Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Sunday, February 08, 2009
China ETF Funds Investment Focus: FXI, GXC, PGJ / Stock-Markets / Chinese Stock Market
China was, is and will be an important investor focus country. Three exchange traded funds are FXI (by Barclay's), GXC (by State Street) and PGJ (by Invesco/Powershares).
Let's see how they compare, and what one might decide about taking risk on China at this time.
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Sunday, February 08, 2009
Global Stock Markets Favour Stimulus Over Bad Economic Data / Stock-Markets / Global Stock Markets
Global stock markets shrugged off dire news on the US employment front, arguing that the gloomy data would hasten US lawmakers' passage of a stimulus package. After falling for four straight weeks and recording the worst performance of the major US indices for January on record, Wall Street reversed course on the back of a stimulus-induced rally.Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Financial Markets Analysis: Stocks Bounce, Where Next? / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
Stock Markets continued their strong rally on Friday from early week lows that had threatened to break below the recent tight trading range and target fresh bear market lows.
Where Next ?
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Saturday, February 07, 2009
A Confidence Crisis, Not a Money Crisis / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2009
“Though the life of a man be short of a hundred years, he gives himself enough anxiety as if he were to live a thousand.” --Ancient Chinese proverb
The crisis we keep hearing so much about, which formally began in 2007 and intensified in 2008, was at root a crisis in confidence. True, the credit crisis had its origins in the tight money policy of the Federal Reserve beginning in 2004 and continuing into 2007. So there was definitely a money/credit aspect to the crisis. But more than any single factor – and this has been especially true in the past few months – the crisis has been more about shattered confidence than a dearth of liquidity.
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Saturday, February 07, 2009
Financials XLF and Transports IYT Sectors Win the Day for Stock Indices / Stock-Markets / Stock Index Trading
Thursday night I wrote about how we had a stand off in the making with the Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF) and the iShares Dow Jones Transportation ETF (IYT) flashing strong positive divergences on their daily charts versus strong price resistance based on the proximity of the 20 and 50 day moving averages. I felt fairly confident the divergences would win out because it was the first time in quite a long time that both of these critically important sectors had those divergences and they did so compressed far below the 0 line. This is when positive divergences have the best chance of playing out in a bullish fashion.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Awaiting the Peak in the Stock Market Countertrend UpMove / Stock-Markets / Stock Index Trading
If nothing else, then the next few days will make or break the current upmove in the equity market. Either the advance will feed on itself in conjunction with -- and reaction to -- all of the government-generated news, programs, and monetary support designed to lift the economy out of its deep recession, or, alternatively, will reveal itself as a classic, sharp recovery rally that turns out to be a massive Bull Trap prior to another vicious downleg.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Stocks Bear Market Dow Theory Non-Confirmation Update / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
On November 21, 2007 the primary trend, in accordance to classical Dow theory, was confirmed as bearish. To date, nothing has occurred to invalidate that setup. According to Dow theory, once the primary trend is established, that trend must be considered intact until it is “authoritatively” reversed, which in this case would require a joint move by the averages back above their previous secondary high points. Since that has yet to occur, the primary trend must still be considered bearish.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Delusional Stock Market Ignores Fundamentals by Rallying on Bad U.S. Unemployment Data / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
U.S. Unemployment Rate rises to 7.6%. - The unemployment rate in the U.S. climbed to the highest level since 1992 in January and payrolls tumbled as the recession showed no sign of abating.
The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent in December, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly decline since December 1974, after dropping by 577,000 in the previous month.
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Saturday, February 07, 2009
Stock Market Blows Off Bad Unemployment News / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
The unemployment numbers were the worst in 35 years. Horrible news, right? Clearly, the economy is a shambles, right? What is the market's reaction? Why, a rally ensues, of course.
Conventional wisdom is that bad news will cause a market decline. However, when the market is so beaten down, bad news fails to have the same effect. The stock market is a forward looking animal. It does not live in the now, it focuses on the future. Based on Friday's action, the notion of a bottom forming is more plausible.
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Saturday, February 07, 2009
Stock Market Ends Week with Solid Gain / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
It was a very strong session for the indices and a terrific ending to the week, as the indices surged from the get-go, rallied all morning, backed off mid-afternoon, but came on into the close and closed in a very strong manner to end the week with a bang.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 06, 2009
From Bailouts to Boondoggles, Betting on a Stock Market ‘B-Wave' Rally / Stock-Markets / Investing 2009
Dueling Scenarios Revisited - The following commentary is a follow-up to http://www.greenfaucet.com/... First, again I would like to make clear that I do not consider myself a trader or credentialed technician (chartist) and I prefer to focus on the longer term. But, as I stated in the referenced commentary above which I wrote two weeks ago, it appears that one of two patterns is emerging, and depending on which one prevails, it could determine how you should position your portfolio over the next few years.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 06, 2009
Stock Markets Fail to Bounce, Food Prices Signalling Higher Commodity Prices / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
Yesterday, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose a greater-than-expected 626,000. Curiously, some commentators have downplayed the fact that claims are back to where they were more than 26 years ago because the labor pool is much larger than it was then.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 06, 2009
Stock, Commodities, Futures and Forex Markets Analysis 6th February 2009 / Stock-Markets / Futures Trading
The March NASDAQ 100 was higher overnight as it extends this week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI remain bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near-term. If March extends this week's rally, the reaction high crossing at 1256.25 is the next upside target. Closes below Monday's low crossing at 1153.50 would confirm that a short-term top has been posted while opening the door for a possible test of January's low crossing at 1132.00 later this winter.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 06, 2009
China Infrastructure $600 Billion Stimulus Windfall Profits for Investors / Stock-Markets / Chinese Stock Market
Two weeks ago I talked about the U.S. infrastructure spending that's soon going to hit the economy and how it will benefit a handful of companies.
Today, I'm going to talk about an even greater windfall for savvy investors. That is, investors who don't stick their heads in the sand.
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Friday, February 06, 2009
Stock Market Negative Start Gives Way to Positive Up-day / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
The markets actually had a positive up-day, although they started off very negatively.
The day started out with pre-market futures sharply lower. They gapped down and went sharply lower in the first 20-30 minutes and ended the decline at what turned out to be their session lows, holding 1200 support on the Nasdaq 100 and 820 on the S&P 500.
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Wall Street’s Bonus System Major Catalyst for Financial Crisis / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2009
Shah Gilani writes: In a report released last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli estimated that the securities industry granted its employees $18.4 billion in bonuses – a revelation that President Barack Obama characterized as “shameful.”
Not surprisingly, the audacity of The Street's greed is far more shameful than people realize, because the total payout was actually much higher than the report found.
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Stocks Bear Market Will Run into 2012 Targeting S&P 500 / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
The S&P had an impressive move up off the lows yesterday…however, as the Elliott Wave counts will suggest, market action subsequent to the bounce over the coming few days is important for validating either the bullish or bearish scenario.
The CBOE Options Equity Put/Call Ratio Index is shown below, with the S&P 500 Index in the background and accompanying full stochastics shown below. For this chart, the %K rising above the %D indicates broad stock market weakness, while falling beneath the %D indicates broad stock market strength. At present, the %K is above the %D, indicating broad market weakness.
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Inactive Obama Leads Stock Market Indices Lower / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2009
The Dow Jones fell below 8,000 again yesterday after dodgy earnings from Kraft, Sara-Lee and Costco (are people really that cash strapped that they are cutting back on basics?) and expectations of uber weak January retail and chain stores sales numbers. Tech bellwether Cisco warned on revenues overnight.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Which Way Will the Stock Market Break, Bull or Bear? / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
When the Dow Jones Industrial Index broke below the lower rising trendline of the rising wedge as shown in the chart above, it gave a serious signal. (Chart courtesy Bigcharts.com)Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Dow Jones Gives It all Back in Dangerous Volatile Trading Session / Stock-Markets / Stock Index Trading
So much for progress. After a rather impressive move yesterday, the DJIA faltered and fell below 8000 once again. The index is sitting just at support. Once again, it fell below the trendline created in January (see the chart below).Read full article... Read full article...