GMI: +5; Signs of weakness; on sidelines

Things turned weak on Tuesday, and the GMI declined one, to +5.  While there were 300 new yearly highs in my universe of 4,000 stocks, only 32% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks, 24% of the S&P 500 stocks and 17% of the Dow 30 stocks advanced. Gmi1004_1 Significantly, the DIA and SPY indexes closed below their 30 day averages.  The QQQQ held.  Even worse, the DIA closed below its 30 week average, a major sign of weakness.  The market is not exhibiting any sustained trend, with the indexes closing above, then below their key moving averages.  Housing stocks remain in a down-trend, with interest rates rising.  With earnings season approaching, selected stocks are rising, hinting at good earnings to come.  Nevertheless, this is probably a good time to be mainly in cash on the sidelines. 

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GMI: +6; Strongest/weakest sectors

The GMI remains at +6, as the market continues to strengthen.  There were 332 new highs on Monday, the most since September 9.  Gmi1003 There were 183 stocks that hit a new high 10 days ago and closed higher Monday than 10 days earlier. Buying stocks at new highs 10 days ago has therefore been likely (69%) to have been profitable. The IBD Mutual Fund Index is now well above its 50 day average, indicating that growth stocks are rising.  More than one half  (52%) of the 4,000 stocks in my universe of stocks closed above their 10 week averages, and 32% are now in a short term up-trend.  29% of these stocks are now within 5% of their yearly highs and only 8% are near new lows.  The Dow 30 stocks remain the weakest stocks, with only 33% rising on Monday, compared with 58% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks and 48% of the S&P 500 stocks.  Monday was day two (U-2) of the QQQQ up-trend………………..

While there were 332 new highs yesterday, there was also a relatively large number (129) of new lows.  This suggests considerable variability in performance.  What sectors are  strong vs. weak?  Between 9/21-10/3 (since the QQQQ bottomed out) the following sectors rose the most:  Semiconductor-memory chips (+8.9%), Internet software and services (+8.4%), Apparel stores (+8.1%), General contractors (+7.6%) and copper (+7.3%).  The weakest were: Aluminum (-3.5%), Mortgage Investment (-3.3%), Nonmetallic Mineral Mining (-2.1%), Electronic Equipment (-1.9%), and Beverages-Brewers (-1.9%).  The strongest stocks in the strongest sector, semiconductor-memory chips, in descending order were:  LEXR, FLSH, MU, RMBS, ALSC, which were up 10%-32% during this 8 day period when the QQQQ rose 2.8%……………..

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GMI: +6; Indexes showing strength; Stocks I am watching; I-bonds

Well, things came through on Friday and the GMI is back to +6.  There were 272 new yearly highs and only 40 new lows in my universe of 4,000 stocks.  Gmi930_1 Almost one half (48%) of the stocks are above their 10 week averages and 30% are in a short term up-trend, up from 24% at the beginning of last week.  On Friday, 78% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks rose, 65% of the S&P 500 and 57% of the Dow 30 stocks.  The growing strength in the Nasdaq 100 stocks is evident in  the fact that 57% are now above their 30 day averages, up from a low of 28% on 9/22.  The Nasdaq may lead this market up.   We are now in day one (U-1) of the new QQQQ up-trend.

The WPM shows the broad reversal in the five indexes.Wpm930 All indexes are above their 30 day and 30 week moving averages.  Their component stocks also showed strength with 50-57% of the stocks closing above their 30 day averages.  Between 57-60% of the component s of all of the indexes but the Dow 30 (DIA, 43%) closed above their 30 week averages. The weakest stocks in the Dow include:  DD, WMT, MRK, AA, MMM, JNJ, DIS, PFE and GM–all well below their 30 week averages,  a key negative according to Weinstein’s stage analysis (see his excellent book, listed at right).

I closed out my shorts last week.  I remain very cautious until I see whether there is any follow-through this week.  Was last week’s strength merely end of quarter buying by the funds? I rarely see so many reversals in my indicators, which are designed to detect meaningful changes in trends.  I will need to see a few more up days for me to become confident enough to take on new long positions.  October has always been a difficult month, but October declines often set the stage for a good end-of-year rally. Stocks I am watching, some of which I own, include:  ADSK, CX, NSC, HTN, VLO, AAPL , ISRG and NX……………..

By the way, if you do not know about I-bonds, check them out here.  I use these U.S. government bonds for savings that I will not touch for a long time, instead of keeping the money in a bank.  I-bonds are protected against inflation and have been a great place to put my kids’ savings……….

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