GMI: +6; VTIV- cup with handle?

The GMI cllimbed to a maximum +6 on Tuesday as the QQQQ regained strength.  It looks like we may not get a head and shoulders top in that index.  Gmi0314 There were 250 new 52 week highs and 62% of stocks closed above their 10 week averages.  33% of the 4,000 stocks in my universe are now in a short term up trend and 33% are within 5% of a new high.  Between 83-88% of the stocks in the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500 and Dow 30 indexes climbed on Tuesday.  Tuesday was the first day in the new short term up trend in the QQQQ……..

One of the more reliable technical patterns for growth stocks is the cup with handle pattern made famous by William O’Neil, publisher of IBD.  A few weeks ago I bought AX (now NYX) on a cup with handle break out.  Well today I bought VTIV because it also looks like a cup with handle break out.  Vtiv_2 Note the prior up trend before the cup was formed,  and the huge volume this week as the pivot point at the top of the handle was exceeded.  VTIV had a recent quarterly increase in earnings of + 157% and a PE around 16.  Given this technical pattern and the great fundamentals, I thought it was worth taking a chance on VTIV.  Time will tell if this represents a major buying opportunity.

Please send your comments to:  silentknight@wishingwealthblog.com.

GMI: +3; Dow stocks strong, growth stocks weak; watch your neck

The GMI weakened on Friday to +3.  I was pretty worn down by the large drops in growth stocks last week.  Gmi0310_1 I did not realize until this weekend that the IBD growth mutual fund index has been below its 50 day average for much of last week.  So subtract one point from the GMI for each day last week.  The bottom line is that if the growth mutual fund managers cannot do well buying growth stocks, neither can I.  Friday was the fourth day in the short term decline in the QQQQ.  Still, 67% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks advanced, along with 82% of the S&P 500 stocks and 93% of the Dow 30 stocks.  The GMI-S rose a little to 38, although all of the QQQQ indicators remain negative.  The small and mid cap stocks had been a ray of sunshine in this market.  But as the WPM shows, these stocks weakened last week.  Wpm0310 The QQQQ, MDY and IJR indexes all closed below their 30 day averages, as did the majority of their component stocks.  Only the DIA stocks strengthened last week.  Nevertheless, all five indexes and their component stocks remained above their longer term 30 week averages.  A market like this is so divided and trendless, that it may be better to be on the sidelines.  But with everyone pointing out the head and shoulders top in the QQQQ, we could be fooled by a surprise rally in the tech stocks this week.  We just shouldn’t stick our necks out too far.

Please send your comments to:  silentknight@wishingwealthblog.com.

GMI: +5; The rally people love to hate

The GMI remains at +5, with only the Daily QQQQ Index still negative. There were 243 yearly highs Gmi0224in my universe of 4,000 stocks and 139 successful 10 day new highs (stocks that hit a new high ten days ago and that closed higher on Friday than they did 10 days earlier).    69% of stocks closed above their 10 week averages and 48% are in a short term up trend.  A full one third of stocks are within 5% of their 52 week highs. 60% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks rose on Friday, along with 56% of the S&P 500 stocks and 53% of the Dow 30 stocks.  Friday was the fifteenth day in the QQQQ short term down trend (D-15).  But the MACD is very close to reversing, suggesting underlying strength in this index.

The WPM shows the weak performance of the Nasdaq 100 stocks relative to the other four indexes. Wpm0224 Only the QQQQ closed below its 30 day average and only 49% of its component stocks closed above their 30 day averages. In contrast, 60-68% of the components of the other four indexes closed above their 30 day averages.  All five indexes closed above their longer term 30 week averages and almost 70% of the components of all indexes but the Nasdaq 100 (59%) closed above their 30 week averages.  The midcap stocks appear to be most likely to be in short and long term up trends……..

The reluctance of the pundits to accept the recent up trends in most of the indexes is striking and makes me think that this is the rally that people love to hate.  Four of the five indexes reviewed above are in short term up trends and very close to their yearly highs. And even the Nasdaq 100 remains in a longer term up trend with the rest of the indexes.  So why has the sentiment of investment newsletters become more bearish in the past few weeks?  According to IBD, the Investors Intelligence reading is now 45.3% bullish and 29.5% bearish.  In contrast, more than 60% were bullish in early January when this rally began and only about 20% were bearish.  Do the newsletter writers actually become less bullish as the market rises?  I thought sentiment was typically a contrary indicator with people being most bullish at the top, after a rise.  Furthermore, the NYSE advance/decline line keeps hitting recovery highs and the put/call ratio is a relatively high .76.  Maybe everyone is just spooked by the semi-inverted yield curve and the threat of terrorism and behave as if the economy and the market must swoon.  I just hate to denigrate this market when there appears to be so much agreement that it must decline–even in the face of the considerable technical evidence to the contrary……….

 

Please send your comments to:  silentknight@wishingwealthblog.com.