S&P 500 Update – Expect the Abnormal?

Last week the S&P 500 almost reached the year-end target (2,220) given by the Profit Radar Report back in January. What’s next?

The S&P 500 is up 130 points since the beginning of the month, S&P 500 futures soared as much as 183 points.

Stocks are overbought, and under normal circumstances there should be a noteworthy pullback. But there is reason to expect the abnormal.

When Abnormal Becomes Reality

The August 28 Profit Radar Report published an uber-bullish Elliott Wave Theory-based projection. The Profit Radar Report’s forecasts are always built on multiple indicators, and this bullish projection was confirmed by liquidity, long-term investor sentiment and bullish year-end seasonality.

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The excerpt below is longer than usual, but it explains why an ‘abnormally’ strong rally was likely to develop. From the August 28 Profit Radar Report:

“The two main reasons we want to buy in the foreseeable future is:

1) The breadth thrust off the June low (July 4 PRR)
2) Bullish Elliott Wave Theory potential

We never rely unduly on any one single indicator. It is noteworthy however, that the three most likely Elliott Wave Theory (EWT) interpretations are all bullish. The degree of bullishness varies, but according to EWT, more gains are ahead. The question is not if, but how much and for how long.

The first chart below shows conceptually where the S&P 500 is at relative to the three most likely EWT options along with the odds for each scenario.

The second chart provides a more detailed (yet basic) outline/labeling of EWT counts #1 (45% probability – light green) and #2 (35% probability – dark green).

What we are focused on for now is the most likely scope of any pullback. The down side risk for #1 is larger (around S&P 2,130 – 2,070 – see light green square) than for #2 (around S&P 2,150 – 2,130 – see dark green square).

No further detail is shown for the most bullish option, #3 which would translate into a few more years of bull market. At this point, we discount #3 (20% probability) because some cycles point to prolonged weakness starting in H2 2017.

Summary: At this point we don’t know the scope of any pullback, but EWT and the June breadth thrust suggest that any weakness will be bought (perhaps even furiously). We consider the longer-term up side potential to be significantly larger than the down side risk.”

The anticipated pullback drew the S&P 500 to 2,084 (right inside the first target zone). Stocks haven’t looked back since.

The November 13 Profit Radar Report added that: “The DJIA and Russell 2000 ended the week overbought, which normally will cause a pullback. However, if the S&P is truly in a wave 3 advance, stocks will continue to plow higher without much letup.”

Overbought, But No Bearish Divergences

Unless you’re already on the bus, a momentum driven market is one of the hardest markets to get in (like jumping onto a moving bus), because it rarely stops.

At some point momentum will halt (which is sometimes followed by a nasty correction), but the question is when? The chart suggests to watch support at 2,190 – 2,200 (if lucky, we may even see 2,170 – 2,150).

Waves 3 (according to EWT) are generally strong and relentless moves. Stocks appear to be in such a third wave advance.

Many investors consider EWT hocus-pocus, and I can understand way. I’ve seen many horrid EWT interpretations cost investors a ton of money.

That’s why the Profit Radar Report never relies on any one single indicator. As of right now, the weight of evidence (not just EWT) points towards higher prices (with or without prior pullback). We go where the indicators take us.

Back in January, when the S&P traded below 1,900, our year-end target of 2,220 seemed outrageously bullish. As it turns out, it actually may not have been bullish enough.

Continuous updates with actual buy/sell recommendation (which help balance down side risk with the risk of missing out on the up side) are available via the Profit Radar Report.

Simon Maierhofer is the founder of iSPYETF and the publisher of the Profit Radar Report. Barron’s rated iSPYETF as a “trader with a good track record” (click here for Barron’s profile of the Profit Radar Report). The Profit Radar Report presents complex market analysis (S&P 500, Dow Jones, gold, silver, euro and bonds) in an easy format. Technical analysis, sentiment indicators, seasonal patterns and common sense are all wrapped up into two or more easy-to-read weekly updates. All Profit Radar Report recommendations resulted in a 59.51% net gain in 2013, 17.59% in 2014, and 24.52% in 2015.

Follow Simon on Twitter @ iSPYETF or sign up for the FREE iSPYETF Newsletter to get actionable ETF trade ideas delivered for free.

 

US Dollar: How Big is the Risk of a Triple Top?

For the third time in 2016, the US Dollar and US Dollar Index Futures are above 100, and the PowerShares DB Bullish US Dollar ETF (UUP) is near 26.

How big is the risk of a triple top?

The latest US Dollar rally is in harmony with the US Dollar projection (chart below) and US Dollar forecast published in the May 15, 2016 Profit Radar Report:

“Based on Elliott Wave Theory, the strong rally from May 2014 – March 2015 looks like a wave 3. The trading range since then looks like a wave 4. Upon completion of wave 4, we anticipate a wave 5 rally to new highs. The rally to new highs may well be more choppy (at least initially) than projected.”

The US Dollar has now come within tics of new recovery highs.

There are various resistance levels at 100 – 101 along with a longer-term RSI divergence. Short-term, RSI confirmed the recent price high.

In terms of seasonality, late November/December is one of the most bearish times of the year.

As illustrated by the original projection, this rally is a fifth wave. This means that the end of this rally will be followed by a sizeable correction.

Although the US Dollar may have further up side, risk is rising.

Continuous updates for the US Dollar, EUR/USD, stocks, gold, silver and other asset classes or sectors is available via the Profit Radar Report.

Simon Maierhofer is the founder of iSPYETF and the publisher of the Profit Radar Report. Barron’s rated iSPYETF as a “trader with a good track record” (click here for Barron’s profile of the Profit Radar Report). The Profit Radar Report presents complex market analysis (S&P 500, Dow Jones, gold, silver, euro and bonds) in an easy format. Technical analysis, sentiment indicators, seasonal patterns and common sense are all wrapped up into two or more easy-to-read weekly updates. All Profit Radar Report recommendations resulted in a 59.51% net gain in 2013, 17.59% in 2014, and 24.52% in 2015.

Follow Simon on Twitter @ iSPYETF or sign up for the FREE iSPYETF Newsletter to get actionable ETF trade ideas delivered for free.

 

What to Expect from the Post Election Stock Market

Were you able to get one of the special edition “Madam President” Newsweek issues?

That’s right, Newsweek printed and delivered newspapers featuring Hillary Clinton as president elect.

News-based Approach

“Like everybody else, we got it wrong,” said the CEO in charge of this mishap.

Indeed, the media did get it wrong. According to the media:

1) Donald Trump was ‘supposed to’ be only second best

2) The stock market ‘was supposed’ to sell off if Trump wins

This is the second time in 2016 that media and market pundits got blind sighted and fooled by a big event.

In June it was the Brexit vote, which 1) went different than expected 2) the stock market rallied instead of crashing like it was ‘supposed to.’

The news-based approach requires two accurate guesses:

1) How the vote (or any event) will go

2) How the market will react to a certain outcome

As the above two examples show, the market rarely follows the expected path.

Indicator-based Approach

The indicator-based approach has proven to be much more accurate than relying on news. The last free S&P 500 Forecast pointed out a number of sentiment extremes and stated that:

“The best opportunities are born in times of panic. The more panic, the better the opportunity. It’s risky to short such a market, and much more promising to look for a low-risk buying opportunity.”

Stock futures suffered a brief panic selloff on Tuesday night (S&P 500 futures were down as much as 120 points), but quickly recovered.

This was in line with this observation shared in the November 6 Profit Radar Report:

“The VIX is stretched to the up side, with various bullish sentiment extremes and bearish seasonality. Excessive fear shown going into an event causing uncertainty (election) usually results in a quick retreat of fear once results are in and digested.”

The VIX has lost over 50% in the past few days.

It’s hard to believe that the S&P 500 cash index (unlike the S&P 500 futures) remainded above support identified last week and reacted immediately to the oversold condition and bullish divergences.

Back to Basics

With election uncertainty out of the way, we can refocus on the basics:

Short-term, the S&P 500 is butting against triple resistance while overbought. In addition, the days following the election tend to show some weakness.

Longer-term, there are a number of bullish forces which should push stocks through resistance.

1. The correction we expected last month reached our down side target (reason for correction and down side targets are shown here).
2. The tailwind of two breadth thrust in 2016 bodes well for stocks (detailed breadth thrust analysis with implications is available here).
3. S&P 500 seasonality is bullish for the remainder of 2016
4. VIX seasonality is bearish for the coming weeks. XIV is up 8% since we last recommended it (after closing a 14% XIV gain in September). Here is why we like the XIV trade.

The Profit Radar Reports up side target may be surprising to many, but it is strictly indicator based. At this point, only one ingredient is missing to unlock higher price targets.

Up side targets, the missing ingredient, and continuous indicator-based S&P 500 analysis are available via the Profit Radar Report.

Simon Maierhofer is the founder of iSPYETF and the publisher of the Profit Radar Report. Barron’s rated iSPYETF as a “trader with a good track record” (click here for Barron’s profile of the Profit Radar Report). The Profit Radar Report presents complex market analysis (S&P 500, Dow Jones, gold, silver, euro and bonds) in an easy format. Technical analysis, sentiment indicators, seasonal patterns and common sense are all wrapped up into two or more easy-to-read weekly updates. All Profit Radar Report recommendations resulted in a 59.51% net gain in 2013, 17.59% in 2014, and 24.52% in 2015.

Follow Simon on Twitter @ iSPYETF or sign up for the FREE iSPYETF Newsletter to get actionable ETF trade ideas delivered for free.

 

S&P 500 Update

Although we are longer-term bullish, we expected lower prices prior to a buying opportunity. The last S&P 500 update highlighted lacking up side momentum and bearish divergences … which caught up with stocks this week.

The Profit Radar Report has been anticipating a ‘flush out’ move below obvious support at 2,120 and stated on October 30 that: “The next possible target for a low is 2,100.”

Barron’s rates iSPYETF as “trader with a good track record” and Investor’s Bussines Daily says “When Simon says, the market listens.” Find out why Barron’s and IBD endorse Simon Maierhofer’s Profit Radar Report.

Why 2,100? An open chart gap at 2,098.70 has been waiting to get filled (dashed purple line).

The October 30 Profit Radar Report stated that: “The preferred scenario would be a quick (perhaps even intraday) washout (to 2,100) that flushes out weak hands and clears the air for a more sustainable rally.”

The emphasis is on quick. On Wednesday the S&P failed to build on the initial recovery from Monday’s lows (right after the open chart gap was closed). While the S&P maintains below resistance (prior support), it’s at risk to fall further.

As green lines in the first chart show, the S&P 500 is oversold (based on RSI-2). Oversold conditions have led to bounces 3 out of 4 times in 2016 (the one failure is highlighted in blue).

Oversold and Overhated

The market is not only oversold, it is also overhated.

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The second chart shows that various sentiment metrics are nearing noteable extremes.

VIX traders believe that longer-term volatility (90 days, VXV) will be higher than shorter-term volatility (30 days, VIX). The VIX/VXV ratio is above 1 for the first time since the Brexit vote.

Also for the first time since the Brexit vote, option traders are nearly buying as many puts as calls The CBOE put/call ratio is one of the highest we’ve seen in the past few years.

Opportunities are Born in Panic

History says that the best opportunities are born in times of panic. Where is maximum panic?

In January the S&P continued temporarily lower despite being oversold and overhated, but eventually rebounded strongly. The more panic, the better the opportunity.

It’s risky to short such a market, and much more promising to look for a low-risk buying opportunity.

The Profit Radar Report nailed the February low (buy recommendation at S&P 1,828 on February 11) and we will try to do the same for the up coming low.

Our focus in the coming days/weeks will be to minimize short-term down side risk without missing the lowest possible entry point to buy.

Continued S&P 500 updates and buy/sell recommendations are available via the Profit Radar Report.

Simon Maierhofer is the founder of iSPYETF and the publisher of the Profit Radar Report. Barron’s rated iSPYETF as a “trader with a good track record” (click here for Barron’s profile of the Profit Radar Report). The Profit Radar Report presents complex market analysis (S&P 500, Dow Jones, gold, silver, euro and bonds) in an easy format. Technical analysis, sentiment indicators, seasonal patterns and common sense are all wrapped up into two or more easy-to-read weekly updates. All Profit Radar Report recommendations resulted in a 59.51% net gain in 2013, 17.59% in 2014, and 24.52% in 2015.

Follow Simon on Twitter @ iSPYETF or sign up for the FREE iSPYETF Newsletter to get actionable ETF trade ideas delivered for free.

 

Two Diametrically Opposed Sector Opportunities

The S&P 500 is trading at the same level where it was on July 8. Such a 15-week chop zone is pretty boring, but it doesn’t stop there. The S&P hasn’t made any net progress since May 2015.

When the broad market is stale, it makes sense to look at other opportunities.

The Profit Radar Report always scans various markets and sectors for sentiment extremes or seasonal trades with the potential to provide returns independent of the broad market.

Thus far this year, we’ve found such returns in gold, silver, natural gas, small caps, VIX and the utility sector.

Utilities ETF

The October 12 Profit Radar Report pointed out that every single utility sector stock has been below its 50-day SMA for more than five days. An extremely rare oversold condition.

The October 13 Profit Radar Report observed that: “XLU (Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF) jumped above trend line resistance on strong volume. This increases the odds that some sort of a low is in place. We are buying XLU at 47.80.”

We didn’t want to chase the S&P 500 when it bounced from its 2,120 support level on October 13, but wanted some low-risk exposure to equities.

Being oversold and overhated, XLU fit the bill.

Sometimes there is no particular up side target (as is the case with XLU), but identifying low-risk buying opportunities allows investors to either grab quick gains or hold on and ‘play with house money.’

Bank ETF

The banking sector is approaching a very strong resistance cluster.

The chart of the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) shows price near trend line resistance, 78.6% Fibonacci retracement, and where wave A equals wave C.

Additionally, there was a bearish RSI divergence at the October 27 high.

Seasonality is bearish for the first three weeks of November.

This doesn’t mean that bank stocks will crash, but it certainly indicates that buying KBE right around 35 is a bad idea.

There is no short bank ETF, but traders may consider shorting KBE or buying inverse ETFs like SEF or SKF. This setup may only lead to a short-term correction.

Simon Maierhofer is the founder of iSPYETF and the publisher of the Profit Radar Report. Barron’s rated iSPYETF as a “trader with a good track record” (click here for Barron’s profile of the Profit Radar Report). The Profit Radar Report presents complex market analysis (S&P 500, Dow Jones, gold, silver, euro and bonds) in an easy format. Technical analysis, sentiment indicators, seasonal patterns and common sense are all wrapped up into two or more easy-to-read weekly updates. All Profit Radar Report recommendations resulted in a 59.51% net gain in 2013, 17.59% in 2014, and 24.52% in 2015.

Follow Simon on Twitter @ iSPYETF or sign up for the FREE iSPYETF Newsletter to get actionable ETF trade ideas delivered for free.