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 mostly negative, as 74% of our list closed lower with a median return of -1.48%.
• The Volatility Index $VIX was this week's winner, closing with a 24.08% gain.
• The biggest loser was the Nasdaq 100 $QQQ, with a weekly loss of -4.78%.
• There was a 5% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 6%.
• 11% of our macro list made fresh 4-week...

Key Takeaway:

• Powell’s tough talk justified by incoming inflation data.
• Slowing growth unlikely to derail Fed’s plans.
• Bull market re-birth struggling with labor pains.

Our bull market re-birth checklist took a step backward but a tough labor does not preclude a successful delivery. Without new complications from a macro perspective, we are willing to be patient and trust the thrust. At the same time, however, so far this year stocks have yet to show that they can sustain strength when yields and the dollar are rising. If the market is taking the Fed at its word, then higher bond yields are likely to be seen this year, in the US and around the world. Japanese yields are again approaching the 0.25% level that the Bank of Japan has targeted as a ceiling for yields. When that happened in Q2, the yen suffered.

Beyond financial market fluctuations, the tough line from the Fed could be tested by economic...

These days it seems like Energy stocks are acting strong regardless of whether there is strength or weakness in the broader markets.

I'm sure you've noticed.

The Long Energy trade remains in full force if the Sector Index $XLE is above those former highs from 2016-2018:

When the ducks are quackin'... feed them!

With volatility still up since Friday afternoon's stock market freakout, we're going to continue to take advantage of this volatility rise to add an additional, much-needed delta-neutral credit spread to our portfolio to diversify our risks somewhat.

So today I'll be positioning into an index ETF near the top of the implied volatility charts.

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

Over the last two weeks, we've made the case for short-term caution and patience. This approach has proven timely, with Bitcoin correcting 20% over this period.

As it currently stands, Bitcoin lies on a shelf of support near its most recent pivot lows, around the 18,000, 19,000 neighborhood.

Bearish sentiment seems to be approaching extreme levels, with both Ethereum and Bitcoin quarterlies trading backward.

At the same time, the macro backdrop continues to be a risk-off picture.

The S&P 500 has lost a key level of support, while the US dollar, interest rates, and crude oil all look prime to begin a new leg higher.

Ernest S. Rady, the chairman and CEO of American Assets Trust $AAT, continues to appear on our list with his eighth Form 4 filing in the trailing month.

Rady reported his latest purchase on Friday, revealing another 25,000 shares, equivalent to $719,600.

There's one major catalyst that can be a wrecking ball in a potential bull market for stocks.

What's going to stop a year-end rally?

I think if there's anything that can stop it, it's further strength in the US Dollar.

This summer, the markets have only reiterated the negative correlation between stocks and the US Dollar.

A little bit of dollar weakness over the past 6 weeks, or lack of progress to be more accurate, sparked a rally in stocks and crypto assets.

But as Dollar strength came back recently, the pressure on stocks and crypto has returned.

So let's take a closer look.

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.

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.

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Back in early July, we were looking to buy a bounce in natural gas. Let's just say it was a success, as our target was hit within weeks.

But you have to remember the environment back then. Commodities had experienced a broad sell-off. And natural gas and agricultural contracts such as wheat and cotton had recently experienced drawdowns exceeding 40%.

It might have seemed like a tough call at the time, but for us it was clear. The risk/reward was in our favor as natty pulled back to test a key level. It was that simple.

Fast forward almost two months, and we’re back for more. Our risk is well-defined, and cyclical areas of the market are assuming leadership.

Today, I’ll share how we’re gearing up for a fresh leg higher in natty gas.

First, let’s take a look at the weekly chart of natural gas futures.

Regardless of the...

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Hall of Famers list is composed of the 150 largest US-based stocks.

These stocks range from the mega-cap growth behemoths like Apple and Microsoft – with market caps in excess of $2T – to some of the new-age large-cap disruptors such as Moderna, Square, and Snap.

It has all the big names and more.

It doesn’t include ADRs or any stock not domiciled in the US. But don’t worry; we developed a separate universe for that, which you can check out here.

The Hall of Famers is simple.

We take our list of 150 names and then apply our technical filters so the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

Let’s dive right in and check out what these big boys are up to.

Here’s this week’s list:

Click table to enlarge view

We filter out any laggards that are down -5% or more relative to the S&P 500 over the trailing month. 

Then, we sort the remaining names...