Russell 2000 Hits Record Highs, May Be Ready for a Breakout
The Russell 2000 just made a new all-time high, matching last week’s records in the SPX, Dow, and Nasdaq. In doing so, it is above this little 1385-1390 range at which it failed 3 times in a row: We can also view those 3 failures as top points of a descending trendline: I’d keep an eye on it to see if it can keep moving with authority above 1400. Round numbers are meaningless for judging direction but 1400 is just enough above the recent range to judge this extension Yellen’s testimony may be key tomorrow. If she’s hawkish, that could help the Russell bust a power move higher since a strong dollar is generally better for small caps than large caps.
Continue Reading -->Weekly Sentiment Update – Traders Actually Look Bullish!
Permabulls always say everyone’s bearish. And permabears always say everyone’s bullish. Neither side provides evidence for their views. So let’s see how traders are feeling into today’s inauguration: 1) VIX Spread – Bullish The 3-month VIX spread is at +5, which indicates traders are not concerned with volatility. This is a bullish reading. 2) CNN Fear & Greed Index – Bullish The Fear & Greed Index is at 67. F&G operates on a 1-100 scale, and 67 indicates that traders are moderately bullish. 3) AAII Sentiment – Neutral The latest AAII Sentiment Survey shows that 35.8% of individual investors are bullish, which is below the long-term average of 38.5%. This is basically neutral. 4) CBOE Equity Put-Call – Bearish The CBOE Equity-Put Call ratio is at 0.69 with a 3-day moving average of 0.73. This indicates higher-than-average bearishness. 5) ISE Sentiment – Bearish The ISE Sentiment Index is at just 85 (85 calls for every 100 puts) this afternoon – which is a bearish reading. And the 10-day moving average is 79.2. This also indicates bearish sentiment. Conclusion Out of 5 sentiment indicators, we have 2 bullish, 1 neutral, and 2 bearish signs. Now this seems neutral, but I’d argue that traders are actually leaning bullish. Why? Because options-based indicators (notably the ISE Sentiment Index) have become fairly detached from equity markets. Using sentiment as a signal for buys/sells is often a bad idea. And in the case of these options indicators, they seem to be losing value as times go on.
Continue Reading -->Not Even Trump Can Help Twitter!
Yesterday after the close, Twitter (TWTR) announced yet another disappointing quarterly earnings report. On the surface, Twitter has the wind at its back. We just had the craziest Presidential election in history, and the most active global news flow I’ve ever seen. Black Lives Matter. Migrant crisis. Syria. The Brexit. Italy’s No Vote. Right wing nationalist movements rising worldwide. There’s never been more stuff to talk about! Heck, President Trump Tweets so often that you’d think he owns the stock. Plus, Twitter gets a staggering amount of exposure from the media. Athletes and celebrities’ feeds are constantly promoted on the mainstream media. Yet Twitter’s ad revenues DECLINED year-over-year in Q4. Facebook (FB) grew ad revenues by 53%! And Facebook has a revenue base that’s 10 times as big! So what’s the deal here? Aside from the fact that Twitter is not user-friendly and offers little in the way of instant gratification — Facebook has the greatest advertising platform the world’s ever seen. It has in-depth personal information on almost 2 billion people. Think about it. Odds are, Facebook knows: 1) Your full name, age, location, marital/family status, and employment history 2) All of your hobbies and personal interests 3) Your political affiliation 4) What websites you visit 5) What companies you buy from 6) Who you talk to 7) Where you go Twitter surely has some of this data, but it also has some major disadvantages: 1) A smaller user base, and smaller data set 2) More anonymity Speak to anyone in the Internet marketing world, and you’ll know that businesses are tossing huge sums of money at Facebook and Instagram ads. Twitter? Not many folks seem to care.
Continue Reading -->Post-Earnings Analysis: Tech in Focus
FN — Reported very strongly on Monday and continues to signal strength for my fiber thesis. The most curious thing is how little pin action is occurring off of these strong reports. More on this below. This stock would probably be up more if not for the CEO announcing he is leaving. Selling into the mid/high $30’s here probably makes sense. I still favor other names in the space. OCLR — Case in point, they have sold off since they reported a whopper and again, has shown no real upside pin action, though it’s showing a touch of a bounce today. A possible explanation here is that there have been continuing rumors on OCLR as a target for a FNSR takeout. One would think this could/should have the stock higher, but maybe some think that OCLR has risen a lot and won’t garner a big premium. My view is that the forward PSR is still just barely above 2. This is very cheap on any LT or M&A valuation perspective given the consolidation that’s occurred in the space over the last few years. I was buying some OCLR again recently into the selling. I’ll look to add more in the mid $8’s or lower should it go there. AKAM — Strong report but this stock had already soared and a guide which was largely inline just isn’t enough to keep this stock going. In the mid/high $50’s, I’ll take a gander at this one. This is also somewhat indicative of some rotation action that’s starting to emanate further in the market. Strong reports on hot stocks are seeing more flat to selling action than buying action. This is something I was harping on all the way back in Nov/Dec of last year. NEWR — Another very good report and the stock is down moderately. Again, it was close to yearky highs. I prefer SPLK and VRNS and HDP in this space. LITE — Back to the Fibers… LITE reported a good but not a great QTR at all. However, they talked about a strong forward outlook out past just one QTR and the shares are ripping. LITE has also been seeing product shortages and that’s usually well received in Tech land. Again, I would think this would engender a lot more pin action than we are seeing but that pin action might come in delayed reaction fashion as is popular with Algo trading the last couple years. TWLO — The best report of last night, hands down, was TWLO’s very big beat on the current quarter with a notably raised Rev. guide for both the QTR and FY outlooks. I’m a buyer on any notable weakness here. If one looks at how something like an ANET or several other IPO’s traded in recent years, the first year of trading is fraught with lots of raids and rumors. I suppose the machines can mess with TWLO for another QTR or two but if they keep delivering these sorts of results this could have a very substantial move higher. In the meantime, I think a range trade of 4-6pts will occur a good number of times. And guess what, we just saw a 6pt move off the recent early year lows. A break above $32.50 will break that range and setup the next higher leg. Disclosure: Position in OCLR, SPLK, VMS, HDP, TWLO
Continue Reading -->Blast from the Past: T3 Live Featured in Documentary by China’s CCTV-2
On September 22, 2010, CCTV-2, the business channel of China’s state broadcaster, aired the first installment of “Wall Street”, a 10-part documentary covering all angles of New York’s famed business landmark. The documentary surveys several angles of the finance world, including major media outlets, big banks, and T3 traders including Chief Strategic Officer Scott Redler, who appeared in the first episode. ‘China’s first finance documentary’ took 800 hours of footage and three years to make, and ranks among the most expensive documentaries CCTV has ever produced. The producers, directors and cameramen were all involved in CCTV’s award-winning documentary series Rise of the Great Powers, Capital Market, and Water Cries. The series speaks not only to the history of Wall Street, but also reveals the transformation of global capital markets over the past 200 years. T3Live.com was strategically chosen for the first installment of the series to represent the new generation of Wall Street: young, vibrant, innovative, technology driven and committed to bringing transparency to the markets. During the two-week intensive filming period, CCTV’s crew got a first-hand look at the inner workings of the company, and came away impressed with T3 Live’s mission and ability to empower the individual investor through its comprehensive trading education website at T3Live.com. In China, interest in trading the US markets has grown considerably, and now Chinese individuals will have access top professionals trading the markets every day, in real time.
Continue Reading -->There Are More Bears Than Bulls Out in the Wild
Permabulls always say everyone’s bearish. And permabears always say everyone’s bullish. Neither side provides evidence for their views. So let’s see how traders are feeling into today’s inauguration: 1) VIX Spread – Bullish The 3-month VIX spread is at +4.51, which indicates traders are pricing in very low near-term volatility. This means traders are bullish. 2) CNN Fear & Greed Index – Neutral The Fear & Greed Index is at 49. F&G operates on a 1-100 scale, and 50 is neutral. So we’re right in the middle. 3) AAII Sentiment – Bearish The latest AAII Sentiment Survey shows that 32.8% of individual investors are bullish, which is below the long-term average of 38.5%. 4) CBOE Equity Put-Call – Bearish The CBOE Equity-Put Call ratio is at 0.71 with a 3-day moving average of 0.74. This indicates higher-than-average bearishness. 5) ISE Sentiment – Bearish The ISE Sentiment Index is at just 79 (79 calls for every 100 puts) this morning – which is a bearish reading. And the 10-day moving average is 81.3. This also indicates bearish sentiment. Conclusion Out of 5 sentiment indicators, we have 1 bullish, 1 neutral, and 3 bearish. I’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about how bullish the crowd is. But if anything, traders are leaning against the market, hoping for a fall.
Continue Reading -->Trump Pumps Up Pipeline Stocks, and I’m Holding On
Way back on December 11, 2015, I tossed the Kayne Anderson MLP Closed-End Fund (KYN) into my retirement account, back when it was around $14. President Trump signed orders to expedite the goverment’s review of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, which is driving up shares of MLP’s, with KYN breaking through $20. KYN’s second biggest holding is Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) (19% of the fund), which is building the Dakota Access pipeline. This is a nice gain, but I’m not selling any. Why? Because KYN’s 4 most recent quarterly dividends have been returns of capital, not actual income. That means KYN has been distributing fund assets back to fund owners. So there are no actual income gains — they’ve all been from price appreciation. Assuming these pipelines go through, and assuming we see more domestic oil production under Trump, KYN could actually start distributing real income back to shareholders. That would be a huge catalyst, possibly breaking KYN out of its 8-month channel. Also, KYN is trading at a mere +0.2% premium to NAV vs. a 3-year average of +3.8%. That premium has actually gone as high as 16.4% over the past 5 years. So I’m going to let it ride. It’s come a long way but I don’t think froth has set in.
Continue Reading -->T3’s Take 3: Yellen Goes Hawk, Spikes the Dollar
1) Yellen Goes Full Hawk Today, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gave a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Franscisco, and she swung her hawk hammer. Yellen said the Fed is close to meeting its dual mandate of full employment and price stability, and that Fed officials expect a few rate hikes this year. The US dollar immediately ripped on the news, gaining 1.7% against the yen and 0.7% against the euro. The dollar in strength put a hurting on gold, which fell -0.7%. The ever-volatile gold miners ETF(GDX) dropped -1.5%. 2) Stocks Bounce Yellen’s hawkiskhness drove a rebound in stocks, and the S&P 500 managed to squeeze up 0.2% to 2271.89. That’s not exactly exciting, but there were some signs of strength under the hood. The Russell 2000 rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) rose 0.8%. Yellen’s hawk talk drove the S&P Financials ETF (XLF) up 0.8%, with Regional Banks (KRE) up 1.1%. Retail, energy, and US Treasuries led the decliners’ column today. After the close today, Netflix (NFLX) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and surged over $10. 3) Jeff Cooper on Gold This afternoon, T3 Live’s Jeff Cooper issued the following analysis of gold: Yesterday, GLD gapped up into a shelf of resistance from the spring of 2016 around 115. Today, after treading water in the early going, the bears came out to play. GLD is pulling back into the gap window from yesterday. GLD and the miners have done a lot of work and are entitled to inhale. However, GLD is doing something it hasn’t done for many moon: GLD has delivered a Golden Cross with the 50 week crossing above the 200. Click here to learn more about Jeff Cooper’s Daily Market Report.
Continue Reading -->Morning Call Express: 2017 Starts with Green Arrows. Do They Stick?
In today’s Morning Call Express, Scott Redler welcomes us to the New Year. Scott starts things off by looking at the EWG and the big resistance level it is coming up to test and how it compares to the FXI. He also looks at the SPX and QQQ and where they will be opening the new year. Scott also reviews some high beta tech names as well.
Continue Reading -->Happy New Year!
We have mixed/quiet markets around the world as we close out the year. Europe is flattish and has a very tight pattern. It looks ready to rally. We’ve been long EWG calls in RAA since the Italian Referendum, and EWG/FEZ look like they’ll give more gains. In Asia, the landscape is a little different. The Nikkei had a big run and needs to digest. The Hang Seng has been choppy to the downside, though it was up 1.0%. The Shanghai was up +0.4%, but it needs time to show its hand. SPX futures are up 4-5 handles. Yesterday, most sectors hit new weekly lows but rallied back a bit to close off the lows. We saw a few Red Dog Reversals as some sectors traded below Wednesday’s lows and reclaimed them Thursday by day’s end. I’m not sure what today brings. The action may depend on whether we have any leftover rebalancing to work through. At this point, there are multiple scenarios to consider for the New Year. We’ve seen a little give on the post-Trump Trade, but not much. The USD came in a bit and Treasuries rallied. Some strong sectors tested the 21 day and held. Do new funds come in the first five days and drive the indices to new highs fast? Do traders book gains to push taxes out to 2018? Do some January effect-type trades take place in beaten-down names and sectors? We will have scenario A, B, and C. Whatever you do today, don’t let it ruin your holiday. Just focus on starting 2017 on the wrong foot. There will be more than enough time to figure out new relationships, correlations, etc. as the first few days develop. For today, see if the upside gap holds or gets sold. SPX has 2242 as pivot support for today and to start the year. If this holds, it would bring in new money to lift stocks in January. If they hit stocks fast in January, the important level will be the prior breakout area at 2193-2210. If they buy them fast, the first level to clear and hold above is 2262ish with the high of the range at 2277. A close above this and the door to 2325 opens for the first quarter. SPY put a low in at $223.84 yesterday. That will be your pivot support for today and to start the year. If they hit them fast, this needs to get taken out with a close below the 21 day. Then perhaps it can see $220ish. For today, see if SPY holds yesterday’s high of $224.89. For the bulls to come out quick in January, they need a trade and hold above $226.30 as the first step. Then the high of the range is $228.34. A close above this in the first few days of the year and the door to $232.50 is open. I will have a very extensive note to start the year on Tuesday morning as a lot can change between now and that open. For today, keep it light and get ready for the holiday and get your head ready for 2017. Remember, your time frame matters. Have a long-term plan with a 401k/403b/IRA/529 because over the long run, the bull market wins. But to participate, you must have a process that works for you. Never invest and live above your means. If you swing trade and trade for a living that’s different. It takes a routine, time, and commitment to a process. Combine that with discipline and humility, and you can win. Most importantly, live life and enjoy the time you have with your family and friends. A little fitness doesn’t hurt either. Don’t sweat the small stuff as it ends up being meaningless when you’re faced with the big things. Thanks for being a part of my community. Having friends like you on my team gave me a mission instead of a job. Happy New Year!
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