US industry group trends are at a new low for the year and are approaching washed out levels. Take out the Energy groups and virtually nothing is in an up-trend.
The Details: The industry group trend indicator looks at 4 weekly trend metrics for each of the 72 industry groups in the S&P 1500 (24 each for small-caps, mid-caps and large-caps). The higher the number, the broader the strength at the industry group level.
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.
In a busy morning for oil and gas deals, Continental Resources $CLR announced a merger agreement with the company founder and billionaire Harold Hamm.
Over the weekend, Hamm boosted his original offer from this summer to purchase the existing $4.3 billion worth of shares that he and his family do not already own for $74.28 per share.
There is a constant conversation among market participants about which indexes are the better representation of the stock market, particularly in the United States.
While the media often quotes the Dow Jones Industrial Average daily changes, professionals tend to steer towards the S&P500.
The argument normally revolves around the price-weighted nature of the Dow Jones Industrial Average vs the market-cap driven S&P500.
The diversity of 500 stocks in the S&P is also a key point when compared to just 30 stocks for the Dow.
Today, I just wanted to remind everyone why I think the Dow Jones Industrial Average is underrated and why I think it is still one of the most useful indexes for any stock market participant.
High Positive Correlation With The S&P500
First of all, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P500 have a very high positive correlation to one another.