[PLUS] Weekly Momentum Report & Takeaways

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Check out this week's Momentum Report, our weekly summation of all the major indexes at a Macro, International, Sector, and Industry Group level.

By analyzing the short-term data in these reports, we get a more tactical view of the current state of markets. This information then helps us put near-term developments into the context of the big picture and provides insights regarding the structural trends at play.

Let's jump right into it with some of the major takeaways from this week's report:

* ASC Plus Members can access the Momentum Report by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Macro Universe:

• Our Macro universe performance was mixed again this week as only 55% of our list closed higher with a median return of 0.38%.
• The biggest winner of the week was the 10-Year Yield $TNX which gained 4.12%.
• Meanwhile, this week's biggest laggard was the VIX index $VIX, with a massive loss of -11.46%.
  • Higher rates and suppressed volatility support the new risk-on tone we've seen markets exude in recent weeks.
• Lumber $LB was also a big loser on the week with a loss of -11.20%.
• Several US Large-Cap Growth indices finished the week at all-time highs.
• Dow Jones Industrials $DJI posted a bullish reversal this week.
  • On the flip side, we saw a handful of bearish reversals coming from the Fixed Income arena including $TLT, $IEI, $AGG, and $ELD.
• 60% of the assets on our macro list are in bullish momentum regimes.
• 68% of the assets on our macro list are within 5% of their 52-week highs.
• 32% of the assets on this list posted a new 4-week high and 17% made fresh 52-week highs on the week.

International Universe:

• International equities' performance was positive this week with 69% of our list closing higher with a median return of 0.91%.
• The biggest winner of the week was Argentina $ARGT which gained 4.80%.
• Nigeria $NGE is showing further weakness, as it was the biggest loser this week, dropping -5.85%.
• But in general, we saw improvement across our international universe as the percentage of assets within 5% of their 52-week highs ticked higher and is now at 55%.
• Momentum remains constructive from a structural perspective, as 64% of the ETFs on our list are still in bullish regimes.
• 40% of the assets on this list posted new 4-week highs, while 15% made fresh 52-week highs on the week. 
  • Breadth is expanding in our international equity universe.

US Sector Universe:

• Our US sector universe saw continued strength again this week, as 81% of our list closed higher, with a median return of 0.62%.
• The biggest winner of the week was Large-Cap Financials $XLF, which gained 3.67%.
• Meanwhile, the worst-performer of the week was Small-Cap Energy, which fell by -2.96%.
• Many of the Large-Cap and Equal Weight Large-Cap sectors finished the week at all-time highs.
• Momentum remains positive from a structural perspective, as 74% of the assets on our list are in bullish regimes.
• 60% of our list made new 4-week highs, which is the highest reading we’ve seen since May of this year.

• Mid-Cap Financials and Mid-Cap Telecommunications both posted bullish reversals this week.
• Leadership continues to be with the large-caps sectors, but we're seeing participation begin to expand as we move down the cap scale.

US Industry Universe:

• Our Industry universe performance was mixed this week, as only 54% of our list closed higher, with a median return of 0.36%.
• Regional Banks $KRE were this week's big winner, gaining 4.97%.
• The biggest laggard was Gold Miners $GDX, with a loss of -4.81%. No surprise there...
• Regional Banks and Community Banks $QABA both posted bullish reversals.
• Meanwhile, Oil Services $OIH had a bearish reversal week.
  • This speaks to the continued mixed signals the market is sending us.
• The percentage of our list in bullish momentum regimes was more or less unchanged this week and currently sits at a reading of 63%.
• We saw an uptick in assets that are within 5% of their 52-week highs though. This reading is now back up to 43%.
• 28% of our list made new 4-week highs, and 17% made new 4-week lows.
  • Internals remain a mixed bag but we've seen improvement in recent weeks. Bulls need to keep seeing it.

That's it for this week's highlights!