[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:

• There was widespread weakness in our macro universe again this week as 77% of our list closed lower with a median return of -0.53%.
• Lumber $LB was the big winner, closing out the week with more than a 24% gain and registering a fresh 4-week high in the process.
• The biggest loser this week was Silver $SI, with a loss of -6.54%.
• We saw another 2% drop in the percentage of assets on our list that are within 5% of their 52-week highs (from 62% down to 60%).
• 32% of our list made new 4-week lows but only 6% made fresh 13-week lows.
• 64% of our macro universe closed lower than their prior week's lows.
• Lumber booked the only bullish reversal.
• Meanwhile, we saw bearish reversals from bonds, including the 10-Year Note, 3-7 Year Treasuries $IEI, and Emerging Bonds $EMB.
• The number of assets on our macro list in bullish momentum regimes are currently at year-to-date lows with a reading of 53%.

International Universe:

• International Equities experienced more pressure this week, with 85% of our list closing lower with a median return of -0.89%.
• 65% of our international universe closed below their prior week's lows.
• Ireland $EIRL was the leader and bucked the trend this week with a 1.53% gain.
• Hong Kong $EWH was this week's big loser, dropping a massive -5.52%.
• We saw bearish reversals this week in Austria $EWO and Portugal $PGAL.
• The percentage of our international universe that is within 5% of 52-week highs fell again this week by another 6%, and is now 48%.
• Momentum regimes remain constructive from a structural perspective, as 66% of the ETFs on our list are bullish.
• 31% of the assets on this list posted new 4-week lows, while only 5% finished the week at 4-week highs.
• New highs have basically vanished across the board.

US Sector Universe:

• Our sector universe performance was rocky again this week as 62% of our list closed lower with a median return of -0.39%.
• Equal-Weight Energy $RYE bucked the overall trend, closing out the week with a 4.62% gain and registering a fresh 4-week high in the process.
• The biggest loser of the week was Mid-Cap Materials which dropped -3.93%.
• We saw nearly half of our sector list post fresh 4-week lows.
• The percentage of our sector list within 5% of their 52-week highs fell again, from 57% to 49% (this figure was in the mid-80s just two weeks ago).
• 60% of our sector universe closed below their prior week's lows.
• The outlook remains stable from a structural perspective as 72% of our list remains in a bullish momentum regime.

US Industry Universe:

• Our Industry universe was mixed this week, with 50% of our list closing higher with a median return basically unchanged at 0.02%.
• The week's biggest winner was Unconventional Oil & Gas $FRAK, which gained 5.89%.
• The biggest loser of the week was Steel $SLX, which dropped -6.25%.
• 24% of industry groups made fresh 4-week lows.
• We saw bearish reversals from Copper Miners $COPX and Rare Earth/Strategic Metals $REMX.
• The percentage of our list in bullish momentum regimes saw no change this week, with a current reading of 63%.
• Only 35% of the assets on our industry list are within 5% of their 52-week highs.

That's it for this week's highlights!