From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Every week we publish performance tables for a variety of different asset classes and categories along with commentary on each.

Looking at the past helps put the future into context. In this post, we review the relative strength trends at play and give our outlook and some of the things we're watching for in the week ahead.

This week we're going to highlight our International ETF and Global Index tables, and focus on some of the rotation we're seeing into more offensive assets across the board. Let's dive into it.

Emerging Markets $EEM, particularly Latin America $ILF, continue to rebound strong. These two indexes were this week's leaders on our International ETF list but notice that they are also the top performers over the trailing one and three month periods.

This week on Happy Hour w/ Traders, I chat with 2 of the best in the business: Brian Shannon and Joe Fahmy. We've all been friends for a decade and I still learn from both of them every single time we talk.

The way I see it, I'm having these conversations anyway, so may as well hit record so you guys can learn from them the same way that I do.

Check it out!

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

For the week ended Friday, July 10, 2020:

Every week we publish performance tables for a variety of different asset classes and categories along with commentary on each.

This week we're going to highlight our US Index and Sector ETF tables, and focus on the laggards as they are giving us the most important information for the current market environment. Let's dive into it.

No surprises here... The Nasdaq $QQQ outperformed aggressively once again last week, booking a +4.7% gain while Mid, Small, and Micro-Caps were all lower. The Nasdaq is the only US Index that is higher over the trailing month.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Responses to this week's Mystery Chart were mixed. Some were betting on a breakout and buying while others wanted to fade this against the prior highs.

Others were waiting for more information, which is likely what we'd be doing. Thanks to everyone for participating.

But this chart is already packed with information. Let's dive in and talk about what it is.

In this episode of The Money Game, Phil wanted to talk about the importance of exercise. He compares the human mind and body to auto racing and how in order to succeed, the car must be in great condition. For Financial Advisors, Traders, Portfolio Managers and Analysts, we regularly go through very stressful times, and in other cases very boring times. In order to put ourselves in a position to excel, we need to have our minds right. The best way to make sure the mind is in top working order, is to make sure the body isn't being ignored. They work together.

Phil reiterates a lot of points that are probably familiar to a lot of us who focus on physical and mental health, which is fantastic. But for those of you looking for a spark, just to get the ball rolling, Phil offers some advice on easy ways to get started. He also discusses the Height-to-Waste Ratio and what we should be looking for. I thought that was really helpful too.

Last month I shared a video of my Happy Hour with Traders Kimmy Sokoloff and Joe Fahmy. You guys sent in amazing feedback and I really enjoyed doing it. So today, I want to give you a peak at my conversation with Andrew Thrasher and Dan Russo. They both love drinking wine and we've always had that in common, so we discussed some of our favorites as well as our thoughts on the stock market and bond market.

It's cool to be able to sit back and relax with two of the smartest guys out there and hear what they have to say. I hope you enjoy!

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

For the week ended Thursday, July 2, 2020:

Every week we publish performance tables for a variety of different asset classes and categories along with commentary on each.

Being Independence Day weekend, we're going to highlight the continued structural outperformance from the US vs rest of the world in this week's post. As a good patriot and technician, I would be remiss not to take this opportunity to reflect on how grateful US investors should be.

Here are our US Index ETF and Global Index tables.

I've learned a lot of things and met some amazing people during my trips to India over the years. One of them is the original meaning of the word "Guru".

You see, in America it definitely has a negative connotation. Most people I speak to don't even know what "guru" actually means. For us, it's usually a charlatan-type that no one likes. They usually know less than most and typically do much more harm to their audience than good. You'll often see them buying twitter followers and spamming your LinkedIn messages.

In marketing parlance, they refer to the "Guru" as the guy (usually male) who they spend all their time on marketing and making them look good. The better and smarter the “guru” appears to be, the more money that comes in, and the more profits for the marketing company, regardless of how completely full of it they actually are.

In America, whenever you hear, "Financial Guru", usually you want to run away as fast as possible.

The stocks that worked well in the second quarter should continue to lead the market higher. We still want to be buyers.

On Tuesday afternoon I had a chat with Catherine Murray over at BNN Bloomberg about which stocks we're most focused on. As it turns out, the same stocks and sectors showing up on our buy scans in early to mid-March are the same ones showing the most positive momentum and relative strength now.

It's working. We're sticking with it. Here's the interview in full: 

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

For the week ended Friday, June 26, 2020:

Every week we publish performance tables for a variety of different asset classes and categories along with commentary on each.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness."

It sounds like Charles Dickens could have been writing about today's market in his famous passage from A Tale of Two Cities.

Many areas of Growth and Technology are trading at or near record highs, and it's sure felt like the "best of times" for anyone who's been overweight these stocks in recent years.

On the other hand, cyclicals and Value were already hurting coming into the year and then endured serious structural damage during the Q1 crash. If you've been invested in these areas, particularly those groups directly impacted by Covid-19, it might just seem like the "worst of times."

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

For the week ended Friday, June 19, 2020:

Every week we publish performance tables for a variety of different asset classes and categories along with commentary on each.

Despite some volatility in the second half, risk assets continued their steady march higher last week. The broadening participation from Equities was again evident as every major US and Global Index was higher with the exception of Dow Utilities $DJU.

We've written extensively about the strongest areas and those first to reclaim their highs. In this post, we'll highlight a handful of Equity ETFs/Indexes which are at or just beneath fresh highs. Whether these areas work through their overhead supply or get rejected at these key levels will provide important information into the strength and durability of the current rally.

Let's dive right in and take a look at our Sector SPDR ETF table.