[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:

• Our macro universe continued lower this week as 83% of our list closed lower with a median return of -3.91%.
• This week, the Volatility Index $VIX was the winner, closing with an 11.94% gain.
• The biggest loser was Lumber $LB, with a weekly loss of -10.81%.
• There was a 4% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 11%.
• 11% of our macro list made fresh 4-week highs.
• Meanwhile, 57% of our list made fresh 4-week lows.
• The median asset in our macro universe is 17.3% below its 52-week highs (12.1% last week).
• 11% of our macro universe closed higher than their prior week's high.
• On the flip side, 79% of our list closed lower than their prior week's low.
• 72% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• Dow Jones Transports $DJT, Dow Jones Utilities $DJU, S&P 400 Mid Caps $MDY, Russell 2000 Small Caps $IWM, Micro Caps $IWC, Russell 1000 Value $IWD, Large Cap High Dividend $HDV, Global Dow $DGT & Emerging Markets $EEM all posted bearish reversal weeks.

International Universe:

• Our International Equities universe was negative this week as 94% of our list closed lower with a median return of -5.80%.
• This week, Large Cap China $FXI was the leader with a 2.73% gain.
• Brazil $EWZ was the biggest loser, dropping by -13.37%.
• Only 3% of our international universe closed higher than their prior week's high.
• Meanwhile, 92% of our list closed lower than their prior week's low.
• There was a 5% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 0%.
• The median asset in our international universe is 22.4% below its 52-week high (16.7% last week).
• 97% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• Only 5% of our international list made fresh 4-week highs.
• On the other hand, 71% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 70% made fresh 13-week lows, and 54% made fresh 52-week lows.

• Asia 50 $AIA, Chile $ECH, Denmark $EDEN, Emerging Markets $EEM, Finland $EFNL, Germany $EWG, Hong Kong $EWH, Belgium $EWK, Netherlands $EWN, Austria $EWO, France $EWQ, Singapore $EWS, Portugal $PGAL & Europe $VGK all posted bearish reversal weeks.

US Sector Universe:

• This week, our sector universe was negative, with 100% of our list closing lower with a median return of -4.64%.
• Mid Cap Materials was the biggest loser, dropping by -7.27%.
• 0% of our sector list made fresh 4-week highs.
• On the other hand, 45% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 40% made fresh 13-week lows, and 32% made fresh 52-week lows.
• There was a 15% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 6%.
• 0% of our sector universe closed higher than their prior week's high.
• On the flip side, 89% of our list closed lower than their prior week's low.
• 74% of our list is in a bearish momentum regime (no change from last week).
• The median asset in our macro universe is 17.3% below its 52-week highs (13.3% last week).
• Equal Weight Industrials $RGI, Equal Weight Materials $RTM, Equal Weight Utilities $RYU, Large Cap Utilities $XLU, Large Cap Industrials $XLI, Large Cap Communication Services $XLC, Large Cap Materials $XLB, Mid Cap Materials, Mid Cap Industrials, Mid Cap Cyclicals, Mid Cap Staples, Mid Cap Finance, Mid Cap Utilities, Small Cap Materials $PSCM, Small Cap Industrials $PSCI, Small Cap Health Care $PSCH, Small Cap Financials $PSCF, Small Cap Consumer Discretionary $PSCD, Small Cap Consumer Staples $PSCC, and Small Cap Real Estate $ROOF all posted bearish reversal weeks.

US Industry Universe:

• Our Industry universe was red again this week as 93% closed lower with a median return of -5.49%.
• This week's biggest winner was Oil & Gas Exploration & Production $XOP, which gained 0.66%.
• The biggest loser was Mobile Payments $IPAY, dropping by -8.44%.
• The percentage of our list in bearish momentum regimes did not change this week as the reading remains 80%.
• 9% of the assets on our industry list are within 5% of their 52-week highs (a 2% drop from last week).
• The median asset in our industry universe is 24.7% below its 52-week highs (compared to 21.3% last week).
• Only 2% of our industry universe closed higher than their prior week's high.
• Meanwhile, 78% of our list closed lower than their prior week's low.
• Only 7% of our international list made fresh 4-week highs.
• On the other hand, 51% of our list made fresh 4-week lows, 49% made fresh 13-week lows, and 44% made fresh 52-week lows.
• Gaming $BJK, Copper Miners $COPX, Wind Energy $FAN, Cyber Security $HACK, Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges $IAI, Biotechnology $IBB, Mobile Payments $IPAY, Aerospace & Defense $ITA, Home Construction $ITB, Transportation $IYT, Banks $KBE, Regional Banks $KRE, Community Banks $QABA, Steel $SLX, Social Media $SOCL, Metals and Mining $XME, Pharmaceuticals $XPH, and Retail $XRT all posted bearish reversal weeks.

That's it for this week's highlights!