GMI: 0; GMI-R: 0; 14th day of QQQQ down-trend; QID up 13%; CPST

The GMI and GMI-R remain at zero each.  There were 75 new highs and 526 new lows in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Monday.  Monday was the 14th day of the current QQQQ down-trend.  During that time the QQQQ has declined 6.9% and the QID has advanced by 13.4%.  The QID is a wonderful way for me to make money as the Nasdaq 100 index declines.  One can even buy call options on QID or write covered calls on it. In the midst of this decline it is amazing how well Judy’s pick, CPST, has held up.  CPST is up 21% during this 14 day QQQQ decline.

GMI: 0; GMI-R: 0; IBD100 stocks outperform other stocks by 4 to 5 times!

The GMI and GMI-R are both zero.  The last time the GMI was zero was March 24 at the end of that decline in the QQQQ. That decline lasted 55 days.  The subsequent up-trend that ended in June lasted 54 days.The current QQQQ decline is only in its13th day and may therefore have longer to go. There were 44 new highs and 533 new lows in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Friday.  The last time there were more than 500 new lows was on March 17.  Only 9% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks closed on Friday above their 30 day averages. 

Nevertheless, there is some evidence that we may be near a bottom or at least a bounce.  The Worden T2108 indicator is now at 15%, a level where some past declines have ended.  In addition, according to IBD, the Investors Intelligence poll shows more bears than bulls, (39% vs. 34%) a rare occurrence indicative of the extreme bearishness of market letter writers that is typical near the bottom of declines….

I took a look at the performance of the stocks on the IBD100 list published on June 2. These are stocks that IBD analysts say are the strongest growth stocks in the market.  The list changes each Monday as weak stocks are deleted.  I often trade the IBD100 stocks and was curious as to how they have performed during the current decline. I was amazed to find that since their close on May 30 (the Friday close before this list was published) 51% of the stocks closed higher last Friday than they did on May 30.  Furthermore, 14% of the 100 stocks were up more than 10% and 5% were up more than 20%.  In the same time period, only 9% of the Nasdaq100 stocks advanced, as did 12% of the S&P 500 stocks and none of the Dow 30 stocks.  Clearly, during the current decline the odds of making money on the long side in the IBD100 stocks was 4 to 5 times greater than in the stocks represented by these other major market indexes.  Maybe those folks at IBD really do have a winning stock picking strategy!

In the meantime, I remain short the QQQQ through the QID, in cash, or hedged with covered calls on a few IBD100 stocks, as I wait for this decline to play itself out.

GMI: 1; GMI-R: 1; GMI keeps me on right side of decline again

The GMI and GMI-R are both 1.  These indicators have kept me out of a major decline again.  I started going to cash and short around June 10. (Check out my posts from June 10th on.)   I hope my readers also have fared as well.  I own QID and some calls on it.  It is so nice to have my account balances go up when the market falls!  The key is to wait for a real up-turn before reversing course again.