pebblewriter

Tag: forecast

  • Not a Breakout

    Yes, it was impressive. AAPL, FB, GOOGL and AMZN delivered big time. Yet, AMZN, the one that was best positioned to clean up, hasn’t yet broken above a key Fib level, let alone the top of the 20-year old channel which marked the July 13 reversal.

    If it does, fine, bears should prepare for a long, long winter. But, until it does, this remains a dangerous moment for the recovery’s poster child.

    While we’re at it, did anyone notice that after tagging yesterday’s downside target, futures bounced only to the .886 Fib?  Or, that SPX is poised to pop and drop at its own .886 Fib?

    Again, not a breakout.

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  • A Failure to Capitulate

    Futures have given up all their Tesla gains and are pointing to a slightly lower open for the S&P this morning.Apparently, a threatened breakdown in VIX just isn’t as effective as it used to be.

    What we have here is a failure to capitulate (apologies to Cool Hand Luke for the cheap rip-off of a great movie.)

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  • VIX’s Important Test

    Futures are up sharply on a better than expected jobs report: up 4.8 million, and the unemployment rate dropping to 11.1%. Initial claims came in at 1.43 million, with continuing claims rising slightly to 19.3 million.

    The direction didn’t surprise anyone, but the numbers surprised most. The reopening of most of the country over the past month has produced the desired results. It remains to be seen whether the spike in coronavirus cases in half the country will put a dent in the trend.

    Back on June 12 [see: Is it Safe?], we alerted members to a development in VIX, which had recently broken out of a falling channel from March and was nearing a 10/20 cross.

    It’s tough to see on the chart above, but VIX’s SMA10 was just about to cross above its SMA20 – a bullish sign for VIX and bearish one for stocks. If VIX is hammered today, the bullish cross can be avoided. If stocks’ meltup is to resume, we could still see VIX backtest its broken white channel or the yellow trend line off the 2018 lows which is nearing the SMA200 currently at 24.89.

    As it turned out, that’s exactly what happened. After the jobs numbers this morning, VIX tumbled to tag its SMA200 and the yellow trend line from the 2018 lows. This completes a 42% drop which produced a 200-pt (6.7%) rise in SPX.The big question, of course, is whether this important support will hold.

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  • Powell: What Did I Say!?

    I saw an interesting interview on CNBC this morning where the guest observed how important overnight trading was to the market’s overall performance. Andrew Ross Sorkin offered data that if one bought the S&P 500 at the close of each day of trading and sold at the next morning’s open, they would be up 650% since 1993.  If, instead, they bought at the open and sold at the close, they would be down 3%.

    This observation won’t surprise any of our members, who are well-versed in the market’s increasingly endemic ramp jobs over the past 12 years. So far so good. The problem with the interview came when a rationale for the effect was offered: one should be compensated for taking overnight risk.  Mike Santoli then chipped in, adding another explanation: more news happens outside of market hours than during.  Ugh. And, it was going so well…

    Let’s be clear about one thing: markets are manipulated, and it’s almost always intentional. Sometimes it’s quite obvious and effective, such as the announcement of a enormous new round of QE on March 23. This particular one was ridiculously obvious, as it came at 8am on the day the Dow would complete a 38% crash to test its Nov 9, 2016 lows (the day after the presidential election.)

    The rest of the time, it’s done so discretely that most observers are unaware of the actual machinations. We discuss the whys and wherefores every single day, as understanding the motives and means provides an excellent road map for our forecasts.

    A great example is our VIX chart, which has exhibited an orderly collapse since it reached our Fibonacci .886 target at 80.3 on March 16.The declines most often come in the after-hours, before the cash market opens. This prompts the algos to buy futures, which results in a gap higher on the open as the rest of the machines kick into gear (index funds, ETFs, quants, etc.) The fundamental crowd, which accounts for only 10% of volume, brings up the rear.

    It’s notable then that after bouncing at its 200-DMA and a trend line off its 2018 lows, VIX finally departed from this channel (the yellow arrow above) last night.

    This allowed our favored scenario to play out as described yesterday.

    I’m leaning toward a correction beginning today, but am unsure whether the channel bottoms at ES 3076 and 3122-3135 will hold or not.  It depends a great deal on what Powell says later today.

    Bottom line, Powell’s comments weren’t terribly uplifting as he essentially confirmed that a rebound is not just around the corner. The problem is the fallout from the coronavirus – which the rest of the world is beginning to understand has not gone away — not even with the Fed’s best efforts.

    As to the markets… so far, so good. The key, of course, will be what happens if/when it reaches the 2.618 Fib extension at 3076.93.

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  • Another Yield Curve Warning for Stocks

    Two steps forward…in order to accommodate a big step back.

    We’ve seen it countless times in the lead-up to Fed meetings, GDP reports and, lately, jobs data. With May unemployment expected to top 20% (it’s unofficially already there) after another 7.5 million joined the jobless ranks……the market’s caretakers put a 58-pt cushion into the market.  ES’ 10-day moving average, for instance, is about 87 points below last night’s highs. Had ES instead fallen 87 points from yesterday’s lows, it would mean a risky test of its 200-DMA.

    It’s gratifying to see scores of analysts come to the realization that the markets are being heavily influenced (a more accurate word is manipulated) by massive Fed stimulus. But, as members know, this has been going on for years – particularly as stocks reach key levels of overhead resistance.

    With the Dow finally joining SPX in reaching its 200-DMA on Wednesday and several key components (e.g. AAPL) taking great pains not to break out to new highs, it seemed as though we might get at least a pause in the meltup, maybe even a correction.

    Our yield curve model confirmed it yesterday with the 2s10s breaking out above all recent highs except that seen in late March.Now, we’ll have to wait and see whether the algos, being directed this morning by USDJPY, VIX and CL, are intent on notching new highs or will, temporarily at least, reconcile with the real world.

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  • The Hits Keep Coming

    It’s the last day of a short week packed with more important economic data — which the market has managed to ignore so far. Today might be a little different, as the spike in the savings rate and the collapse in consumption confirm a troubled road ahead for the strong consumer narrative.  Gee, could 25% unemployment actually begin to matter?

    Ignore the spike in personal income, as it reflects the massive government stimulus checks sent out last month.

    The PCE deflator also surprised, plunging almost to 2009 levels. So far, the futures have managed a muted reaction, with a likely falling wedge setting up following yesterday’s reversal at our channel midline target.But, with China trouble, riots in Minneapolis, and Trump taking a swing at social media darlings, maybe the data will matter for a change.

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  • Update on DJIA: Mar 18, 2020

    In our last dedicated update on the Dow [see: July 2019 Update], we noted the intersection of a number of overhead resistance features in its chart and offered some thoughts on its downside potential if it managed to reverse.

    Note that our 18974 target represents a backtest of the red channel from which DJIA broke out and backtested between 2014-2016 as well as the white 1.618. A May 2020 bottom at 18974ish would align nicely with the SPX 2138 target indicated by our analog.

    I posted my charts on July 29 (the yellow arrow) and was roundly cheered when he Dow cratered 7% over the next two weeks, even closing below its 200-DMA……and was loudly jeered when it made that up and went on to new all-time highs. I’ve seen this sort of thing so often from the Dow that I was pretty hot under the collar. I’m pretty sure an older (yes, there are a few) wiser colleague took me aside and muttered “Forget it, Pebble, it’s the Dow.”

    So, I did. You see, when it comes to manipulation the Dow is the all-time champ: share price weighted, with the ability to kick out losers and slide in winners whenever you like? How is this even an index?

    When the market reversed on cue in mid-February [see: A New Day, Same Old Nonsense]  I don’t think I even checked to see where the Dow was (the blue arrow below.) I’ll admit I got curious when it closed below its 200-DMA on Feb 25. But, I didn’t inhale. I stayed focused on real indices, cratering oil prices and the bond market.Well…guess where it landed today?  Go ahead.  I’ll wait.

    You guessed it. Right where our July 2019 forecast said: the bottom of the falling red channel where it intersected with the top of the rising red channel and the 1.618 Fib extension at 18974. It’s a 33% drop from stem to stern. You can’t make this stuff up.

    Knowing we have a global pandemic on our hands and a minimum of a quarter of negative GDP ahead of us, surely it’ll keep going, right?  I mean, did you hear Bill Ackman today?  Hell is coming!  So, the Dow is positioned for a bounce.  That’s right.  IF oil and gas can continue bouncing, and IF USDJPY can pop up through its SMA200 and IF VIX breaks down and IF the 2s10s craters back below 48 bps, then DJIA will definitely probably bounce.  At least a little.

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  • What’s Next?

    The futures are lock limit down again this morning, with ETFs trading in the after-hours indicating losses on the (eventual) open of up to 10%. This is probably not what the Fed had in mind when they unleashed the massive, emergency rate cut and $700 billion in new QE an hour before the futures opened on Sunday.

    As before, the factors are all aligned bearishly, with the bond market failing to swing back to a bullish alignment yet despite the Fed’s desperation move. There are, however, some glimmers of hope.

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  • Update on VIX: Mar 10, 2020

    It’s been a while since we took a big picture look at VIX. Since it reached levels not seen since the GFC yesterday, this seemed like as good a time as any.

    VIX is an interesting instrument. Once a reliable measure of volatility in the market, it was used by many to hedge risk.  As equity corrections became an endangered species, however, fewer investors bothered.

    Eventually, VIX became a source of income for those willing to take a chance on selling vol. It might have seemed risky at times, but every one of the six times VIX exceeded 46 since 2010 was followed by a collapse to below 15.  Actually, make that 5 out of six times.On Feb 28, VIX shot up to 49.48, but it only dropped as low as 24.93 before bouncing up to yesterday’s high of 62.12. The price to which it rallied was significant.

    Eagle-eyed members will note it’s been one of the higher targets on our charts for years – but, one we seldom mention as VIX is always smacked down upon reaching a lesser Fib level and a price between 46 and 54.  From the post Market Timing, a Bad Thing? last October.

    The 25.50ish target represents the intersection of the .382 Fib, two red TLs and the midline of the white channel seen below. If 25.50 should ever be broken, things could get very interesting very quickly.

    The 62.12 high was very close to the .618 retracement (58.6) of the drop from 89.53 in 2008 to 8.56 in 2017.

    Now, it was no surprise that VIX stopped rising once ES had dropped to our 2728 target. But, the breakout begs the question: What do the charts say about the even higher targets?

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  • When Will News Begin to Matter Again?

    Apparently AAPL slashing guidance is inconsequential and Bill Gates, who is predicting 10 million deaths, is some sort of conspiracy theorist – because the market continues to ignore the coronavirus story. Perhaps somewhere down the line the investing world will come to realize what we’ve known for years: stocks have become increasingly easy to manipulate.

    Lately, it has been VIX’s constant smackdowns below various measures of support and the perennial games played with currencies which have directed algos to buy every dip.  With oil and EURUSD having reached important downside targets, the formula might change somewhat. But, at what point will the game be obvious to all?

    Futures are off about 15 points, not even 1/2% after a slew of dreadful headlines over the weekend.

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