Last week’s 5.9% rally in the S&P 500 was the best single-week gain since June but it was not enough to shift any of the criteria on our Bull Market Re-Birth Checklist.

More Context: Big weekly moves in either direction have been relatively common this year. The S&P 500 has gained or lost 3% (or more) nineteen times so far this year. The average year since 1945 has seen 6 weekly moves of 3% or more. The record (held by 1974 and 2008) is 21. As I mentioned in last week’s Townhall Takeaways, volatility and strength have tended to be inversely correlated. Our Bull Market Re-Birth Checklist helps cut through the noise of big price swings and looks for evidence that strength could be sustainable. It's close but no cigar for several of the checklist criteria, suggesting the jury is still out on the current move. And after getting to 4 out 5 criteria met during the rally into the August peak, we are looking for 5 out 5 for evidence of a...

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The indices consolidated most of the day.

And that's healthy.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Top 10 Charts Report was just published.

In this weekly note, we highlight 10 of the most important charts or themes we're currently seeing in asset classes around the world.

Dollar Strength Erodes

Sentiment, volatility, and momentum thrusts have all suggested an end to the US dollar wrecking ball. Now price action is confirming the data as the DXY resolves lower from a pennant formation to fresh multi-month lows. From a weight of the evidence standpoint, the dollar is done, and so are the accompanying headwinds for risk assets.

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.

We've got an oil stock on the doorstep of multi-year highs, a recent shakeout that probably rinsed out the hot-money crowd that came into the stock following their latest earnings report, and implied volatility plumbing new yearly depths.

This sets up an excellent opportunity to take a flyer on a simple long calls trade.

Let's dig in!

We've adjusted a position in the Paid-to-Play portfolio today:

Our process is defined by the power of simplicity.

We don't need a complicated macro thesis to position ourselves appropriately in crypto markets. We find our edge in stepping back and identifying inflection points where we want to define our risk.

Risk should be front and center, considering recent events.

One of the takeaways from this entire FTX/Alameda mess is the necessity of risk management. Sam Bankman-Fried lost an empire in the space of a week.

If this isn't a great reminder to manage risk and position size accordingly, I don't know what it is...

A hilarious video made the rounds on Twitter showing Caroline Ellison, the 28-year-old CEO of Alameda Research, arguing against the use of stop losses.

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She also said that technical analysis is voodoo in the same interview...

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

Last week was pretty powerful. The indices moved like they were being chased by a bull.

We did hit $SPX 4,000. A slight pause with support at 3,973 would be healthy. Should this level hold, then we can see 4,037. 

This is the weekly post that aggregates all the charts we put together throughout the week and organizes them all into one, easy to flip through deck.

The list keeps on growing.

A month ago there was only 1 sector trading above its 200 day moving average.

Then a couple of weeks ago, there was a second.

And now there are 5:

This is the weekly post that aggregates all the charts we put together throughout the week and organizes them all into one, easy to flip through deck.

The Outperformers.

The Outperformers is our custom-made scan that pinpoints the very best stocks in the market. It’s the fastest, easiest way to find quality names that are primed for significant moves.

The goal is that as the market rally progresses, the sector rotation within the market will reflect in this scan. So while our Top/Down Analysis helps us with the broader view of the market, this Bottom/Up scan makes sure that we catch the slightest change in sentiment.