December 2010 Archived Entries

December 18, 2010

HOLIDAY SPECIAL ENDING SOON

By Chip Anderson
Site News

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HOLIDAY SPECIAL ENDING SOON! - Don't miss out on our big holiday special - it ends at the end of the month.  If you aren't yet a member of StockCharts.com, now is the perfect time to join.  If you are a member, now is the perfect time to extend your membership and lock in our lowest rates.  In either case, if you buy 6 months of any service, you'll get one additional month for free.  If you buy 12 months of any service, you'll get two additional months for free.  But don't delay - the sale ends on Dec. 31st (less than 13 days from now!)  Click here to get started.

GIVE THE GIFT OF CHARTING - StockCharts.com membership make the perfect "Stock"-ing Stuffer (get it?) this holiday season and right now, you're gift dollars can go further than ever before.  For the first time ever, Gift Memberships also qualify for our Holiday Special.  Give 6 months and your present includes a 7th month for free.  Give 12 months and your lucky recipient gets 2 additional months for free.  Click here to get started.

SEATTLE CHARTCON 2011 IS FILLING UP FAST - So far we have over 90 people who are planning on attending our conference next August.  Don't miss out.  Register today.  Click here to learn more.

December 18, 2010

HOUSING INDEXES TURN UP

By John Murphy
John Murphy

We have written several messages of late about the recent upturn in financial stocks that had been lagging behind the rest of the market since the spring. I expressed the view that a sustained upturn in the stock market was unlikely without some help from the financial sector. Fortunately, financial stocks have finally turned up and have actually shown market leadership during December. Another market group that's been weighing on the overall market has been housing. And even that sector is beginning to show some improvement. The first three charts show three measures of the housing sector and all three have risen to seven-month highs after clearing their 200-day moving averages. Chart 1 shows the PHLX Housing Index (HGX) having broken through its July/November highs. Chart 2 shows the S&P Homebuilding SPDR (XHB) breaking clearing its November high on rising volume. Chart 3 shows the Dow Jones US Home Construction iShares (ITB) having just cleared its 200-day line. The relative strength lines below Charts 2 and 3 actually show a little leadership during the month of December. I'm not necessarily expecting housing stocks to show much upside leadership. Any signs of strength in that group, however, should be a further hint at an improving economy and a stronger stock market.

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December 18, 2010

MARKET POISED TO CORRECT

By Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes

Happy Holidays!

The recent rally off the late-August low has begun to encounter sluggish internals, which leads one to believe that the market shall be poised correct in the weeks and perhaps even months ahead. To this end, we should note the CBOE Volatility index or VIX has moved sharply lower back to levels previously consistent with trading highs in the S&P 500. Moreover, the 20-week stochastic is at oversold level further consistent with a turn higher as it eventually always does. This leads us to believe that a 200-week moving average mean reversion exercise can't be too far in the offing, which would put the VIX back to the 25-level - which would further suggest just a small nasty correction in an ongoing bull market. However, a breakout above this level would suggest a much larger decline is underway.

VIX_12-18-10

In layman's terms, while this doesn't prevent the VIX from moving lower and the S&P higher - it simply illustrates that the risk-reward dynamic has now changed to more "risk" in chasing this rally. At the Rhodes Report, we are looking for a trading high near current levels, and are deploying capital to taking advantage of any decline.

Good luck and good trading,
Richard

December 18, 2010

TRADING RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011

By Tom Bowley
Tom Bowley

It's hard to believe another year is coming to an end.  Outside of a few scary weeks, the stock market performed well in 2010 and heads toward 2011 with a lot of bullish momentum.  Complacency is a short-term issue that we dealt with last week and will continue to have to deal with in the near-term, but history is on the side of the bulls.  During the last 10 days of the year, the NASDAQ has produced annualized returns of 68.29% since 1971.  68% of the days that fall within this 10 day period have been higher over the last 40 years.  Those are compelling numbers that shouldn't be ignored.  This period contains the days that make up the "Santa Claus Rally" from the Christmas holiday through New Year's Day.  Since 1971, the odds of any day moving higher on the NASDAQ is roughly 55%, so this period's 68% is substantially above the norm and worth noting.
 
As we approach the end of the year, it's a good time to assess what worked for you in 2010 and what didn't.  We should all be prepared to alter our trading styles and strategies to encourage more successes in 2011 and beyond.  I'd like to offer up four New Year's trading resolutions for 2011.  While these aren't designed to be the only resolutions that you should incorporate, they are four that I believe separate successful traders.
 
1. DON'T CHASE STOCKS:
 
Sounds easy enough, right?  After all, at what other point in your life do you wait for prices to rise before buying?  Probably everyone who's ever traded a stock has made this costly mistake.  Sure, there are the Apple's (AAPL) of the world that never seem to pull back that reward this type of risky behavior, but the masses of stocks do not.  Common sense should prevail here but, at a minimum, check out the RSI and stochastic on a stock and avoid buying when readings are in the 70s and 90s, respectively.  Allow uptrending stocks to relieve overbought conditions.  Buying these stocks into weakness - so long as there's been no significant technical deterioration - will improve your trading results while limiting your risk.
 
2. EXPAND YOUR HORIZON OF STOCKS:
 
There's no need to limit yourself to one, five or ten stocks.  The StockCharts scan engine makes it incredibly easy - in minutes - to uncover a large number of trading candidates that meet certain criteria - your criteria.  I see traders trying to force trades all the time, attempting to get into their favorite stock, and doing so at inappropriate technical times, and at their own expense.  There are literally thousands of stocks across the major exchanges, so there's no need to focus on just a few.
 
3. IMPROVE YOUR RISK/REWARD STRATEGIES:
 
Enter every trade with a plan and stick to it.  Understand first who you are as a trader.  Do you like to daytrade?  Do you prefer swing trading?  What is your risk tolerance level?  Everyone has a unique style and situation.  As a result, what might be a great entry point for a swing trader may turn out to be a not-so-good entry for a daytrader.  A trader with a low tolerance of risk might find that trade far too risky.  The key here is to know why you're entering a trade, what it would take for you to exit (stop loss) and an appropriate target.  These should all be determined BEFORE you enter the position.  Many unsuccessful traders have one or two of these criteria figured out before they enter the trade.  It's the third one that derails them.
 
4. REMOVE THE EMOTION:
 
I'm sure most of you have heard this before.  This one sounds easy too, until you start losing money.  Then fear creeps in and you begin altering your plan, assuming you had one in the first place.  All of a sudden, you begin to alter your stop loss lower in order to allow your position to "recover".  It usually results in good money wasting away in a weakening stock.  This is a serious trading crime as you violate the theory of keeping losses to a minimum.  But that's not the only emotional disorder we suffer.  Greed can be even more powerful and disastrous.  Greed results in many problems, but there are two problems that immediately come to mind - position sizing and failing to execute and take profits when your original plan works perfectly.  Incorrect position sizing can occur for a number of reasons.  One is trying to "catch up" after a loss.  You figure if you play twice as many shares as appropriate, then you can recover prior losses quicker.  This type of thinking may work on occasion, but many of us have felt the despair as losses only deepen.  Another example of incorrect position sizing occurs after a trader has correctly called several trades in a row.  Overconfidence breeds greed.  It's not easy, but we must remain grounded.  Those who can develop and execute a plan with little interference from fear and greed will produce better results over the long-term.
 
I try to address these resolutions every single day in our Chart of the Day.  I don't guarantee their success.  I never have and never will.  But I can justify the risk/reward on each trade, discussing the type of trader that might benefit from them.  Occasionally, I feature a very aggressive small cap stock that might appeal to those traders who enjoy taking big risks for the potential of bigger returns.  Other times, I might feature a Dow Jones component that allows traders - who are looking for capital appreciation and limited risk - to sleep at night.  There is one common thread to every one of them - education.  I try to learn something new every single day and you should too.  CLICK HERE for my Chart of the Day for Monday, December 20.
 
I will also be providing my 2011 Stock Market Outlook on Tuesday, December 21st at 4:30pm EST.  For more details, and to register, CLICK HERE.
 
Happy trading, Happy holidays, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

December 18, 2010

2010 WAS A GREAT YEAR TO BE A STOCKCHARTS MEMBER

By Chip Anderson
Chip Anderson

Hello Fellow ChartWatchers!

Another year has come and gone.  It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the start of the decade (heck, it seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the start of the new millennium!)

This year one of the things we focused on here at StockCharts we to increase the value of a StockCharts.com membership.  In order to see how we did, consider the following mythical subscriber, Fred.

Fred is an average investor who trades several times a month, owns about 10 stocks/funds, tracks about 200 different charts, and enjoys seeing real-time data.  Fred likes to keep up with what technical experts are saying about the market too.  He's knowledgable about charting, but doesn't consider himself a T/A expert.  "There's always more to learn" is his favorite saying.  Fred is watching his budget and doesn't want to overspend for anything so he prefers paying on a month-to-month basis.

Fred joined StockCharts in November of 2008 by subscribing to our ExtraRT+Market Message service.  At that time, ExtraRT gave him Real Time data and the ability to store more than Basic's limit of 100 charts.  Fred also wanted to read John Murphy and Arthur Hill's commentary.  He subscribed on a month-to-month basis for a cost of $45.90 per month.

By the end of 2009, Fred had spent $642.60 for 14 months of our ExtraRT+Market Message service.  He was happy with what he got but was looking for ways to lower his cost and increase his value.

Let's see how Fred got his wish in 2010...

In January of this year we introduced our Free Real-time service using data from the BATS exchange.  No more 20-minute delay on US stocks for non-ExtraRT subscribers!  Because he didn't need super-accurate real-time quotes, Fred immediately downgraded his account to our Extra service and lowered his monthly cost to $35.95.

In April Fred was really happy to see us add the "Inspector" feature that allows him to move his mouse over any chart and see the data values for any bar.

Though initially skeptical when we launched our new Facebook page in July, Fred gradually became a fan and he now enjoys the contests and giveaways we have there as well as the tips, quotes and article notifications.

In September Fred was thrilled to see our new YouTube video area open up.  He learned a lot of things he didn't know about his account from the "Getting Started with StockCharts" video and was able to re-organize his ChartStyles to greatly improve how he reviews his saved charts.

In October Fred was happy to see all of the new features that we added to the ChartNotes annotation program.  The Elliott Wave notation tool was his favorite, but he was happy to get all the new tools for no additional cost.

In November Fred was amazed to see that our Basic service had gained most of the features that he cared about: real-time data via BATS, up to 500 stored charts, up to 20 stored ChartStyles, and the ability to store annotated charts!  Fred immediately downgraded his account to the Basic + Market Message service lowering his monthly cost to $27.49(!).

On December 3rd Fred read on our Facebook page that the Market Message had just been made free for all subscribers.  He couldn't believe it.  That automatically lowered his monthly cost to $14.95.  He was now paying $30.95 LESS than what he was paying at the start of the year.  That's about 66% less than before!  But wait, there's more...

This week Fred wised up and stopped subscribing on a month-to-month basis.  Just yesterday Fred placed a 12-month order during our current Holiday Special.  That got him 14-months of service for $154.59 - a cost of just $11.06 per month.  That's 75% less than what he paid at the start of the year!

Finally remember that Fred paid $642.60 for 14 months of service prior to the start of 2010.  Now, he's paying just $154.59 for essentially the same capabilities.  Fred is beyond thrilled to see that his costs have gone down over $488 this year.  He can't think of anything else in his life that has had such a big increase in value.

Now, not everyone is in the same situation as Fred.  The cost savings this year will vary from member to member depending on the kind of service they need and the payment flexibility that they want.  But the bottom line is this:

In 2010, the value of a StockCharts.com membership increased significantly as many more features were added and charting packages were consolidated.

Our goal is to continue to increase the value of a StockCharts subscription in a huge variety of ways.  We can't wait to see all the great new features that 2011 will bring.

Happy Holidays to you and yours from everyone on the StockCharts team!

- Chip

 

December 18, 2010

RISING RATES KEEP US DOLLAR STRONG

By Arthur Hill
Arthur Hill

The US Dollar Index ($USD) remains within a long-term trading range, but the swing within that range is up after the November breakout. More importantly, the breakout is holding and rising rates are boosting the greenback. The first chart shows the US Dollar Index with resistance in the 88-89 area and support in the 74-76 area. There are also three big swings on this chart marked by the blue trendlines. With the recent surge above 80, the index broke the June trendline to start an upswing within this trading range. The indicator window shows the Dollar and the 10-year Treasury Yield. Notice how the yield bottomed ahead of the Dollar and moved sharply higher the last 2 1/2 months. Despite problems with the deficit, rising rates are a positive influence on the Dollar. The second chart shows the US Dollar Index breaking a wedge trendline and challenging resistance around 80.50 this week.

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Click this image for a live chart



December 17, 2010

WHEN WILL BONDS BOTTOM?

By Carl Swenlin
Carl Swenlin

Bonds are in a "waterfall" decline, and some people are beginning to wonder where the bottom will be. A subscriber comments: "I'm always anxious to see the reaction time of the DP Trend Model as compared to what I look for in the momentum of the primary trend. You're doing a fine job with equities explaining what you see when you look at the other indicators and would love to see you give a little more attention to the bonds. I'd be able to follow what indicators you use to evaluate the oversold point in this waterfall. Yes, I'm aware of the falling knife adage and would not go long but rather stop being short. Perhaps go short after the relief rally. Depends on where the dollar is in it's move as well."

To begin let's estimate overbought/oversold conditions. Below are two charts that show the daily and weekly PMO in relation to their 30-year ranges. The daily PMO (on the left) is clearly at the bottom of its normal range and is oversold. It still has room to go lower, much, much lower, but it would be reasonable to start looking for a price bottom. The weekly PMO, however, has topped in overbought territory and has plenty of room to go downward before it becomes oversold. Conclusion: A medium-term bounce is possible, but the longer-term decline has a long way to go.

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Next, let's take a look at the daily chart, which is where we get the best view of the Trend Model components -- the 20-EMA and 50-EMA. The model will generate a buy signal when there is a 20/50-EMA upside crossover, and I can tell you that, while price will probably turn on a dime, the Trend Model will not. It is going to take a lot of upside movement to get the model to turn when the down trend is this accelerated.

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The model is currently in neutral, so we don't have to worry about being short and getting caught in a vicious upside reversal, but for those who are short, the problem is when to cover shorts, not when to go long. Two possible signals that could be used are (1) when the PMO turns up, or (2) when the steepest declining tops line is penetrated to the upside.

As I said, the Trend Model will be slower to generate a buy signal than some people will like. For those managing positions in the short term, two possible buy signals are (1) the PMO crossing up through its EMA, or (2) the 5-EMA crossing up through the 20-EMA. The 5/20-EMA relationship is something we are going to be paying closer attention to in the future, so let's take a look at a short-term chart.

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The movement of the 5-EMA can provide a clear picture when the PMO is presenting a fuzzy one. Note how it remained above the 20-EMA during the June/July/August period, while at the same time the PMO was inscrutable. PMO signals during that time were not helpful at best, but the 5-EMA said "stay long".

As for a 5/20-EMA buy signal for bonds, the amount of separation between the moving averages tells us that it will still take a lot of rally before it happens, so it won't be the most timely of signals. This is always a byproduct of steep declines.

The weekly chart shows long-term support on the rising trend line drawn from the 2007 lows.

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But the monthly chart shows the very long-term support on the rising trend line, as well as the potential downside if that support is broken.

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Bottom Line: Bonds are in a long-term bear market based upon the fact that the 50-EMA is below the 200-EMA. The current steep decline is subject to being reversed rather abruptly, so shorts should have a plan to cover quickly; however, I don't think that the long-term decline is over, and I wouldn't be anxious to be long on other than a short-term basis.

December 05, 2010

MARKET MESSAGE NOW FREE TO ALL STOCKCHARTS MEMBERS

By Chip Anderson
Site News

MARKET MESSAGE NOW FREE TO ALL STOCKCHARTS MEMBERS - In case you missed it, on Friday we opened up the Market Message area of our website to all StockCharts members.  If you subscribe to Basic, Extra or ExtraRT, you now have full access to the Market Message area also.  Check out this article for more details on all the great stuff you'll find there.

(Note for existing Market Message subscribers:  We've added additional time to your account to compensate you for these changes.  Check out this article for details.)

"LIKE" OUR FACEBOOK PAGE IN ORDER TO BE NOTIFIED OF CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS - Our Facebook page is a fun place.  Up there you will find funny/thought-provoking financial quotes, helpful tips for using the website, and periodic contests with a wide variety of prizes.  We've just gotten a new shipment of "swag" - merchandise with our logo on it - and hope to be sending it out to contest winners very soon.  But in order to play, you need to join our Facebook page.  Just go to http://facebook.com/stockchartscom and then click the "Like" button at the top of the page.

December 05, 2010

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR CHARTCON 2011

By Chip Anderson
Chip Anderson

Hello Fellow ChartWatchers!

Next August we are hosting the first ever gathering of StockCharts enthusiasts here in Seattle - a 3-day conference we're calling it "Seattle ChartCon 2011".  It's going to be a blast!

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For 3 full days, myself, John Murphy and Arthur Hill are going to be giving in-depth presentations on everything that StockCharts.com can do.  If you use StockCharts to make investing decisions, you owe it to yourself to attend this conference.  Here's a sample of the agenda:

Friday, August 12th

9:00am - Welcome and Overview
9:30am - StockCharts from 10,000 feet - Chip
10:30am - Morning Break
10:45am - SharpCharts In Depth - Chip
12:00pm - Lunch
1:00pm - Advanced Annotation Techniques - Arthur Hill
2:00pm - Advanced SharpCharts Tips and Tricks - Chip
2:30pm - Afternoon Break
2:45pm - Point and Figure Charting for Fun and Profit - Chip
3:30pm - "The Technical State of the Current Market" - John Murphy and Arthur Hill

6:00pm - Sunset Dinner Cruise on Puget Sound

And that's just for Friday!  On Thursday we're going to hold a series of presentations called "StockCharts University" that focuses on the fundamentals of Technical Analysis.  And of Saturday, we dig even deeper into the website including topics like scanning and market indicators.  The agenda for the entire conference can be found here.

Beyond the conference sessions themselves, we're going to have three great evening events - a Northwest Wine Tasting, a Sunset Dinner Cruise on Puget Sound, and club-level seats at a Seattle Mariners/Boston Red Sox's game!  Every event will provide lots of time to mingle with StockCharts experts and other users like yourself.  I am really looking forward to those events.

If you register now, the cost of the conference is only $295 (prices increase if you delay).  But wait!  Registering for the conference also gets you 1 year of our Extra charting service - a $250 value.  That means that as of right now the effective cost for the conference is less than $45.  That is a seriously good deal.

You can find all of the information about Seattle ChartCon 2011 on the ChartCon Homepage.  You can also use that link to register.

Please take a moment and think about how 3 days next August with StockCharts in Seattle could help your investing results.  Then register today to reserve your place at this amazing event.  I would love to see you there and meet you in person.

We've created an FAQ page with additional details about the event.  Click here to see it.

Happy Holidays!
- Chip

 

December 04, 2010

DIVERGENCES INDICATE SLOWING MOMENTUM IN LEADING SECTORS

By Tom Bowley
Tom Bowley

Complacency was the big issue for stock market bulls as we entered the second week of November.  The market simply ran too far too fast and everyone began piling in on the equity calls as if the buying would never end.  Well, guess what?  The buying ended!  The market topped on November 9th, while complacency (which I define by our proprietary relative complacency ratio) peaked on November 10th.  The warning signs began to mount on November 5th.  This usually sends us into our trading shell, risking very little in terms of capital.  Individual trades on a case-by-case basis is fine, but risking an entire portfolio on the long side without hedges makes little sense during times like that.  From the NASDAQ's top on November 9th, it fell 133 points, or roughly 5%, over the next 5 trading days.  I prefer missing out on that type of pullback if at all possible.
 
That selling was healthy for the market, however, as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both tested their respective 50 day SMAs for the first time since breaking above those key moving averages in early September.  In the case of the Dow Jones, a long-term negative divergence had formed in early November, suggesting the 50 day SMA test was likely to "reset" the MACD back at the centerline.
 
So where does the market likely go from here?  Well, I remain cautiously bullish.  Energy and consumer discretionary stocks were the leading sectors in November, but both are sporting nasty long-term negative divergences.  Check out the chart on the XLY (ETF that tracks consumer discretionary stocks):

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The negative divergences in key sectors like consumer discretionary and energy are likely to result in more rotation.  As momentum slows in these two groups, selling normally accelerates and cash is redeployed to other sectors.  Materials was a major beneficiary last week and I believe that group and technology, industrials, and financials could benefit in the week(s) ahead.
 
If you'd like more information on the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), I will be hosting two FREE events on Tuesday, December 7th.  During this presentation, I'll explain exactly what the MACD is, why it works and how we use it.  It will be a great refresher for those who already use the MACD and a great learning tool for those interested in developing better trading skills.  To register, CLICK HERE.
 
I'll also be featuring the XLE's (an ETF that tracks the energy sector) negative divergence as our Chart of the Day for Monday, December 6th.  CLICK HERE for more details.
 
Happy trading!

December 04, 2010

SECTOR ROTATION SHOWS BULLISH ENTHUSIASM

By John Murphy
John Murphy

A way to determine whether or not investors are turning more optimistic on the economy (and stock market) is to study the trend of recent sector rotations. In an improving economy, investors tend to favor economically-sensitive stock groups. In a weakening economy, they favor defensive stock groups. The charts below reflect a much more upbeat mood on the American economy.  The first chart shows relative strength lines for four economically-sensitive stock groups since midyear, and show all four groups rising faster than the S&P 500 (flat black line). In order of strength, they're energy, transports, small caps, and semiconductors. It's always a good sign when those groups are leading the market higher. By contrast, the second chart shows the three weakest groups since August to be healthcare, utilities, and consumer staples. Investors rotate out of those defensive stock groups in a strengthening economy.

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December 04, 2010

FINANCIALS AND BANKS TO BE A "SURPRISE PERFORMER"?

By Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes

The past several day market rally has caught many "flat-footed" to be sure as traders head into year-end. Moreover, the prospects for further gains are rather high; hence we're likely to see many traders attempt to play "catch-up". This begs the question as to what sector may be one of the "surprise performers" and offer both absolute and relative performance. To us, the Financials and the Banks in particular are "under-loved" and quite "under-owned" - hence they fit the bill for those traders looking for leverage.

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Technically speaking, the Banking Index is on the precipice of breaking out on an intermediate-term basis above its bottoming 130-week moving average. In the past, this moving average has served as a fulcrum point, and if this current bullish technical setup extends higher - then we'll see higher banking stock prices in the near-and-intermediate term. We think this is an "out of consensus call", which given the potential inflows of capital into the beleaguered sector - could result in outsized gains in the weeks and months ahead. Our favorite bank stocks are JP Morgan (JPM), PNC Financial (PNC), US Bancorp (USB) and First Horizon (FHN).

Good luck, and good trading!

December 04, 2010

OEX PUT/CALL RATIO - WHAT'S GOING ON?

By Carl Swenlin
Carl Swenlin

Last week some subscribers asked me what was going on with the OEX Put/Call Ratio. You can see on the 10-Day Moving Average chart that it took a sharp dive off the November price top. (Actually the ratio reading went higher, but we reverse the scale to make oversold readings visually more intuitive.)

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I verified that the data were correct, but I drew a blank as to why the indicator was behaving as it was. In fact, I don't follow put/call ratios closely because I find they are hard to interpret, so I had to let it simmer on the back burner for a few days until it came to me. Now I will belatedly explain what I think happened.

OEX options are one of the instruments that money managers use to hedge their portfolios. When the market began correcting in November, the big money started hedging with OEX puts on a very large scale. Once the rally started, things rapidly got back to normal. Well, in fact, things got back to normal just a little bit before the rally began. The chart below shows the raw daily ratio (not smoothed as a moving average). Note on the thumbnail chart on the right how the ratio went back to the opposite extreme just two days before the rally breakout occurred. Isn't that amazing?

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Bottom Line: The OEX Put/Call Ratio is one way to get an idea what the big money is doing because OEX options are one of the instruments used for hedging. The fact that the ratio reached such extremes demonstrates how much concern there was about the progress of the correction. The fact that this represented bearish sentiment of the so-called smart money could have been misleading -- they tend to get it right -- but in this case a negative outcome did not materialize. The real news is how that negative sentiment evaporated shortly before the market actually began to rally. It makes one wonder what happened to cause them to change their mind.

December 04, 2010

IDENTIFYING SPY SUPPORTS WITH INTRADAY P&F CHARTS

By Arthur Hill
Arthur Hill

Point & Figure produce straight-forward charts that focus exclusively on price action. Columns of X’s appear during an advance. Columns of O’s appear during a decline. Nothing appears when prices are flat or move less than the box size or reversal amount. Point & Figure charts are especially good for identifying support and resistance levels. The chart below shows a 30 minute S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Point & Figure chart**. Each box represents 50 cents and this is a normal 3 box reversal chart. This intraday chart goes back to mid September. The red A signals the start of October, the red B shows the start of November and the red C marks the start of December (most recent column).

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From this chart, we can identify two support levels to watch. First, the ETF broke resistance at 120.5 with the surge over the last few days. Broken resistance at 120.5 now turns into the first support level to watch. A strong breakout should hold. A move below this level would suggest the bulls are getting cold feet. Just below 120.5, we can see a more important support level at 118. Four columns of O’s reversed off this level in November. A break below these lows would be a bearish development.

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