Why the Santa Rally Stumbled; QQQ Sets Up for Big Move, Be Careful

Why the Santa Rally Stumbled; QQQ Sets Up for Big Move, Be Careful

Post By Stock adi, bond market, bond rally, charts, emerging sectors, etfs, financial charts, investing, liquidity, mortgage, ndx, nyad, qqq, santa claus rally, seasonality, sharpcharts, sofr, SPX, stocks, technical analysis, tol, vix, xtn, yield curve

Next week could make or break the Santa rally.

The Fed meets on 12/12 and 13, and CPI and PPI are due out simultaneously. As a result, it wouldn’t a bad idea to review portfolios carefully, to consider taking some profits and to game out some potential ways to hedge. Still, the Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) is forecasting a large, and potentially bullish move soon. Given the bullish seasonal trends, further upside is not out of the question.

This is especially notable given the recent liquidity scare and serendipitous recovery in the financial system, which I describe directly below. Let’s start by looking at the price chart for the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ).

Cutting to the chase, the Bollinger Bands are tightening around QQQ’s prices. That’s a sign, as I detailed here, that a big move is coming. Moreover, money flows, as indicated by Accumulation/Distribution (ADI) and On Balance Volume (OBV) are perking up. A move in QQQ above $394 would likely trigger a whole lot of algo trading programs queued up to trade breakouts.

Why the Santa Rally Stumbled Last Week

Stock traders who have profited from the October 2023 bottom should be thanking the bond market for their good fortune, which means that any major reversal in bond yields will likely be followed by what could be a major selloff in stocks. On the other hand, as can only happen in the strange world known as Wall Street, the recent rally in bonds nearly pulled the plug on the entire financial system on December 1.

In fact, the recent hiccup in the Santa Claus rally, from which the market has largely recovered, may have resulted from a reduction in the financial system’s liquidity brought about by, wait for it, the rally in bonds. According to reports, the speed with which the bond rally developed put a squeeze on Wall Street’s money lending machine (the repo market), whose money powder keg was squeezed by the Fed’s QT maneuvers, which led to the huge backup in bond yields.

The whole thing is so bizarre that it took me several reviews of multiple sources to put it together. But here is the simplified version. The Fed’s “higher for longer” mantra and its QT (removal of liquidity from the system), via the sale of treasury bonds, drained Wall Street’s piggy bank for borrowed money, leaving it with less funds than would normally be required further finance the rally in stocks and bonds.

Translation: we had a mini liquidity crisis as Wall Street ran out of money to lend for a couple of days. Stay with me, please. You just can’t make this stuff up.

When the U.S. Treasury Note yield (TNX) was rising to 5% (May to October 2023), spurred by the Fed’s QT and the panicked sellers who joined them in selling bonds, it squeezed the liquidity in the financial system. Thus, even though there was plenty of interest in buying stocks and bonds when sentiment turned, there wasn’t enough reserve money available in Wall Street’s loan machine to lend to hungry traders – the proverbial air pocket.

The visual evidence for the hiccup was the December 1, 2023 bump in the Secured Overnight Trading Rate (SOFR), which is best seen in the Zoom thumbnail to the right of the price chart.

As a result, those who got caught off guard and who ended up playing catchup after they missed the rally in stocks and bonds, which I predicted here way back in October, suddenly found themselves with limited supplies of money to borrow in order to trade the reversal. SOFR is back in sync with the Fed Funds rate now. But yeah, that was an interesting development for sure.

Bond Yields Pause, Mortgages Continue Bullish Decline

So where are we now? SOFR seems to be back in sync with the Fed Funds rate, which is why the stock market has resumed its rally. On the other hand, the U.S. Ten Year Note yield (TNX) has come a long way in a short period of time, which means we can expect it to back up some in the short term.

Indeed, a pause in TNX’s decline could last for the next couple of weeks as the CPI and PPI numbers are released and the Fed meets on December 12-13. Keep an eye on the 4.25-4.4% yield range, as any move above that key zone could trip some algo-selling in stocks and bonds.

Mortgage rates have dropped. A breach below 7% on the average mortgage could well take mortgages to 6.8%, where they will test the 50-day moving average for this series.

Consequently, homebuilder stocks, as in the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), have broken out to new highs, spurred by the bullish beat of earnings expectations and outlook from Toll Brothers (TOL), which I own and recommended in October, 30% below the 12/2/23 closing price.

The long-term fundamentals of supply and demand remain in favor of the homebuilders and related sectors. For the next move in the homebuilders and other important market sectors, join the smart money at Joe Duarte in the Money Options.com FREE with a two-week trial subscription.

For more on homebuilder stocks and real estate stock analysis, click here.

Interesting Emerging Sectors

Lately, I’ve focused on value investing, as I did in my recent Your Daily Five video, which you can catch here. As it happens, the trend seems to be expanding into sectors which are well off the radar for many investors. Comparing the action in the S&P 500 Citigroup Pure Growth Index (SPXPG) to the trend in the S&P 500 Citigroup Pure Growth Index (SPXPV) index, you can see the dynamic playing out.

One of the most unlikely areas of the market which has benefited from the value trend is the transport sector, where the difficulties being faced by trucking companies are gathering the headlines, but other subsectors are reaping the rewards.

You can see this in the action for the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN), which has quietly crossed above its 200-day moving average and which looks poised to make a run at its old highs near the high 80s, barring negative developments.

Market Breadth Recovers Post-Liquidity Squeeze

The NYSE Advance Decline line (NYAD) remains in bullish territory, trading above its 50- and 200-day moving averages. This may be slowed in the short-term, as the RSI indicator is nearing an overbought level. But even with a slower rate of climb than NYAD’s, the market’s breadth is holding up.

The Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) is inching above 16,000. And with the Bollinger Bands starting to squeeze around prices, it looks as if a big move is just around the corner. Both ADI and OBV are flattening out as profit-taking increases.

The S&P 500 (SPX) remained above 4500 and looks poised to move above 4600. This is not surprising, as many value stocks continue to push SPX higher.

VIX Remains Below 20

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) remained below 20. This is bullish.

A rising VIX means traders are buying large volumes of put options. Rising put option volume from leads market makers to sell stock index futures, hedging their risk. A fall in VIX is bullish, as it means less put option buying, and it eventually leads to call buying. This causes market makers to hedge by buying stock index futures, raising the odds of higher stock prices.

To get the latest information on options trading, check out Options Trading for Dummies, now in its 4th Edition—Get Your Copy Now! Now also available in Audible audiobook format!

#1 New Release on Options Trading!

Good news! I’ve made my NYAD-Complexity – Chaos chart (featured on my YD5 videos) and a few other favorites public. You can find them here.

Joe Duarte

In The Money Options

Joe Duarte is a former money manager, an active trader, and a widely recognized independent stock market analyst since 1987. He is author of eight investment books, including the best-selling Trading Options for Dummies, rated a TOP Options Book for 2018 by Benzinga.com and now in its third edition, plus The Everything Investing in Your 20s and 30s Book and six other trading books.

The Everything Investing in Your 20s and 30s Book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It has also been recommended as a Washington Post Color of Money Book of the Month.

To receive Joe’s exclusive stock, option and ETF recommendations, in your mailbox every week visit https://joeduarteinthemoneyoptions.com/secure/order_email.asp.

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Follow the Smart Money; Technology and Homebuilder Stocks Loved Last Week’s Reversal in Bond Yields

Post By Stock artificial intelligence, bond yields, charts, CPC, etfs, fear, Fed, financial charts, GOOGL, investing, liquidity, market bounce, mortgage, ndx, nyad, qqq, seasonality, sharpcharts, SPX, stocks, technical analysis, Technology, tnx, vix, xhb, yield curve

The fear on Wall Street is rising to a fever pitch, as put option buyers recently accelerated their bets against the market while sentiment surveys reached levels of bearishness not seen since last October. As I’ve noted recently, fear is often the prelude to a tradable bounce. When fear runs high, it pays to follow the smart money, which is starting to flow back into stocks.

Fear is Reaching Extreme Levels

With so much fear among investors, stocks have now entered a familiar type of uncomfortable period; specifically, the type where even though the market is oversold, investors continue to fret and sell stocks in panic, as worries of higher interest rates continue to rise. The CBOE Put/Call ratio reading of 1.60 on 10/4/23 and the recent reading of 17 on the CNN Greed-Fear index are both bullish from a contrarian standpoint.

Of course, oversold markets can stay oversold for longer than anyone expects. Yet as long as the market does not make new lows, the odds of a tradable bottom building continue to rise. On the other hand, there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, and that light is not an oncoming train. A sustained top and a subsequent retracement in bond yields will likely trigger a rebound in stocks.

Here’s the laundry list of worries:

The Fed continues to push for higher interest rates;
The market’s breadth has broken down; and
Bond yields remain near multi-year highs.

Yet that may all change rather quickly, as the market’s breadth is showing signs of recovery and bond yields are looking a bit top-heavy. Moreover, it looks as if bargain hunters are moving into two key areas of the market.

Smart Money Sneaks into Tech Stocks

It wasn’t long ago that Wall Street realized that AI stocks had risen too far too fast, and we saw a breakdown in the entire technology sector. Yet, money is quietly moving back into many of the same stocks that broke down when the so-called “AI bubble” burst in August.

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is heavily weighted toward a handful of large-cap tech stocks, including Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL). And while it’s still early in what could be a bumpy recovery for the market, given the Fed’s continuing talk of “higher for longer” interest rates, QQQ, which often bottoms out before the rest of the market, may have already made its lows for the current pullback. At this point, the $350 area seems to be decent support, while $370 is the key short-term resistance level. Accumulation/Distribution (ADI) and On Balance Volume (OBV) are both improving as short sellers leave (ADI) and buyers start moving in (OBV).

A perfect example of the quiet flow of smart money can be seen in shares of Alphabet, which has remained in an uptrend throughout the recent market decline and is now within reach of breaking out.

Bond Yields Are Now Totally Crazy

Much to the chagrin of regular readers, I remain fixated on the action in the bond market. That’s because, if you haven’t noticed, stocks are trading in a direct inverse lock step to bond yields. In other words, rising bond yields lead to falling stock prices and vice-versa. You can thank the robot trader farms for that.

Recently, I’ve noted the U.S. Ten Year Treasury Note (TNX) yield has been trading well above its normal trading range. Specifically, TNX has been above the upper Bollinger Band corresponding to its 200-day moving average since August 11, 2022, except for a small dip back inside the band. As I noted in my recent video on Bollinger Bands, this is a very abnormal trading pattern, which usually precedes a meaningful reversal.

Indeed, something may be happening, and we may be in the early stages of the reversal I’ve been expecting. On 10/6/23, we saw an intraday downturn in TNX after what was initially seen as a bearish jobs report delivered an early rise in yields which took TNX to 4.9%.

The above chart shows that bond yields reached a greater extreme reading recently, as TNX closed three standard deviations above its 200-day moving average on 10/2/23 and 10/6/23 (red line at top of chart), expanding the distortion in the market and likely raising the odds of bond yields reversing their recent climb. Rising bond yields have led to rising mortgage rates and weakness the homebuilder stocks, which as I recently noted to subscribers of JoeDuarteInTheMoneyOptions.com and members of my Buy Me a Coffee page here, may be poised for a rebound.

As the chart below shows, rates (MORTGAGE) have skyrocketed in what looks to be an unsustainable move.

Such a move would be expected to trip a major selloff in the homebuilder stocks. But what we saw was the opposite, as the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is starting to put in a bottom as bond yields look set to roll over.

The take-home message is that homebuilder stocks are now marching in lockstep to the tune of the bond market. Once bond yields fully reverse, the odds favor a nice move up in homebuilder stocks.

Prepare for the next phase in the market. Join the smart money at JoeDuarteInTheMoneyOptions.com where I have just added five homebuilder stocks to the model portfolios. You can have a look at my latest recommendations FREE with a two week trial subscription. For frequent updates on real estate and housing, click here.

The Market’s Breadth Shows Signs of Stabilizing

The NYSE Advance Decline line (NYAD) fell below its 200-day moving average last week, but cemented its oversold status based on its most recent RSI reading near 30. Of some comfort is that the fledgling bottom in NYAD is developing near its recent March and May bottoms.

The Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) has survived multiple tests of the 14500-15000 support area. ADI and OBV are both bouncing, which means short covering (ADI) and buying (OBV) are occurring simultaneously.

The S&P 500 (SPX) found support just below 4250 and looks set to test the resistance levels near the 20 and 50-day moving averages in the near future. ADI is rising as short sellers cover their positions. If OBV turns up, it will be even more bullish.

VIX Remains Below 20

As it has done for the past few weeks during which the market has corrected, VIX has remained stubbornly below the 20 area. A move above 20 would be very negative.

When the VIX rises, stocks tend to fall, as rising put volume is a sign that market makers are selling stock index futures to hedge their put sales to the public. A fall in VIX is bullish, as it means less put option buying, and it eventually leads to call buying, which causes market makers to hedge by buying stock index futures. This raises the odds of higher stock prices.

Liquidity Continues to Tighten

Liquidity is tightening. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), is an approximate sign of the market’s liquidity. It remains near its recent high in response to the Fed’s move and the rise in bond yields. A move below 5.0 would be bullish. A move above 5.5% would signal that monetary conditions are tightening beyond the Fed’s intentions, which would be very bearish.

To get the latest information on options trading, check out Options Trading for Dummies, now in its 4th Edition—Get Your Copy Now! Now also available in Audible audiobook format!

#1 New Release on Options Trading!

Good news! I’ve made my NYAD-Complexity – Chaos chart (featured on my YD5 videos) and a few other favorites public. You can find them here.

Joe Duarte

In The Money Options

The Everything Investing in Your 20s and 30s Book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It has also been recommended as a Washington Post Color of Money Book of the Month.

To receive Joe’s exclusive stock, option and ETF recommendations, in your mailbox every week visit https://joeduarteinthemoneyoptions.com/secure/order_email.asp.

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#Follow #Smart #Money #Technology #Homebuilder #Stocks #Loved #Weeks #Reversal #Bond #Yields

Market Breadth Continues Recovery; Watching the NVDA Effect on QQQ as Oil Heats Up

Post By Stock Bonds, bullish vs. bearish, charts, etfs, financial charts, investing, liquidity, market breadth, ndx, nvda, nyad, oih, oil, qqq, seasonality, sharpcharts, stocks, technical analysis, tnx, uso, vix, volatility, wtic, yield curve

The dog days of August are mercifully over. And as Wall Street gets back to work, new trends are emerging which could influence what the stock market does for the rest of the year.

Here are the macro crosscurrents to sort through:

The Fed is on the bubble as some Fed governors want to pause the rate hikes, while others want to push rates higher;
The jobs market seems to be cooling;
The bond market is focused on inflation, but is off its worse levels as it ponders what the Fed will do next, whether the job market is going to get weaker, and whether the price of oil will upset the apple cart;
Stocks are working on putting in a credible bottom; and
The oil market looks set to erupt.

Altogether, these variables suggest the fourth quarter has the potential to be a potentially profitable quarter for investors who can discern where the smart money is flowing and successfully follow it.

Bond Volatility Increases as Data Shifts Rapidly

The bond market’s inflation fears eased over the last few weeks ,but the most recent round of purchasing manager data (ISM and PMI), suggesting festering inflation in the manufacturing sector, erased the glee generated by the apparent cooling of the jobs market via lower-than-expected JOLTS and ADP data, which was boosted by the rise in the unemployment rate and a tame payrolls report.

The U.S. Ten Year Note Yield (TNX) reversed its downward move toward 4% in response to the purchasing manager’s data, which was interpreted as a picture of stagflation. The yield is nervously trading between its 20- and 50-day moving averages.

Smart Money Roundup: Watching NVDA Effect on QQQ

Calls for the death of the so-called AI bubble may have been premature, although the jury is still out for the sector in the short-term. Certainly, the action in AI bellwether Nvidia’s shares (NVDA) is an important metric to keep an eye on.

The stock’s recent volatility suggests that investors are thinking about what comes next, although the company continues with its bullish guidance. On the other hand, the slowly developing downslope in the Accumulation/Distribution (ADI) line is cautionary, as it suggests short sellers are starting to bet on lower prices for the stock.

On Balance Volume (OBV) is in better shape, which suggests that a sideways pattern or a steady uptrend is the most likely path for the stock after the consolidation. You can see the NVDA effect reflected in the shares of the Invesco Nasdaq 100 Trust (QQQ) which is also consolidating. Support for QQQ is at $370.

Oil is Getting Hot

Tech is consolidating, but the smart money is moving into oil. You can see that in the bullish breakout of West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTIC), which is now above $85. Recall my May 2023 article, titled “Never Short a Dull Market,”, where I predicted that tight oil supplies were in the works and that the odds of higher prices were better than even.

And that’s exactly what’s happened. In the last three weeks, the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) has reported a nearly 30 million barrel drawdown in U.S. oil inventories. Moreover, there are two coincident developments unfolding, which are likely to further decrease supplies:

OPEC + is likely to maintain its current production cuts in place for at least another month; and
The U.S. is quietly refilling its Strategic Petroleum Reserves.

These two factors, combined with stable-to-possibly-rising consumer demand for gasoline, and perhaps a rise in demand for heating oil as the weather turns cooler, are likely to keep prices on an upward trajectory for the next few weeks to months, and perhaps longer.

Expressed in more investor-accessible terms, you can see the shares of the U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) have broken out above the $75 resistance level, with excellent confirmation from a rise in the Accumulation/Distribution (ADI) and On Balance Volume (OBV) indicators as short sellers step aside (ADI) and buyers move in (OBV).

The bullish sentiment in oil also includes the oil stocks including the Van Eck Oil Services ETF (OIH), which is nearing its own breakout. This is due to the rise in global exploration, which has been steadily developing over the last twelve months, but which the market has mostly ignored, despite CEO comments of an oil service “super cycle” unfolding.

Things are happening fast. Oil, tech, housing, bonds, are all making their move. What’s your plan of action in this market? Join the smart money at Joe Duarte in the Money Options.com. You can have a look at my latest recommendations FREE with a two week trial subscription. You can also review the supply demand balance in the oil market and what the future may hold here. And if you’re a Tesla (TSLA) fan, I’m reviewing some interesting developments in the stock, which you can review free of charge here.

Breadth Recovery Shows Staying Power

Last week, I noted the worst may be over in the short term for stocks, as the market’s breadth is showing signs of resilience. This bullish trend is showing some staying power, as the New York Stock Exchange Advance Decline line moved above its 50-day moving average while maintaining its position above the 200-day moving averages. Another bullish sign is that RSI is nowhere near overbought, which means the rally still has legs.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) ran into resistance at the 15,600 area, where there is a moderate size cluster of Volume-by-Price bars (VBP) offering a bit of turbulence, as investors who bought the recent top are trying to get out “even”. Accumulation/Distribution (ADI) and On Balance Volume (OBV), may have bottomed out, but are showing some short-term weakness.

The S&P 500 (SPX) is acting in a similar way, although it remained above 4500, but above 4350, and it its 20-day and its 50-day moving averages. ADI is flat, but OBV is improving as investors put money to work in the oil and related sectors.

VIX Remains Below 20

VIX has been a bright point in the market for the last couple of weeks, as it has failed to rally above the 20 area. This is good news, as a move above 20 would be very negative, signaling that the big money is finally throwing in the towel on the uptrend.

Liquidity Remains Stable

Liquidity is stable. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which recently replaced the Eurodollar Index (XED) but is an approximate sign of the market’s liquidity, just broke to a new high in response to the Fed’s move. A move below 5.0 would be more bullish. A move above 5.5% would signal that monetary conditions are tightening beyond the Fed’s intentions; that would be very bearish.

To get the latest information on options trading, check out Options Trading for Dummies, now in its 4th Edition—Get Your Copy Now! Now also available in Audible audiobook format!

#1 New Release on Options Trading!

Good news! I’ve made my NYAD-Complexity – Chaos chart (featured on my YD5 videos) and a few other favorites public. You can find them here.

Joe Duarte

In The Money Options

The Everything Investing in Your 20s and 30s Book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It has also been recommended as a Washington Post Color of Money Book of the Month.

To receive Joe’s exclusive stock, option and ETF recommendations, in your mailbox every week visit https://joeduarteinthemoneyoptions.com/secure/order_email.asp.

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#Market #Breadth #Continues #Recovery #Watching #NVDA #Effect #QQQ #Oil #Heats

Momentum is Back, Breadth Rallies; It’s Truth Time for OPEC and Crude Oil

Post By Stock charts, crude oil, etfs, financial charts, homebuilders, investing, liquidity, market breadth, moving averages, ndx, nyad, opec, seasonality, sharpcharts, sphb, SPX, stocks, technical analysis, tnx, vix, wtic, yield curve

The week of June 5 should be momentous as the bears who have been left behind consider whether to fully capitulate.

The stock market is back in rally mode as seasonal tendencies for a summer rally, especially in the third year of the presidential cycle, assert their influence. Especially comforting is the recovery in the market’s breadth, as measured by the NYSE Advance Decline line (see below). The US economy is showing signs of slowing, as the rate of rise in inflation is flattening.

Of course, things could change instantly, especially if, as I discuss below, OPEC does something dramatic at its June 3–4 meeting. Moreover, it’s all about whether the Fed leaves rates unchanged in June in order to see if the current flattening out of inflationary pressures is a prelude to an actual decline and what that does to bond yields.

I’ll have more on bonds below. First, a few words about the oil market.

OPEC’s Credibility is on the Line

Last week, I suggested that shorting a dull market is not a good idea. I was referring to the nearly complete lack of bulls in the oil market and suggested the energy sector was ripe for a bounce.

As I went to press on this post, rumors were circulating that OPEC was considering a 1 million barrel per day production cut, to be announced at the conclusion of its June 3–4 meeting. This cut, if it happens, will be in addition to production cuts previously announced, which are starting to make their way through the system and could reduce global oil supply meaningfully.

Crude oil ($WTIC) rallied on June 2, 2023, on the OPEC rumors and signs that oil production is already being reduced. For example, the US Rig count fell for the fifth consecutive week. Meanwhile, Canada’s oil sands giant Suncor announced 1500 job cuts. There are also rumors that job cuts are coming in the fracking sector in the US, as the number of active crews finishing wells is also shrinking.

Here’s the bottom line:

The US oil industry is dialing back production, and OPEC seems to be on a similar course.
If OPEC flakes out, they risk losing their ability to influence the price of oil, at least for the foreseeable future.

Watch the market’s response to OPEC’s announcement. If WTIC’s price rises above $75 decisively, then current market relationships, especially bond yields, stock prices, and what the Fed does at its upcoming FOMC meeting (June 13–14), will likely be affected.

I’ve recently recommended several energy sector picks. You can look at them with a free trial of my service. In addition, I’ve posted a Special Report on the oil market, which you can access here.

Bond Yields Test Resistance

The latest monthly payroll numbers were well above expectations, but the bond market is focusing on other signs that the economy is slowing. As I noted last week, bond yields are likely to fall once the economy shows signs of slowing and the Fed admits that it must at least stop raising rates. Here are some signs that perhaps we’re not too far from that point:

Dallas Fed Survey crashes, falling for the 13th consecutive month; one respondent noted: “There is nothing encouraging on the horizon.” Other notable quotes: “orders canceled,” “order volume has stalled recently,” and “seeing a massive slowdown.”
Dallas Fed services survey fell for the 12th straight month. Comments worth noting: “Businesses are preparing for a recession by looking for ways to cut back, which in some ways, works to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Chicago PMI Collapses—new orders, prices paid, production, inventories, and employment fell.
China manufacturing PMI fell below 50, signaling contraction.
U.S. PMI and ISM surveys fell again.
China’s economy is showing signs of slowing.

Beige Book Confirms Slowing U.S. Growth

Confirming the negative news above, the Fed’s most recent Beige Book offered the following:

Prices are rising but are doing so more slowly.
New York and Philadelphia registered slowing economic activity.
Boston, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City reported flat activity.
San Francisco, Dallas, and Minneapolis reported slight growth.

The bottom line is that inflation seems to be rising at a slower pace and that the US economy is slowing, as eight of eleven Fed districts reported slowing or flat economic activity. The three that reported growth described it as slight to moderate.

Bond Yields Test Resistance. Mortgages Follow. Homebuilders Perk Up.

The most predictable relationship in the stock market currently is the one that connects bond yields, mortgage rates, and homebuilder stocks. When bond yields fall, mortgage rates follow. Increases in home sales register and homebuilder stocks rally.

The crucial point on the 10-Year US Treasury Yield ($TNX) is 3.85%. If yields remain below this level, the environment should remain stable.

Moreover, if I’m right and the economy continues to slow, bond yields will roll over, and mortgage rates will drop as demand for new homes again picks up.

As things stood last week, the S&P 500 Homebuilding Subindustry Index ($SPHB) seems to have made a short-term bottom as traders begin to factor in the scenario above.

If $TNX remains below 3.7%, it’s a sign that bond traders are less worried about inflation. This should be bullish for homebuilder stocks.

For an in-depth comprehensive outlook on the homebuilder sector, click here.

NYAD Rallies; SPX Joins NDX’s Breakout; Liquidity is Stable; VIX Hits New Low.

It was quite the week for the market’s technical picture.

The New York Stock Exchange Advance Decline line ($NYAD) rallied back above its 50-day moving average, signaling stocks are back in an uptrend.

The Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX) extended its recent breakout, closing the week well above 14,500. The current move is unsustainable, so some pullback and consolidation are likely over the next few days to weeks. On the other hand, it could take some time for a consolidation or pullback to develop, as both accumulation distribution line and On Balance Volume (OBV) are in solid uptrends, signaling lots of upward momentum.

The S&P 500 index ($SPX) finally broke out above the 4100–4200 trading range, decisively confirming the trend in $NDX. OBV continues to improve, while the Accumulation Distribution line remained in an upward trend.

VIX Breaks to New Lows

The Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX) broke to a new low as call option buyers overwhelmed the market. This is probably a little too much bullishness all at once, so we’ll see how long it lasts.

Liquidity is Still Limited

The market’s liquidity may have bottomed out, but it’s not particularly bullish. The Eurodollar Index ($XED) failed to rally above 94.50, a bearish development. For now, it’s good enough to keep the rally from imploding. A move below 94 would be very bearish.

A move above 95 will be a bullish development. Usually, a stable or rising XED is very bullish for stocks.

To get the latest up-to-date information on options trading, check out Options Trading for Dummies, now in its 4th Edition—Get Your Copy Now! Now also available in Audible audiobook format!

#1 New Release on Options Trading!

Good news! I’ve made my NYAD-Complexity – Chaos chart (featured on my YD5 videos) and a few other favorites public. You can find them here.

Joe Duarte

In The Money Options

The Everything Investing in Your 20s and 30s Book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It has also been recommended as a Washington Post Color of Money Book of the Month.

To receive Joe’s exclusive stock, option and ETF recommendations, in your mailbox every week visit https://joeduarteinthemoneyoptions.com/secure/order_email.asp.

About the author:
Joe Duarte is a former money manager, an active trader and a widely recognized independent stock market analyst going back to 1987. His books include the best selling Trading Options for Dummies, a TOP Options Book for 2018, 2019, and 2020 by Benzinga.com, Trading Review.Net 2020 and Market Timing for Dummies. His latest best-selling book, The Everything Investing Guide in your 20’s & 30’s, is a Washington Post Color of Money Book of the Month. To receive Joe’s exclusive stock, option and ETF recommendations in your mailbox every week, visit the Joe Duarte In The Money Options website.
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