Skip to main content

Weekly review - stocks hit the brakes

Major averages gave way this past week. Losses seemed rather modest but the underlying data is starting to look very suspicious. Yes, we had a big rally on Friday but our data shows a real slowdown in upward momentum.

We use both daily data and weekly data collected from the Alert HQ process to compile the market statistics discussed below. Each weekend we scan over 7200 stocks and ETFs looking for BUY and SELL signals. In the process, we collect various technical information that we roll up into charts like the ones below.

Stock Market Statistics based on Daily Data, 08-22-2008
The chart above is based on daily data. It clearly shows that many stocks have fallen below their 20-day and 50-day moving averages. It also shows that more than a thousand stocks are no longer exhibiting strong up-trends according to Aroon analysis. The number of stocks showing strong buying pressure according to Chaikin Money Flow analysis showed a small decline.

So is this merely a pause in a major up-trend? For the optimists, we can point to the fact that we don't have a big increase in stocks exhibiting strong down-trends according to Aroon. The number of stocks whose 20-day MA is above their 50-day MA actually showed a very slight increase.

Stock Market Statistics based on Weekly Data, 08-22-2008
In the chart above we show the results of analysis based on weekly data. As can be expected, the data on weekly charts is slower moving and smoother than what we see on the charts based on daily data. Nevertheless, the action in this past week did show a similar slowing of momentum. Analogous to what we saw in the first chart, we have a decrease in the number of stocks trading above their 20-week and 50-week moving averages. In addition, we see the number of stocks exhibiting strong up-trends according to Aroon analysis has failed to show any increase.

In summary --

Our data has shown market internals improving for some time now but this past week it looks like someone hit the brakes. The number of stocks exhibiting bullish technical characteristics showed a noticeable decrease.

Nothing goes up in a straight line so it's possible that last week was just a detour on the way to a stronger market recovery. On the other hand, there are strong signs that stocks have reached an intermediate high.

This past week was light on data and light on volume. This week we have plenty of potentially market-moving data on tap. We will see existing home sales and new home sales, the revised 2nd quarter GDP, durable goods orders, Chicago PMI, University of Michigan consumer sentiment and the weekly numbers on initial claims and crude inventories. All this during a pre-holiday week that typically exhibits low volume.

The combination of low volume, lots of data and slowing momentum could make this a wild week for investors. This might be a good time to pull over to the side of the road and let the more venturesome drivers pass.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Brazil - in a bubble or on a roll?

A couple of years ago, no one recognized the real estate bubble even though it was under everyone's nose. Now, analysts and bloggers are seeing bubbles everywhere they look. One of them, they say is in Brazil whose Bovespa stock market index has doubled in the last 12 months. Does the bubble accusation hold water? I don't think so and here are 7 reasons why Brazil is by no means a bubble economy: Exports have held up over the past year thanks to demand from China for Brazil's soya exports and iron ore. This was helped by the the Brazilian government's drive to improve trade links with Asia and Africa. Export diversification, spurred by a more active trade policy and increased focus on "south-south" trade under current president Lula, helped mitigate the decline in demand from OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries A "sensible" economic framework has been in place since the 1990's. This has included inflation

Thursday Bounce: Trend Busters, Swing Signals and Trend Leaders for July 9, 2009

This is a quick post to announce that we have published Thursday's Trend Leaders, Swing Signals and Trend Busters at Alert HQ . All are based on daily data. Today we have the following: 72 Swing Signals -- A couple of days ago we had 35 signals, today we have twice as many. Happily, we now have 65 BUY signals, a mere 4 SELL Signals plus 3 Strong BUYs. Whoo-hoo! 56 Trend Leaders , all in strong up-trends according to Aroon, MACD and DMI. There are 18 new stocks that made today's list and 60 that fell off Tuesday's list. 48 Trend Busters of which 5 are BUY signals and 43 are SELL signals The view from Alert HQ -- Talk about mixed signals. If you look at our Swing Signals list you would think the market was in the middle of a big bounce. BUY signals are swamping the SELL signals and we even have a few Strong BUYs. Yes, there's a good sprinkling of tech stocks and tech ETFs but the distribution is pretty broad-based with a good number of different sectors represented, eve

Unlock Stock Market Profits - Key #1

This is the first in an ongoing series of articles where I discuss what I feel are keys to successful investing. It is based on a post that provides a summary of the ten keys that individual investors should use to identify profitable stock trades. ( Click here to read the original post ) There are two basic steps to investing. First, you need to find stocks that seem to have some potential. Then you have to determine whether these stocks are actually good investments. There are many stocks that at first glance look interesting, but further research reveals that there are too many negatives to warrant taking a position. This first post in the series starts at the beginning: getting good investment ideas. Key #1: If something special is happening to a stock, it will be reflected in some kind of unusual activity in the markets. As individual investors, we will never be the first to know; however, unusual activity can be an early sign that allows us to follow the Wall Street professional