[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 was another rough week for our macro universe as 79% of our list closed lower with a median return of -2.32%.
• The Volatility Index $VIX was the big winner again this week, booking an 18.40% gain.
• The biggest loser was Silver $SI, with a weekly loss of -5.02%.
• There was a 6% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 11%.
• Only 9% of our macro list made fresh 4-week highs.
• Meanwhile, 77% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 57% made new 13-week lows, and 49% made new 52-week lows.
• The median asset in our macro universe is 13.3% below its 52-week highs which is a notable deterioration from the 11.5% reported last week.
• Only 4% of assets in our macro universe closed higher than their prior week's high. 
• Meanwhile, 68% of our list closed lower than their prior week's low.
• 68% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (no change from last week).

International Universe:

• Our International Equities universe was negative again this week as 87% of our list closed lower with a median return of -2.60%.
• This week, Large Cap China $FXI was the leader with a 4.85% gain.
• Poland $EPOL was the biggest loser, dropping -9.00%.
• 75% of our international universe closed lower than their prior week's low.
• There was a 3% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 5%.
• The median asset in our international universe is 17.5% below its 52-week high (14.8% last week).
• 81% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (a 6% increase from last week).
• Only 3% of our international list made fresh 4-week highs.
• Meanwhile, 84% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 41% made new 13-week lows, and 29% made new 52-week lows.

US Sector Universe:

• Our sector universe is a great representation of the indiscriminate selling pressure this week as 100% of our list closed lower with a median return of -3.34%.
• The biggest loser was Large Cap Consumer Discretionary $XLY, with a weekly loss of -7.78%.
• 96% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 62% made new 13-week lows, and 49% made new 52-week lows.

• There was a 13% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 4%.
• 100% of our sector universe closed lower than their prior week's low.
• 68% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• The median asset in our macro universe is 12.9% below its 52-week highs (up from 9.7% last week).

US Industry Universe:

• Our Industry universe was painted red this week as 96% of ETFs closed lower with a median return of -3.61%.
• This week's biggest winner was Social Media $SOCL which gained 2.59%.
• Homebuilders $ITB were the only other positive group with a 0.63% gain.
• This week's biggest loser was Biotech $XBI, dropping by -7.53%.
• The percentage of our list in a bullish momentum regime fell by 33% this week to a current reading of 31%.
• 4% of the ETFs on our industry list are within 5% of their 52-week highs (a 7% drop from last week).
• The median ETF in our industry universe is 22.1% below its 52-week highs (18.9% last week).
• 91% of our industry universe closed lower than last week's low.
• 91% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 51% made new 13-week lows, and 47% made new 52-week lows.

That's it for this week's highlights!