not be surprised if bearish speculators / hedgers buy more index puts next month (for the April cycle), with the reason being they decided to fade the rally (which is really a squeeze) into the March expiry, viewing it as a repeat of year 2000 timing. As you know from previous discussions on the subject, such an outcome would take us into a potential Presidential Cycle mid-term timing top in April, along with bearing an interesting parallel to the top in stocks that ended the post crash bounce in 1930. If this is not the case, stocks are blowing-off right into options expiry on Friday, as anticipated; raising the possibility the post crash bounce ends prior to the mid-term Presidential Cycle target next month.

Of course if the market is nothing more than a faulty and fraudulent casino these days however, which happens to be the case, largely controlled by the betting practices of delusional speculators forced to ‘play the game’ because all other employment is being exported to cheaper jurisdictions, then shouldn’t this post crash bounce end when nobody is expecting it, making a top next month just as unlikely given many will be betting on such an outcome as well. While only the shadow knows for sure at this point, from our perspective, we will not guess in these matters. No, we will watch put / call ratios and other sentiment gauges to aid us in assessing probabilities in this regard and act on this analysis in a logical fashion. As you will see below, right now, with open interest put / call ratios for tech stocks (NDX, QQQQ, etc.) so high, the word remains up into next month. (See Figure 1)

Figure 1


 
That is to say, with the open interest put / call ratio for both big (see above) and small (see below) NASDAQ traders so high running right into expiry this month it’s unlikely they will decline enough within the space of a month (the April cycle) to sponsor a turn from up to down within their respective indexes, creating a likelihood stocks could even remain firm into May. What’s more, if the technical message in the monthly NASDAQ / Dow Ratio (see Figure 2) plot is correct, where RSI has broken out of a massive diamond, successfully tested that breakout, and is now poised to head meaningfully higher, then in what would be a surprise to most, further gains in stocks would be of the mania variety, to some degree re-entering bubble measures indicated on the chart attached directly above. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2


 
And while unlikely to reach ‘extreme bubble’ dimensions within the present sequence, as this has never occurred previously within the same generation, still, it appears some degree of bubble dynamics will need to be experienced in coming days to finally discourage bearish speculators enough to stop buying these index puts, which will make the job of identifying a top accurately somewhat more daunting. Now, with this knowledge, and assuming our suspicions are confirmed next month, we can speak of the S&P 500 (SPX) reaching trajectories in the 1300 to 1400 range, which should blow a few circuit breakers in the brains of the bears. Of course the larger process should also see the put / call ratio for the SPX (and SPY, OEX, etc.) generally continue to work lower during this period as well, where when NASDAQ measures do the same on a lasting basis, the post crash bounce from last year will finally have exhausted itself. (See Figure 3)

Figure 3


 
So please, just because the market generates bullish signals by default, which is the fault of bearish speculators / hedgers attempting to capitalize on collapse, like the Dow Theory confirmation signal yesterday, don’t go believing any foolish talk the stock market is in a new bull market, or any other hair-brained theory you may hear. The reason stocks will rise here is because stubborn bearish speculators will create their own self-fulfilling prophecy (their biggest fear), where increasing put / call ratios combined with all the money coming out bonds will need to find a home, and at the beginning that home will be in the broad measures of stocks. (i.e. this is why the Dow / Gold Ratio and others of this variety are breaking out higher.) And later on, this money will increasingly flow into precious metals. Right now precious metal share speculators remain overly optimistic, a usual condition for these people, which accounts for the inferior performance of gold stocks against the broads. (See Figure 4)

Figure 4


 
What’s more, this also accounts for their lack luster performance against gold too, where as you can see below, speculators have been far less optimistic about prospects for the metals themselves. So how should the pattern for precious metals develop in coming weeks? Next week, a post expiry week, should see the broads weaken, but not fall apart if our analysis above holds any water. (i.e. potentially filling the gap on the SPX at 1120.) This should have the effect of triggering weakness in precious metals too, which is being telegraphed by the outside down week gold had last week. So don’t think GATA going to see the CFTC will send prices soaring, although I would be a buyer on weakness associated with a reaction to selling in the broads next week none the less. (See Figure 5)

Figure 5


 
This would put you in position to enjoy a nice surprise during the next week, one of the strongest of the year from a seasonal perspective. So what about money supply growth in the larger equation given it’s falling off a cliff, making bullish prognostications somewhat counter-intuitive? Again, in case you missed it, it’s all the money coming out of bonds looking for a new home that will provide the liquidity. And it's the bearish stock market speculators fuelling a squeeze higher that will enable such a sequence. When this notion first crossed my mind, which was sometime back, while being the only logical outcome (aside from paying down debt [which won’t happen]) when thinking about it, still, it was difficult to swallow given I though historical precedents associated with the stock market would not allow for such an outcome.

Why was this thinking insufficient? Because this is minimally a Grand Super-Cycle Degree event (the 1929 to 31 crash was only Super Cycle Degree), which means the post crash bounce can go even higher than in 1930. Why is this? Because, as alluded to previously, prospects moving forward are so dire (worse than in the 30's), and we as a society are so spoiled (and wishing to maintain this condition), that those who contemplate such things remain compelled to attempt preserving their lifestyles, which is why they buy puts.

And believe it or not, along with a good dose of greed for some, it’s as simple as that.

See you next week, where we will discuss this further, as well as implications for the downside later on as well.

Good investing all.

By Captain Hook

http://www.treasurechestsinfo.com/

Treasure Chests is a market timing service specializing in value-based position trading in the precious metals and equity markets with an orientation geared to identifying intermediate-term swing trading opportunities. Specific opportunities are identified utilizing a combination of fundamental, technical, and inter-market analysis. This style of investing has proven very successful for wealthy and sophisticated investors, as it reduces risk and enhances returns when the methodology is applied effectively. Those interested in discovering more about how the strategies described above can enhance your wealth should visit our web site at Treasure Chests

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilizing methods believed reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Comments within the text should not be construed as specific recommendations to buy or sell securities. Individuals should consult with their broker and personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities, as we are not registered brokers or advisors. Certain statements included herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" with the meaning of certain securities legislative measures. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the above mentioned companies, and / or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Do your own due diligence.

Copyright © 2010 treasurechests.info Inc. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on these pages are copyrighted by treasurechests.info Inc. No part of these pages, either text or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Therefore, reproduction, modification, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, for reasons other than personal use, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

Captain Hook Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in