[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 big picture context 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:

• This week, our macro universe was negative as 66% of our list closed lower with a median return of -0.90%.
• Lumber $LB was a massive winner, closing out the week with a nearly 50% gain.
• The biggest loser was Oil $CL, with a weekly loss of -5.81%.
• There was an 8% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 62%.
• 34% of our list made new 4-week lows (versus 15% last week).
• Meanwhile, only 19% of our list made new 4-week highs.
• The median asset in our macro universe is 3.1% below its 52-week highs, down from a reading of 1.6% last week.
• 34% of our macro universe closed lower than their prior week's low.
• The outlook remains stable from a structural perspective as 62% of our list is in a bullish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• High Dividend $HDV and All-World ex-US $VEU both posted bearish reversals this week.

International Universe:

• Our International Equities universe was under pressure this week as 89% of our list closed lower with a median return of -1.88%.
• 65% of our international universe closed below their prior week's lows.
• United Arab Emirates $UAE was the leader this week with a 3.11% gain.
• Argentina $ARGT was the biggest loser this week, dropping -8.43%.
• The percentage of assets within 5% of their 52-week highs dropped by 10% and is now at 42%.
• The median asset in our international universe is 6.4% below its 52-week high (down from 4.6% last week).
• The outlook remains stable from a structural perspective as 60% of our list is in a bullish momentum regime (2% drop from last week).
• Only 6% of the universe posted new 4-week highs, while over half of our list posted new 4-week lows.

• Africa $AFK, Peru $EPU, Canada $EWC, and Turkey $TUR posted bearish reversal weeks.

US Sector Universe:

• Our sector universe also had a rough week as 81% of our list closed lower with a median return of -1.13%.
• Large Cap Consumer Discretionary $XLY was the big winner, closing with a 3.74% gain.
• The week’s biggest loser was Small Cap Energy $PSCE which dropped by -11.18%.
• Only 11% of our sector list made fresh 4-week highs. 9% made new 13-week highs, and 9% made new 52-week highs.
• 21% of our list made a 4-week lows.
• The percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs fell from 87% to 77%.
• 55% of our sector universe closed lower than their prior week's low.
• The outlook remains stable from a structural perspective as 83% of our list is in a bullish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• Equal Weight S&P 500 $RSP, Equal Weight Financials $RYF, Equal Weight Materials $RTM, Large Cap Telecom $XTL, Large Cap Staples $XLP, Large Cap Industrials $XLI, Large Cap Materials $XLB, Small Cap Utilities $PSCU, Communication Services $XLC, and Small Cap Industrials $PSCI all posted bearish reversal weeks.

US Industry Universe:

• Our Industry universe was lower across the board this week as 89% of our list was red with a median return of -2.79%.
• This week's biggest winner was Semiconductors $SOXX +2.68%.
• The biggest loser this week was Oil Services $OIH which dropped -10.96%.
• Only 7% of industry groups made fresh 4-week highs, 13-week highs, and 52-week highs.
• Meanwhile, we saw 49% of industry groups make fresh 4-week lows.
• The percentage of our list in bullish momentum regimes had a 5% drop this week and has a current reading of 73%.
• 47% of the assets in our industry list are within 5% of their 52-week highs (15% drop from last week).
• The median asset in our industry universe is 5.2% below its 52-week highs (down from 2.7% last week).
• 64% of our industry universe closed lower than last week's low.
• Food & Beverage $PBJ, Media $PBS, and Social Media $SOCL all posted bearish reversal weeks.

That's it for this week's highlights!