Category Archives for "End of Day Analysis"

Why bulls need to be careful

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 closed at yet another record high on Tuesday. Never mind the fact we only moved 0.07% above Monday’s record close, which was up only 0.18% from Friday’s close. Records are records and today counts…right?

For those of us that are paying attention, this looks a lot like a lethargic wedge higher and suggests this market is running out of gas, not on the verge of exploding higher. Explosive moves are by definition explosive. A tiny trigger blossoms into in a much larger move. Sometimes it is an unexpected headline, other times a technical breakout. But something triggers a surge of buying and away we go.

Unfortunately this wedge higher is the opposite of explosive. We keep getting good news. Today the Trump administration said they wouldn’t put conditions on repatriated profits and companies could use their newly liberated cash for dividends and buybacks. More cash in shareholders’ pockets is always a good thing. Then there was the technical the breakout as we moved into record territory. The cumulative result of both of these bullish developments, a measly 0.07% gain. Something so small it doesn’t even qualify as a rounding error.

Every day bulls are trying to push us higher, but the gains are getting smaller and smaller. That reeks of exhaustion, not unbridled potential. Without a doubt it is encouraging we managed to hold recent gains. Typically markets tumble from unsustainable levels quickly. This strength comes from owners who are confidently holding for higher prices and few are taking profits. Their conviction keeps supply tight and props up prices. Unfortunately propping appears to be the best bulls can manage. We need new buyers to keep this rally going and right now those with cash are reluctant to chase prices any higher.

Everyone knows the market moves in waves and it is obvious from the chart this market is at the upper end of its range. I still believe in this bull market and am most definitely not a perma-bear predicting a crash. But I recognize when the market gets ahead of itself and needs to consolidate recent gains. Without a doubt we reached a point where we need to cool off.

The quickest way to consolidate recent gains is dipping back to support. That is a normal and healthy way to reset the clock and clear the way for a continuation higher. The slower route is trading sideways for a longer period of time and allowing the trend lines and moving averages to catch up. We’re only a couple of weeks into this sideways trade and it would take several more weeks of treading water before we come close to consolidating recent gains. As a point of reference, the 50dma is still 70-points underneath us.

Strictly looking at the market dynamics, at best we trade sideways for several weeks. Worst we dip back to 2,500 support. Either way this is not a great time to be putting new money into the stock market.

If we move beyond the market and consider looming headlines, Republicans are making good progress toward tax reform. Without a doubt this encouraging news contributed to recent gains. But it doesn’t take a political science degree to know these negotiations get ugly, often to the point of crushing all hope moments before a deal is finally reached. That is standard operating procedure for Congress and we should expect more of the same here.

Republicans are currently in the brainstorming phase where everything and anything goes. But soon they will transition to the compromise stage where opposing sides and special interests dig in and threaten to blow the entire thing up if they don’t get their way. It is only time before the current feelings of hope for tax cuts devolve into cynicism. Most likely that shift in sentiment will be the catalyst that triggers a pullback to support.

Without a doubt our politicians could unexpectedly announce fair and reasonable tax reform ahead of schedule, but I certainly wouldn’t bet my money on it. Between the price-action and the headline environment, I suspect the next few weeks will be a lot more challenging for the stock market.

Buy-and-hold investors should stick with their favorite stocks, but shorter-term traders should look for opportunities to lock-in profits and the most aggressive can think about shorting. That said, the path of least resistance is still higher and any dip should be bought. This will be nothing more than a normal and healthy dip on our way higher.

Jani

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What smart money is doing here

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 surged to all-time highs, making this the seventh consecutive up-day and sixteen out of the last nineteen. There was no headlines to speak of, but traders were encouraged by Republicans making progress toward tax reform.

What a difference a few weeks makes. Not long ago the market was gripped with fear and predictions of a crash were around every corner. Many traders sold defensively “before things get worse”. Luckily readers of this blog knew better than to overreact to what turned out to be benign headlines.

As I wrote many times over the last several weeks, a market that refuses to do down will eventually go up. And that is exactly what happened. A relentless barrage of bearish headlines failed to dent this bull. That told us the path of least resistance was still higher and once the storm clouds dissipated, stocks surged on “no news is good news”.

Now that we are well over 100-points above August’s lows, traders that missed the rebound are wondering what to do. The looming question if there is still time to jump aboard this rebound, or if it is too late.

To be brutally honest, only and idiot would buy the eighth consecutive up-day and seventeenth out of the last twenty. As I wrote in yesterday’s free educational piece, everyone knows markets move in waves, unfortunately most forget that fact when planning their next trade. Just as I knew August’s selloff was unsustainable, I also know this surge higher is not sustainable.

Over the last two-weeks the market has been wedging higher. This is the least sustainable price pattern. The shape is formed by desperate breakout buying and short-covering. Two of the most powerful, but least sustainable forces in the market. Once these smaller groups run out of money, most of the time there is no one left to fill the void. Big money hates chasing prices higher and almost always waits for a dip. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, big money’s reluctance to chase prices creates the lack of demand that causes prices to dip.

Without a doubt we can coast higher for a few more days, but dips are a normal and healthy part of every move higher. Without periodic pullbacks, foundations are weak and prone to failure. The higher we go over the near term, the harder we fall. I am in no way predicting a market crash and I still believe in this bull market, but I know what sustainable rallies look like and this is not it. At best we trade sideways for several weeks and consolidate recent gains. Worst case is we test 2,500 support and even dip a little under it. While not a big deal for most of us, that will be a painful ride or anyone who bought these record highs.

Friday we get the monthly employment report. It’s been years since employment moved the market in a meaningful way and this month will not be any different. In fact this month’s employment report is even less meaningful because it will be distorted by Harvey and Irma. With the two hurricanes as an excuse, traders will be able to rationalize whatever they want to about Friday’s numbers.

Buy-and-hold investors can stick with their positions, but traders should really be thinking about locking in profits, and those with cash should definitely resist the temptation to chase. Even though we might coast higher, it is only a matter of days before the market pulls back under current levels. I don’t expect a crash, but we definitely need to cool off.

Jani

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Is it finally safe to buy?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Analysis:

The S&P500 finished higher for the sixth consecutive day and fourteen out of the last seventeen. There was no real news driving this strength, instead we continue rallying on “no news is good news”.

August was a rough month for stocks as repeated selloffs threatened to break this market. North Korea, political gridlock, and hurricanes all weighed heavily on the market’s mood. The news didn’t get any better in September, but amazingly enough, the market stopped caring and prices firmed up. For those of us that were paying attention, this was a powerful signal life was still left in this rally.

I did my best to warn Bears in my September 7th free blog post, very creatively titled, “A warning for Bears”. In it I cautioned a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. I also encouraged bears to cover their shorts while their losses were small. The market closed that day at 2,465. A few weeks later we find ourselves 70-points higher in what looks like a painful short-squeeze.

Figuring out what the market is going to do isn’t hard once you know what to look for. In this case a market refusing to go down on bad news. The problem is too many people arrived with a bearish bias. This rally was “too old” and had gone “too far, too fast” and “a pullback was long overdue”. Bearish headlines convinced them it was only a matter of time before they would be proven right.

Blinded by confidence, Bears failed to recognize the significance of this counterintuitive strength because they were too busy arguing how dumb the market was. Unfortunately that’s not how this game works. When the market disagrees with us, without a doubt we are the ones who are wrong and it is best to get out of the way before we get run over.

But that was then and this is now. What most readers want to know is what’s comes next. Given how many up-days we’ve had over the last three weeks, the bears might finally be partially right. We won’t see the widely predicted crash, but 70-points in three weeks is a big move for this slow-moving market. At the very least we should prepare for a normal and healthy pullback to support.

One-direction moves are often fueled by bears scrambling to cover their shorts. This creates a flurry of near-term buying, but short-sellers are a relatively small group and they don’t have the buying power to drive larger moves. After a certain level most bears have capitulated and then it is up to other buyers to keep a move going higher.

Only big money has the resources to keep a larger directional move going. But the thing to know about big money is it hates chasing prices higher. Most of them have been doing this long enough to know that if they are patient, the desperate buying will subside and they will be able to jump in at lower prices. In many ways this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because if enough traders wait for a pullback, the lack of buying actually causes the pullback.

Without a doubt the path of least resistance is higher, but we know markets don’t move in straight lines. We need to mix in a few down days to keep this market healthy and sustainable. When a red-day happens, don’t freak out and start calling a top. If this market was going to crash, it would have happened weeks ago when headlines and sentiment were far more dire. Instead, expect the rate of gains to slow and for the market to spend a few weeks consolidating recent gains. We can keep going up for a few more days, but the higher we go, the harder we fall during the normal and healthy down wave. But either way, this is definitely a better place to be taking profits than adding new positions. Buy-and-hold investors can keep holding, but traders with profits should start thinking about locking them in, and those with cash should resist the temptation to chase.

Jani

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The bull that refuses to die

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 only closed higher by 0.12%, but that was enough to hit a new record close. Gains have been slow, but steady. There was no meaningful news driving today’s strength, simply a continuation of the recent drift higher. Given how ominous the last several weeks have been, at this point no news is good news. As I’ve been saying for a while, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up.

It’s been several days since a North Korea headline hit the front page, but even if it did, the market has grown immune to those headlines and it will take something spectacular to dent this rally. Anyone who was afraid of North Korea sold weeks ago. When there is no one left to sell the news, it stops mattering.

The GOP released its tax reform proposal and the market is cautiously optimistic. Given how poorly Republicans handled healthcare, most traders are taking a cynical approach to tax reform. I suspect something will pass eventually, but it will look far different than what was proposed. But at this point anything is a positive since the stock market has largely given up on tax cuts. The easiest way to see the lack of hope is how little the stock market reacted to healthcare’s defeat. The market barely flinched at Trump’s and the Republican’s political humiliation. If traders had high expectations for tax reform, we would have seen a much bigger reaction to the Republican’s inability to get anything accomplished.

Volumes have been average or above since Labor Day. Big money finally returned from vacation and is getting back to work. It is encouraging to see they are more inclined to buy this strength than sell it. Fragile and vulnerable markets tumble quickly. Sticking near the psychologically significant 2,500 level for nearly three-weeks tells us the foundation under our feet is solid.

Earlier in the week we dipped under support, but rather than sell this technical violation, many traders rushed in to buy the dip. Ignore what the bears are saying, this market is healthy and poised to continue higher. August’s basing pattern refreshed the market by chasing off weak owners and replacing them with confident dip buyers. Given how long we have been holding near the highs tells us few owners are taking profits and most are confidently waiting for higher prices. As long as confident owners keep supply tight, expect the drift higher to continue.

August’s 2% pullback was quick and shallow. The market likes symmetry and as a result the subsequent rebound has also been equally unspectacular. There is nothing wrong with that, but it also isn’t a surprise or a concern how slow the breakout has been. Recent sellers are still nervous and it will take a little longer before they conceded selling last month was a mistake and buy back in. But few things calm nerves like rising prices and soon the fear of losses will be replaced by fear of being left behind.

Expect the gains to be slow and choppy over the near term, but soon underweight money managers are going to give up waiting for a larger pullback. Their chasing prices higher will give the market a boost in the final months of 2017. As long as the gains are slow and steady, they will be sustainable. I will get a lot more defensive if the rate of gains ramp up. A good opportunity to take profits could be following a pop on a tax reform agreement.

Expect these daily gyrations to continue, but the path of least resistance remains higher. Stick with what has been working and that is buy-and-hold and adding on dips.

Jani

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Why smart traders ignore today’s price-action

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Wednesday the S&P500 rebounded from Tuesday’s selloff but it was unable to hold those early gains and closed flat.

In a directional market, a late fizzle like this would be a big red flag. It warns us there is no follow through and support is crumbling. But this isn’t a directional market and traditional trading signals don’t apply.

We have been stuck in a predominantly sideways market most of this year and every breakout and breakdown has been a false alarm. Anyone who failed to realize this has been making the exact wrong trade at the exact wrong moment. Buying the breakout just before it fizzles and selling the breakdown just before it rebounds.

Unfortunately the market fools traders with these tricks far more often than people are willing to admit. That’s because it is nearly impossible to come to the market without a bullish or bearish bias. Many traders cognitively know the market trades sideways 60% of the time, but in the moment they always think prices are either about to take off, or on the verge of collapse.

Read any blog post or social media stream and all you see is endless bickering over whether the market is about to explode higher, or about to plummet. The rarest opinion is “meh, the market isn’t doing much and I don’t think it will do anything any time soon.”

Unfortunately for most traders these bullish and bearish biases convince them to buy the breakout or sell the breakdown, moments before prices reverse. Then they either chicken out or hit their stop-loss and lock-in their losses. To add insult to injury, prices reverse hours after the trader closes his position. Almost every single person reading this blog knows exactly what that feels like.

Buy high and sell low is a horrible way to trade the market, unfortunately it happens way more often than anyone wants to admit. Directional traders make a lot of money getting here, but they give it all back in these sideways stretches.

The above was a very long-winded way of saying, ignore today’s late fizzle because it is meaningless. Just like last week’s breakout didn’t mean anything, and the fizzle before that. We are stuck in a market that refuses to go down nearly as much as it refuses to go up. Don’t fall for these tricks by reading too much into this meaningless price-action.

While we are in a mostly sideways market, the path of least resistance is definitely higher. Headlines have been resoundingly bearish over the last several weeks and the market has flatly refused to breakdown. If this market was fragile and vulnerable to a crash, it would have happened weeks ago. The fact we withstood wave after wave of bearish headlines means this market is far more resilient than most people realize. A market that refuses to go down will eventually go up.

Keep doing what has been working. Stick with your buy-and-hold positions and add on dips. Big money returned from summer vacation and they are more inclined to buy this market than sell it. Expect this demand to prop up prices over the near-term as big money keeps buying every dip. Over the medium-term expect this resilience to pressure underweight managers into chasing prices higher into year-end. This is an old bull market, but it still has life in it. Underestimate it at your peril.

Jani

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Don’t fear a routine and healthy dip

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Thursday the S&P500 experienced the largest drop in over two-weeks. As dramatic as that sounds, we only lost 0.3% in a relatively benign pullback to support. This was the lowest volume day this month and the first time trade has been below average since August.

As far as pullbacks go, this one was as mild as they get. There are two ways to interpret this. Either this dip was the best bears could manage in such a resilient and strong bull market. Or these are the first cracks in what is about to become a larger selloff.

If a person thinks a bull market needs to go up every single day, they should be worried about this price-action. For the rest of us, we know markets moves in waves and down days are a normal and healthy part of moving higher. Prior to today the S&P500 was up seven out of the last eight days and a routine down day was long overdue.

The question is if this is the first signs of a larger down move? Headline wise not a lot happened Thursday. The biggest market news was a continued digesting of Wednesday’s Fed policy statement that announced the unwinding of their bond positions and the continued possibility of a third rate-hike later this year. While both of those actions are relatively bearish, the market widely expected these moves and no one was caught by surprise. We slipped a little in Wednesday’s intraday trade, but a late-day rebound put us back where we started by the close. Thursday’s dip retraced some of Wednesday’s selloff, but it didn’t undercut the lows.

If we are expecting the market to collapse on bad news, Thursday’s “news-less” day definitely won’t cut it. This market withstood a nearly constant barrage of negative headlines over the last month and barely sold off two-percent. If those headlines couldn’t break us, there is definitely nothing in the current news cycle that tops ballistic missile launches, nuclear bomb tests, and back-to-back hurricanes. That resilience means we can safely cross news-fueled selloff from the list of vulnerabilities. If this market was going to crash on bad news, it would have happened weeks ago.

The next possibility is this bull market is extended and exhausted. Markets that rally too-far, too-fast are prone to collapse because everyone who could have bought has already bought and there is no one left to keep pushing prices higher. But the thing about exhaustion tops is prices race ahead and climb at a steeper rate than the prior uptrend. Is that price-action happening here?

The last several months were a sideways consolidation that ended with a double bottom and rebound off of the 50 day moving average. That looks more like sustainable base building than overextended exhaustion.

If this market is not vulnerable to negative headlines and the recent consolidation looks more supportive than threatening, do we really think Thursday’s dip is the start of something bigger? Or just one of those normal and healthy down-days that accompany every increase in prices?

As I’ve been saying for over a month, if this market was fragile and vulnerable, we would have crashed by now. While the rate of gains is nothing to get excited about, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. I see no reason to think anything has changed in the last several days. That means keep doing what has been working. Continue holding your favorite positions and adding more on the dips.

As I write this, overnight futures slipped on Asian weakness. But as I said above, testing support is a normal and healthy part of moving higher. There is nothing to worry about if we dip under 2,500 support. A wave of selling might hit us as recent buyers’ stop-losses are triggered. But that selling will quickly dry up like it has every other time this year. Confident owners didn’t sell far more dire headlines last month and there is no reason to think they will start bailing out now. Confident owners keep supply tight and prop up prices. That has been happening all year-long and there is no reason to think something has changed here.

Jani

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Stick with this Bull

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Analysis:

The S&P500 added to last week’s breakout and continues its steady ascent into record territory. A tenth-of-a-percent is definitely not setting the world on fire, but these slow and deliberate gains tell us there is strong support behind these prices.

Rather than take profits near prior resistance, most owners are confidently holding for higher prices. While conventional wisdom warns us about complacent markets, what it fails to mention is periods of complacency last far longer than anyone expects. Confident owners don’t sell dips and the resulting tight supply props up prices. That description fits this market to a tee and I don’t see a reason for that to change anytime soon.

Several weeks of bearish headlines failed to dent this market and Trump was at it again Tuesday, telling the UN he will “Totally Destroy” North Korea. But by market standards, this is already old news and it barely reacted to those provocative headlines. Clearly these headlines matter to geopolitics, but they no longer affect the market because anyone who fears these North Korean headlines sold weeks ago. These nervous sellers were replaced by confident dip buyers who demonstrated they are not afraid of these headlines. When no one is left to sell the bad news, it stops mattering.

A market that fails to go down on bad news creates a powerful buy signal. It means the path of least resistance is higher and prices will pop once the flow of bad news abates. That is exactly what happened last week when we surged to record highs. While it is easy to say this after it already happened, readers of this blog knew this rebound was coming several weeks ago.

Going against the crowd and buying when everyone else is running scared is hard to do, but that is the best way to make money in this business. Keep your cool by carefully analyzing the headlines and price-action. The thing to remember is trends continue countless times, but they reverse only once. Keep that in mind every time someone tries to convince you this time is different. Without a doubt they will eventually be right, but they will be wrong an awful lot before that happens.

As we saw today, the North Korean rhetoric no longer matters to the market and we can safely ignore it. Next item coming up is the Fed’s policy statement on Wednesday. Consensus is the Fed will start winding down its balance sheet. This is an anti-stimulus move, but the market is largely ready for it. Yellen and the Fed have done a great job telegraphing their moves to minimize disrupting financial markets. While we should expect a brief bout of volatility, it’s been years since a Fed decision affecting the market in a significant and lasting way. I don’t expect tomorrow to be any different.

If this market was fragile and vulnerable to a crash, it would have happened by now. Last month’s dip and consolidation refreshed the market and gave us a solid foundation to build on. That said, the market likes symmetry and last month’s small and short dip will lead to an equally unimpressive rebound. We’re already most of the way there and it will take something new to keep prices rising.

Luckily there are a lot of recent sellers and underweight money managers under pressure because they are missing this rebound. Soon the fear of a selloff is going to be replaced by fear of being left behind. Expect this chase for performance to fuel a strong rally into year-end.

As I said previously, if we were going to crash, it would have happened by now. Markets don’t move in straight lines and expect volatility to continue, but the path of least resistance is definitely higher. Stick with what has been working: buy-and-hold and jumping on each dip.

Jani

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North Korea still doesn’t matter

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Thursday the S&P500 slipped modestly, but it is hard to call a 0.1% dip a material loss. This is the third close above 2,490 and continues the strength following Monday’s breakout. These record highs are a long way from the fear and uncertainty that dominated headlines over the last several weeks. As I’ve been saying for a while, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. And that is exactly what happened here.

It is constructive to see the market hold Monday’s breakout. Bears have been unable to break this bull market even through multiple waves of bearish headlines. This shows most owners are more inclined to hold for higher prices than take profits or succumb to fearful selling. The last several weeks of consolidation firmed up support and built a solid base for the market’s next up leg.

But just as things were starting to look good, North Korea launched another missile over Japan after Thursday’s close. Fortunately the stock market is reacting less and less to each successive provocation. In after-hours trade the S&P500 only dipped 0.2%. That’s because stock owners who fear this story sold weeks ago. These nervous owners were replaced by confident dip-buyers who demonstrated a willingness to hold these headlines. If there is no one left to sell the news, it stops mattering.

Even though this latest North Korean threat is unlikely to trigger an avalanche of selling, it is enough to keep buyers sitting on their hands. Their lack of buying could weigh on prices tomorrow. But just like every other dip over the last few weeks, any weakness is a dip-buying opportunity. If the previous North Korean provocations couldn’t break this market, there is no reason to think this episode will end any different. If we were going to crash, it would have happened by now.

Once we traverse this latest North Korean speed bump, expect the slow drift higher to continue. Confident owners don’t want to sell no matter what the headlines say and their conviction is keeping supply tight. Conventional wisdom warns us about complacent markets, but what it often forgets to mention is these periods of complacency last far longer than anyone expects.

Few things calm nerves like a rising market. Expect these steady gains to shift the focus from fear of a crash to being afraid of being left behind. Recent sellers and underweight money managers will start realizing the dip they predicted isn’t going to happen and they will be forced to start chasing prices higher. Last week’s seller will be next week’s buyer. And that’s how the slow grind higher will continue.

Keep doing what has been working and that is sticking with this bull market.

Jani

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Why bears got it wrong

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Tuesday the S&P500 extended Monday’s breakout to record highs. While the gains were modest, traders were more inclined to buy these highs than take profits. But this is no surprise to regular readers of this blog. Last week I warned bulls to close their shorts proactively and take losses while they were small.

Quoting Thursday’s free blog post:

Anyone who is still short this market is probably only a little in the red. Rather than hope and pray for the selloff that isn’t happening, a smart trader admits defeat and takes his losses while they are small. This bearish trade has been given every opportunity to work, but this simply isn’t the right environment to be short. Be proactive and close a trade that isn’t working when the losses are small, rather than wait until the pain of losing money gets so strong it forces you out.

There is no magic to this. Basic market psychology and supply and demand told us the path of least resistance was still higher. In early August we tumbled when Trump and North Korea fell into a war of words that quickly escalated into North Korean missile and nuclear bomb tests. Then the Trump administration endured a rash of turnover in its senior ranks and at the same time exchanged barbs with senior Republican leaders. And finally two hurricanes did their best to pummel the Gulf Coast. Any one of those things would have crushed a vulnerable market. Put them all together and it creates a storm only the strongest market could endure. Yet that is exactly what we did.

The thing to remember is market crashes are breathtakingly fast and the only way to survive them is to sell first and ask questions later. But this latest selloff occurred in slow motion. In nearly a month of selling we only managed to dip 2% from all-time highs. That was after an endless string of negative headlines. Bears had their perfect storm, yet the market was still standing. That was the clearest warning possible that bears were on the wrong side.

As I’ve been writing for months, confident owners are keeping supply tight. While conventional wisdom tells us complacent markets are prone to collapse, what it forgets to mention is these periods of complacency last far longer than anyone expects. That’s because confident owners keep supply tight when they refuse to sell every headline and dip. If owners don’t sell the news, it stops mattering. That is exactly what was happened over the last month.

Since early August, nervous owners were bailing out of the market and selling to far more confident dip buyers. These new owners showed a willingness to own this uncertainty. In a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, those that confidently bought were willing to own the risk and uncertainty. Because they didn’t sell the fear, supply dried up and we bounced. News gets priced in once those that are afraid of it sell to new buyers who don’t fear it.

But that was then and this is now. What most readers want to know is what comes next. Plain and simple, expect more of the same. If we were going to breakdown, it would have happened by now. The path of least resistance is still higher. Nothing calms nerves like rising prices and this breakout to record highs is making the fears of the last several weeks fade from memory. Fear of the unknown is quickly being replaced by fear of being left behind. Big money managers are returning from summer vacation and they will start positioning their portfolios for year-end. Many of the underweight managers are coming to the realization that the dip they were waiting for isn’t going to happen. The pressure of being left behind will force them to chase prices higher into year-end.

This is a slow-moving market and I don’t expect us to launch higher, but expect the slow rate of gains to continue. A market that refuses to go down will eventually go up and that is what is happening here. Recent sellers will realize their mistake and fuel the next round of buying. I expect volatility to pick up this fall, but every dip is a buying opportunity. Stick with your buy-and-hold positions and keep adding when prices slip. This bull market will eventually break like every one that came before it, but we are not at that point yet. If you are out of the market don’t chase prices higher, but if you want to get in, be ready to jump on any dip.

Jani

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A warning for Bears

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 finished Thursday mostly unchanged. Even though we find ourselves inside a holiday shortened week, volume picked up and has been above average the last three days, something that hasn’t happened in over a month.

Summer is winding down and big money managers are finally returning to work. For most of the summer we’ve been stuck in neutral because smaller traders don’t have the firepower to drive a sustainable move. nstead every directional move fizzled and reversed because big money wasn’t there to join the buying and selling. Now that they are finally back at work, we should finally see some life come back into this market.

The big question is if institutional managers will keep throwing money at these record highs, or if they will chicken out and start taking profits ahead of the widely forecast tumble.

As a contrarian I get suspicious every time I hear something from too many different sources. And this includes current predictions of doom and gloom. It’s been a really rough few months. Healthcare reform failed in a spectacular way. There’s been a revolving door at the Trump administration. Trump’s frequent criticisms of Republican leaders is not helping either. Then there is this North Korea thing that just won’t go away and keeps getting worse. And finally two hurricanes to cap it all off.

Any one of these items is more than enough to takedown a fragile market. Combined they are as formidable as a hurricane. Yet here we stand, less than 1% from all-time highs. Surely something isn’t right.

One of the most effective ways to study the market focusing on what it is NOT doing. What should the market be doing, but it isn’t? Given this flow of overwhelmingly bearish headlines, clearly this market should be in freefall. But it isn’t. What gives?

There is a lot of headline uncertainty surrounding this market, but it doesn’t care. The thing to remember about headlines is they get priced in over time. That’s because anyone who is afraid of those headlines sells to dip buyers who are not concerned. This turnover in ownership replaces weak with strong, creating a robust foundation.

For nearly a month this market has withstood one bearish headline after another. We slipped under the 50dma for a brief period. All of this selling cleared out most owners who could be convinced to sell. Now all that is left is people who don’t care about these headlines. No matter what people think “should” happen, when there is no one left to sell a headline, it stops mattering.

This is an important thing for bears and most especially shorts to understand. You have been given a golden gift in this relentless barrage of negative headlines. There has been more than enough to cripple a vulnerable market. But the thing to keep in mind is selloffs are breathtakingly quick. Sell first and ask questions later is the only way to survive a market crash. Yet here we stand nearly a month into this “selloff”. If we were going to crash, it would have happened by now. If this relentless barrage of headlines couldn’t scare owners into selling, I don’t know what it will take.

Anyone who is still short this market is probably only a little in the red. Rather than hope and pray for the selloff that isn’t happening, a smart trader admits defeat and takes his losses while they are small. This bearish trade has been given every opportunity to work, but this simply isn’t the right environment to be short. Be proactive and close a trade that isn’t working when the losses are small, rather than wait until the pain of losing money gets so strong it forces you out.

Keep doing what has been working and that is sticking with your favorite stocks and adding on weakness. Bears need to admit their short trade isn’t working while the losses are small because the biggest risk remains to the upside. If we were going to crash, it would have happened by now.

Jani

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Why this selloff is no different

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Tuesday the S&P500 tumbled for the third time in as many weeks. Midday selling pushed us under the 50 day moving average, but fortunately we bottomed not long after and closed well off the lows. Volume was the highest in nearly a month and this was one of first above average volume days in quite some time.

North Korea was the primary culprit yet again as they tested a nuclear bomb over our extended holiday weekend. That was enough to send shudders through global markets. But the thing to remember is this was their fifth nuclear detonation over the last decade. If the first four didn’t trigger a massive selloff, then there is a good chance this one won’t either.

Last week we rallied when the flow of negative headlines abated for a few days, but Tuesday abruptly ended that reprieve. In addition to North Korea, Trump added political uncertainty when he distracted Congress from budgets and the debt ceilings when terminated Obama’s Dreamer program for underage illegal immigrants. Then attention turned to Hurricane Irma, a category 5 storm headed for Florida. Taken together, these three headlines were more than enough to ruin last week’s jovial recovery.

But is the rebound really dead? Three things tell us not to be so hasty.

First the late-day rebound put us back above key support. The 50 day moving average was a ceiling for most of the last few weeks. But overhead resistance often turns into support after we break through. Today’s late recovery suggests that is the case here. Rather than spiral out of control, supply dried up when we tested this key support level.

Second, volume was one of the highest days we’ve seen in recent weeks. All the other sharp down-days also included elevated volume. But rather than portend of worse things to come, these high-volume days were capitulation and we rebounded within a day or two.

Third, all of these headlines are recycled. There is nothing new here. If one of these stories was going to take us down, it would have happened already. Selloffs are breathtakingly fast. Hesitate for a moment and it is too late. Sell first and ask questions later is the first rule of surviving a crash. But this North Korea selloff is going into its fourth week. The market never gives us this much time to think rationally and act calmly before a punishing selloff.

Simple supply and demand is behind this market’s strength. Those that are afraid of Trump and North Korea have long since bailed out of the market and been replaced with confident dip buyers. That is why today’s dip ran out of sellers so quickly. If the current crop of owners didn’t sell the first or second North Korea scare, why are they going to sell this one? Today’s limited selloff tells us they held their ground.

Markets don’t give us this long to sell the top and this one is no different. If we were going to crash, there have been more than enough reasons for us to plummet. The fact we are still standing strong near the highs tells us this market is more solid than most people give it credit for. Keep doing what has been working. Stick with your buy-and-hold positions and keep adding on any dips.

As I’ve been saying all month, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. Don’t lose your nerve now.

Jani

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Why bears couldn’t break this rally

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Thursday the S&P500 extended Wednesday’s breakout above the 50dma. Despite escalating tension with North Korea and a category four hurricane, stocks continue trading near all-time highs. As I’ve been saying all month, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. That is exactly what is happening here.

Even though the news flow has been overwhelmingly bearish this month, stocks have barely budged from record highs. At our deepest and darkest period in August, we were down a whole 2% from all-time highs. Bears were giddy with excitement and kept telling us to wait for it. But the crash never happened. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who reads this blog. Market crashes are breathtakingly fast, not drawn out affairs. If the initial headlines couldn’t knock us down, the follow-up headlines were even less likely to do so.

It all comes down to simply supply and demand. The first North Korea headlines scared off the traders who fear such a thing. The next time those same headlines popped up, there were fewer people left to sell the recurrence. Instead, these fearful sellers were replaced by confident dip buyers who demonstrated a willingness to hold the risk. This churn in ownership is how news gets priced in and why it stops mattering.

Tuesday North Korea launched a missile over Japan, but paradoxically that was our buy signal. Everyone who feared those headlines had already sold and the market was setting up to bounce on tight supply. We capitulated early Tuesday and have been racing up ever since.

Nervous and fearful traders were wary of what they claimed was weak market. But they got it exactly wrong. Withstanding the relentless barrage of negative headlines confirmed how strong this market was. If we were vulnerable to a collapse, any one of those headlines would have sent us tumbling. The fact we stood up so well tells us this is a strong market, not a weak one.

In all my years of trading, one of the most reliable trading signals comes from identifying what the market is NOT doing. Despite all the headline uncertainty, this market was not tumbling. That told me there was good support behind these prices and the path of least resistance remained higher. That told us the latest drop in price was still a dip buying opportunity.

The last few weeks of selling purged many weak owners from the market and replaced them with confident dip buyers. This firmed up support and this bull is even stronger than it was last month. This base building process is setting the stage for the market’s next move to all-time highs. The path of least resistance remains higher and 2,500 is easily within reach. From there we need big money to start buying to keep the rally alive.

The market is up around 10% for the year. While this has been slow this summer, I don’t expect that to last. Volatility is already picking up and that will continue through the fall. While many bears warn about downside volatility, I actually think bigger risk is upside volatility. Many cynical money managers are underweight this market and they have been patiently waiting for a pullback. The latest 2% dip is about as good as it is going to get. When they realize this market is far more resilient than they thought, they will be forced to chase prices higher or else risk explaining to their investors why they lagged behind the indexes so badly this year. That desperate chase for performance is going to fuel a strong rally into year-end.

While that is the most likely outcome, there is a chance Trump and Republicans fumble tax reform and the market uses that as an excuse to take profits. This could lead to a wave of reactionary selling that drops us near breakeven for the year. That said, this is a low probability event because the fumbling, bumbling Republicans cannot get anything done and expectations for tax reform are already quite low. I doubt many people will be surprised if Trump and the GOP get nothing accomplished this year. That lack of surprise means we won’t see much of a selloff. If we were vulnerable to high expectations, we would have seen a much stronger reaction when the Senate failed to pass healthcare reform.

This is an incredibly strong market that is ignoring every excuse to sell off. Keep doing what is working. Stick with your buy-and-hold positions and buy every dip until further notice.

Jani

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A market that refuses to go down….

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

Tuesday was a wild ride for the S&P500. We gapped lower at the open following North Korea’s provocative firing of a missile over Japan. But rather than devolve into another spiral of relentless selling, we bounced off the early lows and actually finished the day with small gains. It was a shocking reversal for everyone who automatically assumed the bottom falling out of this market.

I’ve been saying for weeks, the path of least resistance is higher and today’s resilience confirms that outlook. Headlines have been overwhelmingly negative in recent weeks. An escalating war of words between Trump and North Korea. A revolving door of senior advisors in the Trump administration. An exchange of sharp barbs between Trump and senior Republican leadership following the Charlottesville tragedy. The worst natural disaster to hit U.S. in over a decade. And now North Korea moving beyond words by launching a missile over Japan. If anyone knew the barrage of negative headlines that was coming, they would certainly expect the market to be dramatically lower. Yet here we stand, less than 2% from all-time highs. What gives?

Most traders focus on what the market is doing. But I find it far more insightful to see what the market is not doing. That is a far more predictive indicator of what the market’s next move because it exposes the crowd’s false assumptions. In this case, that we are vulnerable to a collapse. If we were going to crash, it would have happened weeks ago. It doesn’t take much to trigger an avalanche of selling when the market is fragile. Yet the last few weeks we withstood headline after headline. We slipped a bit and nervousness definitely spread through the crowd, but prices barely budged. For anyone that was paying attention, that resilience told us we were standing on solid ground. And each day of selling further firmed up support as nervous owners were replaced by confident dip buyers. Rather than get weaker, this market has been getting stronger. And today’s flaunting of the North Korean missile story confirms that analysis.

This reversal is as bullish as it gets. While I’d love to see us race ahead, sideways churn is just as constructive. The market isn’t following anyone’s timeline, but trust me, a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. Trade against this strength at your peril.

Jani

Why we shouldn’t fear this market

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Thursday the S&P500 lost ground for the fourth-time out of the last six-trading sessions. Fear over an armed conflict with North Korea morphed into fretting over debt ceilings and bond defaults. These latest issues were brought to the forefront two-nights ago when Trump threatened to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t fund his wall.

These relentless waves of bearish headlines over the last few weeks has weighed on market sentiment. AAII’s latest investor survey shows a 6-point loss in bullishness and a mirror image increase in bearishness. The bull-bear spread is nearly 20-points under its historical average as a large number of investors are preparing for the worst.

It is easy to see why pessimism jumped in recent weeks. Tension with North Korea, key members of the Trump administration forced out, barbs exchanged between Congressional leaders and the White House, and now swelling anxiety over a government shutdown and default on U.S. debt.

Without a doubt this market should be in freefall. Yet eight-days of losses over the last three-weeks only managed to knock us down 1.6% from all-time highs. That’s hardly the panic driven selling you would expect given the headlines. What gives?

Bears claim we are on the verge of imploding. They figure it is only a matter of time before this complacent market finally wakes up. But here’s the rub, everyone already knows about these issues because it is front page news. If a group of investors is blissfully unaware, then they have their head in the sand and are unlikely to figure it out any time soon. Not only that, the dramatic swing in investor sentiment tells us these headlines are definitely affecting people’s mood and outlook.

Is there any truth to the bear’s argument that the collapse is coming, even if it is a little delayed? In all my years I’ve never seen the market ponder headlines for several days before finally deciding to plunge. It would be great if the market gave us that much time to analyze the facts and make a thoughtful and deliberate sale before crashing. Unfortunately that’s not the way this works. Market crashes are frighteningly fast and if you stop to think about what is happening, you will get run over. Market crashes are most definitely sell first, ask questions later events.

The simple truth is if the market cared about this crop of headlines, we would have crashed by now. Without a doubt this market is complacent, but the thing conventional wisdom fails to tell us is complacent markets last far longer than anyone thinks possible. This bull market will die at some point because all bull markets eventually die. But this market’s limited reaction to these waves of bearish headlines tells us this is not that time.

If anything the recent bout of negativity and string of down days is firming up support. Every nervous seller is being replaced by a confident dip buyer. This churn in ownership is strengthening this market and setting the stage for the next move higher. I am definitely not a raging bull and have a lot of concerns about this market. But I have been doing this long enough to know a market that refuses to go down will eventually go up. Don’t fight what is working.

Jani

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Why we bounced

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

On Tuesday the S&P500 bounced back from last week’s selloff. Volume was “suspiciously” light, but that was expected because the selloff also occurred on light volume. These recent moves are driven more by a lack of buying and selling, and not a surge in selling and buying. That tells us most traders lack conviction are more inclined to do nothing than rush in and out of the market. As I’ve been saying for months, confident owners are showing zero interest in selling any headlines. The same goes for those with cash who stubbornly refuse to chase record prices higher. And so the stalemate continues.

I saw a headline today that claimed we bounced today because traders felt like the prospects for tax reform were improving. Yeah, sure whatever. The thing to keep in mind is journalism majors are paid to come up with explanations for every market gyration whether it is real or not. Read the news so you understand what is going on, but don’t take it at face value.

What is the real reason we bounced? My free blog post last Thursday evening explained it before it even happened:

We could see another day or two of selling, but as long as owners remain confident, supply will dry up and prices will rebound like they have every other time this year. Without a doubt this bull market will die like all of the ones that came before it, but confident owners need a reason to change their outlook and “too high” ain’t it. We need something new and unexpected. Something that threatens corporate profits. I didn’t see anything like that in today’s news flow and is why most confident owners will brush off this dip like all the others that happened this year.

Quite simply we bounced because there was zero substance to last week’s selloff. Trump fumbling the Charlottesville situation doesn’t have an impact on corporate profits. Neither did the terrorist attacks in Spain. Last Thursday was little more than a day where nothing went right and demand evaporated. But none of the events that transpired last week have a lasting impact and is why so few owners changed their outlook. Those that believed in the market still believe in it and those that criticized it are still criticising it.

The shame about selloffs is most people manage to turn a great profit opportunity into a losing trade. Traders have been praying for a buyable dip for months. Yet the first one we get these people same people run away because they are afraid things will get worse.

The first thing to understand is all selloffs feel real. If they didn’t, no one would sell and we wouldn’t dip. There is no such thing as an easy trade and the present always feels uncertain and scary. Trades only look obvious months after the fact and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

The second thing is a trend continues countless times, but it reverse only once. This market has been bouncing all year long. What were the odds that this time was the “real one”? Pretty darn low. But that doesn’t stop people from predicting the next collapse every time we slip five-points.

It takes confidence and conviction to make money in the market. We cannot be right every time, but it is important to keep your nerve when everyone else is losing theirs.

Most people are now wondering what comes next. I liked the way the market responded today and it appears like the path of least resistance remains higher. We’re not setting the world on fire with these rate of gains, but a market that refuses to do down will eventually go up.

The sharp selloffs over the last two-weeks helped clear a lot of dead weight from the market. Weak and nervous owners bailed out and sold to confident owners who were willing to buy the dip despite the bearish headlines and horrible price-action. Purging weak owners and replacing them with confident ones gives us a stronger foundation to stand on. This process is why double bottoms are such a reliable buying signals.

That said, triple bottoms are not a thing. If we stumble under Monday’s lows over the next few days, that tells us this weakness is chronic and we should expect further losses. Most likely this market is headed up to 2,500 over the next few weeks, but if we cannot hold 2,420 support, then we will tumble through 2,400 support. Trade accordingly.

Jani

Much ado about nothing

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Analysis:

Thursday was one of worst days for the S&P500 this year as we plunged 1.5%. There wasn’t a clear catalyst driving the selling. Instead it was a combination of Asian weakness, D.C. dysfunction, weaker than expected earnings, and terrorism in Europe. It was simply one of those days where nothing went right. Even this “half-full” market couldn’t find anything to be positive about.

Given the size of the selloff, volume was suspiciously light. The waterfall price-action gave the impression the market was overwhelmed by a giant wave of panic selling. But the below average volume tells us that’s not what happened. Today’s weakness was more about a lack of buying than fearful selling.

The above shouldn’t come as a surprise since confident owners have propped up the market up all year long. If confident owners were not scared out of their positions through all of this year’s countless bearish headlines, was today’s news any worse? Not really. And that’s why most owners continued to hold their stocks through today’s brutal selloff. Their confidence is aided by the fact most owners are having a great year and are still sitting on a pile of profits. To them this is just another bump on the way higher and nothing to worry about. That’s why despite the gruesome price-action, few owners sold and volume was uncannily light.

Instead the damage was primarily done by the lack of demand. This is not new and has been an issue all year. Every breakout fizzled because those with cash refused to chase prices higher. That forced us into this slow grind higher. Today’s dip was larger than most, but it isn’t unusual to see sideways churn before staging the next move higher.

I’ve been defending this market all year. Every dip has been a buying opportunity and I don’t feel any different this time. Many have criticized my analysis, but so far the market has proved me right dozens of times. Can this time be different? Might this be the end? Sure. But the thing to remember is while a trend continues countless times, it reverses only once. Which side do you think has the better odds?

We could see another day or two of selling, but as long as owners remain confident, supply will dry up and prices will rebound like they have every other time this year. Without a doubt this bull market will die like all of the ones that came before it, but confident owners need a reason to change their outlook and “too high” ain’t it. We need something new and unexpected. Something that threatens corporate profits. I didn’t see anything like that in today’s news flow and is why most confident owners will brush off this dip like all the others that happened this year.

Holding through a dip is not easy but this is a better time to be buying stocks than selling them. The best trades are the hardest ones to make. That means holding when you don’t want to hold and buying when you don’t want to buy. Maybe this time is different, but the odds are against it.

Jani

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Why this market refuses to go down and what it means for us

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 traded flat Tuesday. While it would have been nice to extend Monday’s rebound, holding ground is still constructive. If traders remained nervous, another round of selling would have hit the market today as owners took advantage of this strength to lock-in profits. Instead most owners remain confident and choose to keep holding for higher prices.

Conventional wisdom tells us complacency is bad. What it fails to mention is periods of complacency last far longer than anyone expects. Confident owners don’t sell and that keeps supply tight. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, when confident owners don’t sell a dip, we stop dipping. Tight supply has propped up this market all year-long and it doesn’t look like last week’s headlines and volatility changed that.

Last week I told readers “North Korea still doesn’t matter and how to profit from it“. Those that listened are a little richer this week. I don’t have a crystal ball and I wasn’t predicting the future. There is no magic in this, it is simply a matter of using common sense. This was not the first time a war of words broke out with North Korea and it won’t be the last. But these things never go anywhere because neither side can afford to escalate it beyond words. And that is exactly what happened this time. Reactive traders who acted without thinking were simply giving money away to those who better understood the situation.

Something will eventually break this bull market. Every bull market eventually dies and this one will be no different. While it is okay to be cautious after eight years of strong gains, being bearish just because we’ve “gone too far” is a great way to give away money. Don’t fight what is working.

Confident owners keep supply tight and the only way this market will crack is by convincing these stubbornly confident owners to sell. So far Brexits, rate hikes, and a dysfunctional Congress haven’t spooked owners. Over the last several years, every time an owner got nervous and sold a dip, he came to regret it. After making that mistake one too many times, most owners have now swung to the other extreme and are not selling anything for any reason. And for the time being this supreme confidence is working. Markets don’t dip when no one sells bad news.

As a trader, I enjoyed last week’s bout of volatility and am hoping more is on the way this fall. While this calm has been nice for many investors, it would be foolish to expect this period of historically low volatility to last much longer. I expect a return to more normal levels later this fall when big money managers return from summer vacation and start positioning for year-end.

But thing to remember is volatility can occur in either direction. At this point nothing is convincing confident owners to sell and I doubt there is much that will change their mind. That means the likely outcome is we will see underperforming managers be forced to chase stocks higher into year-end. There is a smaller probability that further dysfunction in D.C. could finally get to this market when we don’t get the promised tax reform. But so far this market doesn’t seem to care about politics and is why I think this outcome is less likely than a chase higher into year-end.

The great thing about being an independent traders is our account size allow us to enter and exit full positions with the click of a mouse. That means we don’t need to know what will happen this fall and can instead wait for the market to tells us what it wants to do. Until then expect this slow creep higher to continue for a few more weeks. Markets that refuse to go lower will eventually go higher. Keep doing what is working and enjoy the ride

Jani

North Korea still doesn’t matter and how to profit from it

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 sold off for a third day following Trump’s “Fire and Fury” threat to North Korea. The first two days of selling were relatively benign, but today’s defensive selling crashed through 2,460 support and the 50dma. This was the biggest single-day loss since mid-May and it puts us back to levels not seen in a month.

Thursday’s selloff felt especially dramatic since it came following a period of historically low volatility. Many traders assumed there was nothing to worry about and we would coast into the end of summer. Unfortunately for them today’s steep selloff reminds us there is no such thing as easy money in the market.

It is hard to talk about what is going on in the stock market without first dipping into geopolitics. This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten into a war of words with North Korea and it won’t be the last. But this situation is unique because no one knows how far Trump or Kim Jong Un will take it since both leaders are new to this high-stakes game of chicken. One miscalculation by either side could escalate this situation from words into something far more deadly.

Kim Jong Un’s primary “Trump” card continues to be the thousands of artillery cannons armed with chemical and biological weapons pointed at Seoul’s ten-million plus citizens. There is nothing North Korea can do to prevent us from bombing their nuclear program, but they can retaliate by attacking the civilians in Seoul.

Millions of hostages are what makes this situation so much different from the ones we face in the Middle East. Trump can talk a tough game, but unless he is willing to sacrifice millions of South Korean civilians, his hands are tied just like they were for all of his predecessors.

Most of the time these situations with North Korea diffuse themselves over a few weeks and things return to “normal”. There is a 99.9% probability this is what will happen here too, but that hasn’t stopped traders from reacting strongly to these headlines.

What started out as a little uneasiness earlier in the week turned into a mass exodus Thursday. This weakness was compounded by all the technical traders using stop-losses to automatically get them out of the market. While this strategy sounds good in theory, it can be tricky in practice because people often use similar support levels to trigger their stop-losses. That means any dip through a widely followed level will trigger another wave of autopilot selling.

2,460 has been support for several weeks and we violated that this morning. That lead to the first cascade of selling that pushed us down to the 50dma. Then Trump told the world his “Fire and Fury” threat wasn’t strong enough and that was enough to extend the selloff under the 50dma.

While this selloff feels scary, the thing to remember is risk is a function of height. Last week when we were trading at record highs and everyone was in a cheery mood was actually a far riskier place to own stocks than jumping in and buying this dip. While it definitely doesn’t feel like it, the discounts sellers are offering make this a safer place to buy stocks because a big chunk of the selloff has already been realized.

For months I’ve been saying this is a buy-and-hold market. Holding is an easy thing to do when the market is gently gliding higher, but holding through a dip hard to do when everyone around us is selling. Our natural instinct is to join the crowd and get out before things get worse, but then that is no longer buy-and-hold.

Every dip this year bounced and this time will be no different. If you don’t think the U.S. will start a war with North Korea, then this is a better place to be buying stocks than selling them. It takes courage to go against the herd, but take comfort in knowing it is a lot safer to buy this fear than last week’s complacency. Many of us have been praying for a buyable dip, here it is. Don’t lose your nerve now.

Jani

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Why NK doesn’t matter and what the next big trade will be

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Analysis:

Tuesday was one of the most volatile sessions in months. A small opening loss rebounded into a breakout to record highs. But the good times didn’t last long before Trump announced to the world he was willing to go to war with North Korea. That threw a bucket of cold water on the bulls’ party and we finished well off the midday highs.

As dramatic as that description sounds, the actual price moves were not all that impressive. At our highest we were up 0.4%, and after the “big” selloff we end up closing down 0.24%. The only reason it felt so volatility is the market has been hovering lifelessly between 2,470 and 2,480 for the last three-weeks.

This war of words with North Korea is certainly something new and unexpected. For a while I’ve been saying that the summer’s slow drift higher will continue until something new and unexpected happened. Is this war of words between Trump and Kim Jong Un that thing? Probably not. While consequences could be quite dire, the odds of this grudge match escalating to a nuclear war are almost non-existent. Neither side can afford to let it go that far.

This will keep the talking heads on TV busy for weeks, but I doubt many stock owners will take this seriously and even fewer will sell the news. So while it is new and unexpected, it isn’t really material and unlikely to derail this bull rally. Any near-term weakness should be viewed as a buying opportunity. But given how modest today’s dip was, I wouldn’t expect this to go much further unless the threats from both sides escalate significantly.

Until further notice, expect the path of least resistance to remain higher. Stock owners are stubbornly reluctant to sell their stocks and that tight supply is propping up prices. Of course their stubbornness is only matched by the reluctance of those with cash to chase record highs. But keep in mind any gains will be slow coming, it took us three weeks to rally from 2,470 to 2,480. Don’t expect that rate to increase any time soon. This is a buy-and-hold market and keep doing what is working.

That said, things will get more interesting in a few weeks when big money managers return from vacation. They have the firepower to move us out of these summer doldrums and most likely their buying or selling will drive the market’s next move. Most likely we will see underperforming managers chase record prices into year-end as they desperately try to catch up. But there is a small chance air could come out of the Trump rally if Congress fails to deliver the promised tax reform.

The best part about being an independent investor is we can buy and sell full positions with the click of a mouse. That means we don’t need to decide ahead of time what will happen. Instead we can wait for the market to reveal its intentions and then we hop on the band wagon and enjoy the ride. Enjoy the slow climb higher over the next few weeks, but start looking for a bigger trade to come along in September or October.

Jani

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Why the bears are wrong

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

End of Day Update:

The S&P500 slipped for the fourth-time out of the last six-trading sessions and lost ground seven out of the last eleven-days. As bearish as that sounds, you cannot measure the percentage decline without using a decimal point. When looked at that way, this has actually been a bullish couple of weeks. All these days of selling can do little more than knock us down a fraction of a percent from all-time highs. A market that refuses to go down will eventually continue higher.

But many traders are not seeing what I’m seeing. Bearishness on AAII’s sentiment survey jumped nearly 8-points this week and sentiment on StockTwit’s $SPY stream is in free fall and near two-month lows. Who’s right? The market’s right. Not because it is smarter than we are, but quite literally because it sets the prices we buy and sell at.

But there are very real supply and demand reasons why it is better to stick with the market here. People trade their outlook. Most of the traders who have grown more bearish over the last few weeks have been the ones selling and causing this modest bout of weakness. But now that they are out of the market, who is left to sell? Given the trivial declines, not many owners have joined the selling. While conventional wisdom tells us to fear complacency, the thing it forgets to tell us is periods of complacency last far longer than anyone expects. This bull market will end like all the ones that came before it, but this price-action is telling us it isn’t ready to go yet.

One thing most of us can agree on is sharp selloffs are breathtakingly fast. But here we are, nearly two-weeks into a “selloff” and we have fallen little more than a handful of S&P500 points. If we were standing at the edge of a precipice, the last two-weeks of selling would have fed on itself and we would already be dramatically lower. If the bears couldn’t break this market by now, then they are not going to break it. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it market, but we need to do what is working and right now that is buy-and-hold.

When will that change? Good question. It will change when something new and unexpected happens. Traders who fear a Trump presidency or rate hikes have long since abandoned this market. The next time Trump makes an incoherent 2am Tweet, don’t expect the market to react because everyone who cares about that stuff already sold. Same goes for the next rate hike. Anyone who fears rising interest rates is long gone and they no longer have a vote in what the market does next. That is how bad news gets priced in and why it stops mattering. Ignore what everyone else is talking about because it is already priced in. Instead stay on the lookout for the obscure thing no one see coming.

Not long ago I thought this market would tumble when the GOP failed to cut taxes as aggressively as the stock market hoped, but given how little it reacted to Trumpcare’s appalling failure, the market is telling us it doesn’t care about politics. You’d have to be living under a rock at this point if you still had faith in Congress’s ability to get something done. If everyone expects the tax legislation to fail, then it won’t matter to the market when it does because it is already priced in. Maybe these things will start mattering at some point, but this is not that point.

That said, this is the most nervous I’ve been since the 2009 bottom. Something is coming. I don’t know what it is or when it will happen, but I know something will be worse than most people are prepared for. The market’s half-full outlook has given us this smooth ride higher and it is foolish to fight what is working, but we should be standing next to the doors so we can be one of the first to get out when things turn south. Stick with this bull market for the time being, but be on the lookout for the thing no one sees coming.

Jani

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