StockCharts Blogs - Don't Ignore This Chart!

Nordstrom Shows Relative Weakness as Bollinger Bands Narrow

The stock market rallied in January, but Nordstrom (JWN) traded flat and shows relative weakness. Even though the stock has yet to break down, volatility is narrowing as the Bollinger Bands contract. Notice that Bollinger Band width is at its lowest in over six months. Watch the range for the next direction clue.

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Despite Big Gain, Sector Carpet Shows Mixed Picture for the Week

Stocks moved sharply higher for the second time in two days, but remain mixed, at best, over the last five days. The chart below comes from the Sector Carpet. The red squares show losers, while the green squares show gainers. Notice the numbers at the top of each sector box. The utilities sectors is the only gainer the last five days (+.30). The rest are in negative territory.


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Renko Chart Shows a Clear Level to Beat for DIA

Renko charts filter out the noise by requiring minimum price moves before the plot changes. This Renko chart shows the Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) based on closing prices with 50 cents as the minimum move. A clear decline has taken shape in May with resistance at 125.


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The Netherlands and Greece Show Relative weakness in Europe

The PerfChart shows the year-to-date performance for six European stock indices. Surprisingly, the Italian Milan Index ($MIB) is the best performing. Germany is a close second though. It is also surprising to see the Netherlands Index ($AEX) down for the year and showing relative weakness.


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AAPL dominates Nasdaq 100 and QQQQ

A look at the Market Indices Carpet in market cap mode shows Apple (AAPL) taking up the most real estate with the largest rectangle. This means Apple carries the most weight in the index. Click the “Nasdaq 100” header to focus on the Nasdaq 100. Click the market cap button at the bottom left (middle) to change to market cap mode. Hover over the squares to see each ticker and click the square to see a line chart on the left. 


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Short-Term rates rising ahead of Fed

Even though the Fed is unlikely to raise rates today, the bond market is already doing some of the Fed’s work. The 3-month T-Bill Rate ($IRX) bottomed at the end of November and surged over the last two months. Despite this big move, $IRX is still low by historical standards.

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Most actives reflect bounce in finance sector

From the Free Charts page, users can access a quick list of the 10 most active stocks for the Nasdaq and NYSE. As Wednesday’s lists show, the finance sector was strong on Wednesday. Four of the ten most active were from the finance sector and these four were up over 1%. Click the CandleGlance links at the bottom to see short-term charts for all ten stocks.


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GLD and TIP move step-for-step

The Gold ETF (GLD) and the Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (TIP) show a positive correlation over the last few months. Both advanced from August to November, fell in December and bounced in January. Looks like gold is following the inflation outlook.

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Dynamic yield curve remains steep

As the dynamic yield curve shows, the Treasury yield curve remains inordinately steep. The 3-month T-Bill Rate ($IRX) is around .50% and the 30-year Treasury Yield ($TYX) is currently around 4.6%. Long-term rates are nine times higher than short-term rates. This means monetary policy at the Fed remains loose.


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Short-term rates fall sharply

The US Treasury Yield Perfchart shows yields falling since early August. In particular, short-term rates (green line) have fallen sharply in the last three months. Treasuries rise when rates fall so these declines suggest money moving into Treasuries.

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