From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

It's been a very bumpy week, and now we need to see if the indices are going to head higher from here or pull in more.

$SPY support is at 440.

Stocks are messy these days.

The major indexes peaked in July and the new 52-week highs list topped out almost 2 months ago.

This is all perfectly normal market behavior for this time of the year. In fact, if markets were behaving any differently, then THAT would actually be unusual.

Just like over the past 3 quarters. If stocks didn't do as well as they did, again, that would have been weird.

The market continues to behave according to historical trends, obnoxiously so.

And to be clear, it's when the market ignores seasonal tendencies that we want to pay more attention, because THAT is the signal.

In the meantime, we're just chugging along in one of the more normal years for the market that we've ever seen.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The market pulled in for yet another day.

We'll see if we're flagging to head higher or to see 435 to 440 on $SPY.

Please keep in mind that my shorts are one-tenth of my long trades position-size-wise.

If I stay in a short position for a longer period of time, I add on pops and buy back till I complete the position.

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @sstrazza and Alfonso Depablos @Alfcharts

We held our September Monthly Strategy Session Tuesday night. Premium Members can access and rewatch it here.

Non-members can get a quick recap of the call simply by reading this post each month.

By focusing on long-term, monthly charts, the idea is to take a step back and put things into the context of their structural trends. This is easily one of our most valuable exercises as it forces us to put aside the day-to-day noise and simply examine markets from a “big-picture” point of view.

With that as our backdrop, let’s dive right in and discuss three of the most important charts and/or themes from this month’s call.

The largest insider transaction on today’s list comes in a Form 4 filed by Kevin Stein, director of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd $AXTA.

Stein reported a purchase of 36,600 AXTA shares, equivalent to $1 million.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The market is riding a thin line.

There's potential for $SPY to drop down to 440 if we can't rally above 446.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The S&P 500 dropped right down to the breakout level from last week.

Question is, do we hold or head down to 4,430, then 4415?

This index needs to hold above 4,475 to head back up hill.

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

When investing in the stock market, we always want to approach it as "a market of stocks."

Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks showing leadership and trending higher.

We may have to look harder to identify them depending on current market conditions. But there are always stocks that are going up.

The same can be said for weak stocks. Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks that are going down, too. 

We already have multiple scans focusing on stocks making all-time highs, such as Hall of Famers, Minor Leaguers, and the 2 to 100 Club.

We filter these universes for stocks that are exhibiting the best momentum and relative strength characteristics. 

Clearly, we spend a lot of time identifying and writing about leading stocks every week, via multiple reports.

Now, we're also highlighting lagging stocks on a recurring basis.

The largest insider transaction on today’s list comes in a Form 4 filed by Sylebra Capital Ltd, which revealed an additional purchase of $5.2 million in Impinj Inc $PI.

Patrick J. Heron, director of Mirum Pharmaceuticals $MIRM, revealed a purchase of 147,991 shares, equivalent to $3,884,763.

How was your summer?

Ready to make some money this Fall?

Last night was our LIVE Monthly Charts Strategy Session for Premium Members of Allstarcharts.

This is where we go over everything happening in the current markets.

The chart of the S&P500 is a great representation of the circumstances right now.

Stocks are correcting and stuck in a range during a perfectly normal time to be digesting their historic gains.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

It's slim pickings with stock selection. Not a ton of things looking great right now.

The indices are pulling in, and I'm watching the eight-day moving average on $SPY at 447.48.

This is the video recording of our September 5th Monthly Charts Live Strategy Session