For someone who uses Dow Theory every single day, it’s not something that I write about much. I may indirectly reference certain tenets all the time, but rarely do I write specifically about the 130 year old Dow Theory. I think I pretty much laid it all out earlier this year in my post: 5 Things Every Investor Should Know About Dow Theory. The simple minded choose to stick to the Dow Jones Transportation Average and Dow Jones Industrial Average either confirming each other or diverging from one another. And while this may in fact be a one of Charles Dow’s tenets (although they were Railroads back then, not the Transports we have today), it does not even make it into my top 5 most important tenets. [Read more…]
About That Outperformance From The Dow Jones Transportation Average
One of the recent developments that we’ve been noticing is the outperformance out of the Dow Jones Transportation Average over the past week or so. We’ve been hearing all year about the Dow Transports struggling compared to some of the other major stock market averages. At the beginning of the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up over 2.5% while the Transports were negative Year-to-date. Where markets close at the end of the year is a number completely arbitrary, so discussing year-to-date returns is one of the more useless exercises performed by market participants and market watchers. But regardless, the headlines were mostly about the Transports underperforming. Not only has this flipped over the past week or so, but bigger picture all the Transports do is outperform. Since 2012, it’s not the DJ Industrials that are leading, it’s the DJ Transports.
Since the Fall of 2012, the Dow Jones Transportation Average has more than doubled the performance of its Industrial counterpart. Here is a comparison chart showing the Transports up over 80% during that time while the Industrials couldn’t return half that:
More importantly, in my opinion, the ratio between the two has been trending beautifully within a very well-defined uptrend channel. The year-to-date headlines don’t tell the whole story. It’s not sexy. But all we’ve seen this year is a tiny correction in the ratio towards the lower of the two parallel trendlines. A buying opportunity is what it looks like from here:
So don’t worry so much about arbitrary year-to-date numbers. They really mean absolutely nothing when it comes to supply and demand dynamics. I think this outperformance out of the Transports should continue. I don’t like to fight the primary trend, that’s Dow Theory. Charlie Dow knew what he was talking about 120 years ago. Who are we to dismiss him?
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Tags: $DJIA $INDU $DIA $YM_F $TRAN $IYT $DJT $DJI
About Those Consolidations in US Averages
Coming into 2015, the major US Stock Market Indexes like the Dow Industrial Average and S&P500 were not areas where we wanted to be putting new money to work. Not only did we have failed breakouts around the holidays which is always a bad sign, but I felt we needed some consolidation, or digestion, of the gains over the past few years. Markets can consolidate gains in one of two ways, either with a downside correction in price or sideways through time. The latter is obviously the healthier version of the two.
Today I want to take a look at a few of the Major US Stock Market Indexes to show how these averages have been consolidating over the past several months. The first one is the S&P500 representing 500 of the largest corporations in America. Look at price trading within these two converging trendlines and essentially at the same price that it was in early November:
The next chart is the Dow Jones Industrial Average which includes 30 humongous US Stocks. Notice how similar this pattern is to the S&P500. Prices are right where they were in early November and trading within this symmetrical triangle looking formation defined by two converging trendlines:
The Nasdaq100 is more of a tech heavy index containing 100 of the largest companies that trade on the Nasdaq. In this case, we don’t have a symmetrical triangle, but more of a sideways range. Notice once again how prices are right where they were in early November:
And finally here is the Dow Jones Transportation Average. This index contains 20 big market-cap stocks related to transportation including airlines, railroads, shipping companies, etc. One more time we can see prices near where they were in early November and trading within a 3 month range defined by two somewhat parallel trendlines:
I think the main takeaway here from these 4 large-cap Indexes is that we are stuck in a range. Although it might seem frustrating to some short-term traders, this is not necessarily a bad thing bigger picture. Now what we want to see are breakouts above the upper trendlines in each of these charts. Until then, I don’t see any reason to be involved in the major averages.
To me, it’s important to look at each of the averages and compare them to one another. Are they telling different stories? Or are they telling us the same thing? There is no Holy Grail when it comes to the market. It’s more of a weight-of-the-evidence kind of thing. And right now, the weight-of-the-evidence suggests that tactically there are better places to be that in the major US Stock Market Indexes. Until we break above the upper end of those ranges, I would expect more choppiness. Who needs that?
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Tags: $DJIA $DIA $SPY $SPX $ES_F $YM_F $NDX $QQQ $NQ_F $TRAN $DJT $DJI $IYT
Small Caps Act Poorly On a Relative Basis
One of the more interesting developments since March began has been the severe underperformance out of the small-cap stocks. Coming into the week, the Russell2000 was actually in negative territory year-to-date. This compares to the large-cap S&P500 which is up 7% for 2014 and Dow Industrials up over 3%. This is a big difference. But the problem is what’s happening behind the scenes to this former leadership group.
Here is a chart of the Russell2000 relative to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. After really leading the way off the 2008/2009 bottom in US Equities, this ratio has potentially put in a deadly failed breakout:
I recall earlier in the year, this “breakout” was getting a lot of attention, especially from the bulls. But in recent months, these guys have been crushed on a relative basis. Since the March 3rd closing highs, the Russell2000 is down 5% with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up over 5% during the same period.
Look at the 2006 and 2011 highs in the ratio serving as important resistance. It looks to me like the ratio is failing hard to stay above those highs. As we know, from false moves come fast ones in the opposite direction. So unless this ratio can get back above 69, the benefit of the doubt has to go to the bears on this one.
As far as market implications go, we want to see leadership out of the small-caps for evidence of risk appetite. We’re seeing some other divergences in the Bond market warning of the same thing. Seasonal studies suggest a week period for Stocks with higher volatility (see here). So this shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise.
I think a more neutral stance in stocks as an asset is likely to be the better position for the rest of the summer. We have some strategies in order to execute that (see here). So I’m going to continue to be cautious with small-caps, particularly on a relative basis. And this recent development to me is just another feather in the hat for the bears, at least for now.
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Tags: $IWM $RUT $DJIA $DJI $INDU $DIA $YM_F $SPY
Short-term View of US Stock Market Averages
As we finish up the first quarter, let’s take a look at all of the major US Stock Market Averages. Some of them are showing more strength than others, but similar support and resistance levels can be seen across the board. I came into the year bearish about the US Stock Market, and that has worked well so far with all of them up or down 1% YTD. But as always, I’m trying my best to keep an open mind. You have to.
The first chart is the S&P500. We’ll use ETFs to keep things simple. Here is $SPY managing to stay above all of that January resistance. The bulls are still in control and there is nothing wrong with this chart until those levels are broken. Just below this critical 184-185 level is a 50 day moving average was well. One warning sign is the bearish momentum divergence at the recent highs. But price pays, so until this shaded area is broken, there is little to be overly concerned about.
Notice the difference between the S&P500 and Nasdaq100. In the $QQQ chart below, the Nasdaq100 is already below the January resistance. The exact same shaded area seen up above in the S&P500 is drawn in the Nasdaq100. The bearish divergence in momentum is actually even worse than in the S&P500. This is why we put out a sell short Nasdaq call a week ago as long as prices are below 89.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a bit of a difference story. The first thing that stands out is its inability to make a new high in March. While its counterparts were able to exceed their previous peaks, the Dow Industrials are still battling. This divergence has the Dow Theorists nervous (see here). Once again, it’s the shaded area that we’re watching here to signal more trouble ahead.
The next chart represents the Small-cap Russell 2000. This is another one that was able to make a new high into March and then failed quickly back below the January highs. We can put small-caps in the same category as the Nasdaq100. Bearish below the shaded line and more neutral/bullish above it.
The Mid-caps look a lot like the S&P500. Here is the $MDY representing the Midcap400. Like the S&P500, Mid-caps made new highs into March and have so far retested their January highs and former resistance levels successfully. As long as last week’s lows hold, which represent the January highs and 50-day moving average, then the bulls are fine. Below that and things get hairy.
There are a lot of if/then statements here, and that’s for a good reason. I’m not certain of anything and if someone tells you they are, you should run. I look at all of my charts with a very open mind. I always try to assume I’ll be wrong and try to find a level that would signal that to me. Sometimes those levels are less clear and in those cases I try to stay away. Up here we can easily see which indexes are stronger and which ones are weaker so far in 2014. Comparing the averages tells us a lot, especially when these January/March levels have been so universally relevant.
These are the levels we’re watching. I think they’re the most important right now. If/when that changes, we’ll readjust our strategy.
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Tags: $DJIA $DIA $DJI $QQQ $NDX $IWM $RUT $MDY $SPY $SPX $ES_F
It Makes Perfect Sense To Be Short Stocks
A funny thing happened in the US Stock Market last week that think is worth noting. I came into the year bearish US Stocks and felt that Treasury Bonds and Commodities were the better place to be. So far that has worked really well, but I think this is just the beginning and we’ll see a lot more of this going forward.
The first thing that I believe is worth mentioning is the horrible breadth in the market. It’s like onions and garlic and all sorts of nastiness. On Thursday 2/27 the S&P500 closed at a new record high, the highest level of all time. Now, remember this is just the index itself. How many companies actually participated in that and made new highs themselves? 6%
Only 6% of the 500 stocks in the S&P500 managed to close at a new 52-week high on a day where the headlines simply read, “S&P500 Closes at a New Record”. What the headline writers don’t want to tell you is that no one participated in that rally. Only a few names made new highs themselves. But that doesn’t sell. That doesn’t draw clicks. It’s not sexy. Fortunately for us, we don’t care about sexy. We’re not here to sell commercials or banner ads. We’re here to make money.
Bespoke did a nice job of breaking down the (lack of) new highs Thursday sector by sector:
So we know the breadth stinks, but what about price? What do the freshest daily and weekly candlesticks look like? Has anything changed?
Well I see major topping candles all over the place, especially in the momentum names. Key reversal days and reversal weeks all over that present excellent risk/reward opportunities where one can get short with a tight stop above last week’s highs. I’m not going to go over a list of these names, but you can do the homework and there are plenty out there you can find easily. FINVIZ has some good tools for this.
I suggested on Friday afternoon that short-sellers got a nice entry point. So far this is working well:
this is great action in the market today. If you needed an entry point to get short for a trade, you just got it. Nice risk/reward $SPY $QQQ
— J.C. Parets (@allstarcharts) Feb. 28 at 03:01 PM
Here is what I’m seeing right now in some of the major averages. We typically find candlesticks like these at tops. Some call them mouse tails, long wicks (they are candles after all) and long shadows (is what the Japanese call them). Either way, the consequences aren’t good. It tells us that the bulls, who were in control, could no longer support the price up there, hence the reversal. Here are two examples, S&P500 & Midcap400, but you can find many more out there in the individual stocks and sectors:
So far this year Treasury bonds are up almost 7%, Commodities (equal-weighted) are up 8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is actually down 2% (coming into the new week). So when I hear how great this stock market is and how easy it is to make money, I have to chuckle. There are barely any names participating and the averages are down after 2 months of trading and underperforming other asset classes by a lot.
Shorts don’t just have to be focused on calling tops in the momo names either. There are plenty of underperformers out there that have not been participating for a while. If they’ve already been weak, in all likelihood those names/sectors will continue to underperform and likely to get hit harder than the rest. An interesting sector to note is Financials. These guys haven’t been doing a damn thing. While S&Ps race to all-time highs, Financials on a relative basis peaked last July. LAST JULY. So when the S&P500 closed at a new all-time high Thursday and not a single stock in the financial sector made a new high, I can’t say I’m surprised one bit. I would expect more underperformance here.
If stocks take out last week’s highs and continue to rock, you want to see participation expanding also. If this doesn’t occur, I think you just saw your short-term top. I still have the same mentality that I came in with to start the year. Sell stocks, do not initiate up here, buy bonds and buy commodities. Nothing I’ve seen so far tells me to change this thesis.
Note: If you’re going to be long US stocks I think the best bet is to stick with low correlated names. Run the math before you enter new positions. I think there’s a bunch of good ones out there. It’s the asset as a group that I don’t like. If you follow me on Stocktwits or Twitter @allstarcharts I’ve mentioned a bunch of these low correlation names lately.
Tags: $XLF $KRE $IAI $SPY $DJIA $DJI
End of the Month Market Video
The worst performing month of 2013 is now in the books. Funny enough, the S&P500 only lost 3%. But the internals and breadth in this market have been deteriorating for some time. We’ve pointed to several examples of this over the past 4-5 weeks, so today we reviewed some of that. Also bonds this week confirmed everything we discussed in last week’s video. They look great and everyone still hates them. And finally since it’s the end of the month, we took a look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average going back 20 years. And it looks like we’re up in the nosebleed section.
I hope you enjoy the video:
Tags: $DJI $DJIA $DIA $SPX $SPY $ES_F $TLT $TNX $ZB_F $CRB $DJP
Stock Market Rallies Since 1900
I think it’s important every now and then to take a step back and really compare today’s market environment to similar circumstances throughout history. It helps to gain some perspective on where we are and where we’ve been. And maybe, some of that information can shed some light on where we’re going.
Today’s Chart of the Day plots every Dow rally in terms of both magnitude and duration. Rallies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to this chart, represent any advance that came after a 30% decline. There have been 13 such instances since 1900, which on average is one every 8.5 years or so.
Here is the chart showing how our current stock market rally (off the March 2009 lows) is below average in both magnitude and duration:
The good folks at Chart of the Day also note that when you compare the current advance to the most recent post-major bear market rally (i.e. the rally that began in 2002), this bull market is significantly greater in magnitude but also accomplished this feat in less time. I thought that was interesting. But if you go back further in history, this “huge rally” is really nothing special. At least not yet…
Source:
Stock Market Rallies: Dow Since 1900 (Chart of the Day)
Tags: $DJIA $DIA $YM_F $DJI