Are Stocks Breaking Out?

Subscribers to iSPYETF’s free e-mail newsletter receive a market outlook, usually once a week. The market outlook below was sent out on January 26, 2022. If you’d like to sign up for the free e-newsletter, you may do so here (we will never share your e-mail with anyone, just as we don’t accept advertising).

Stock market bears are getting squeezed again this week as the S&P 500 grinds higher. And, for the first time in a year, the S&P closed above the descending trend line. The color of that trend line is now green, because it’s support. As long as this support holds, price can continue higher.

This week’s push above last week’s high eliminated the most bearish of Elliott Wave patterns (a nested wave 3 decline proclaimed by a number of Elliotticians). The red lines show other highs. Every time one of those highs is eclipsed, bears’ hopes sink.

Perhaps more important is the dashed purple line. It’s an open chart gap left by the 9/13/22 drop. Ever since then I’ve been talking about that chart gap being closed (most recently here: 2023 S&P 500 Forecast).

Unlike the S&P, the recent IWM peaks are all clustered in the 189.50 neighborhood. IWM needs to break above this zone – confirmed by RSI-35 – to allow the S&P to move higher as well. Without IWMs support, risk of a pullback remains present.

I stated in the December 28 Profit Radar Report that: “TSLA has been in crash mode, with the December meltdown likely being part of a wave 3. The long-term chart shows there’s no significant support near current price. Perhaps a temporary bounce and eventual drop to 100 +/- could set up a more sustainable bounce.”

Shortly thereafter, TSLA fell as low as 101.81 and is up over 50% since. While this bounce could be only a wave 4, it’s likely a larger degree bounce with higher targets (as long as price stays above the green support line).

2023 S&P 500 Forecast

This is the time of year where I’m working on the full year S&P 500 Forecast. This forecast includes the most pertinent facts and indicators and an actual price projection based on those indicators.

The proof is in the pudding and the chart below plots my 2022 S&P 500 projection (yellow line) against the actual price action (you can see the original projection at the bottom of this page).

The full S&P 500 Forecast is available here for your review.

Below are some of the warning signs mentioned in the 2022 S&P 500 Forecast BEFORE the stock market fell into a pothole:

– “The bearish divergence (NY Composite a/d lines) reappeared again at the January 2022 S&P 500 highs. This internal market deterioration is a concern and a warning sign.”

– “The 6-month average of Titanic signals exceeded 25. It’s been a good bear market indicator. Although the majority of breadth studies are positive, this is one that should not be ignored.”

– “We’ll focus on the commonality of all 3 (Elliott Wave Theory) scenarios: Up side is limited and down side risk is increasing.”

– “Trend line resistance is around 4,915. We do not expect the S&P to break above this trend line in 2022.”

– “Short-term, the January 10, 2022 low at 4,582 is important. Failure to hold above this level would be a warning signal with the potential for a quick drop into the 4,200 – 4,300 range. If the 4,200 – 4,300 support zone fails, a test of the 4,000 zone (as low as 3,700) is possible.”

– “2022 is the mid election year, which is the weakest of the 4-year presidential election year cycle. Historically (going back to 1950), the S&P 500 declines on average about 20% into the mid-term election year low.”

– “Since the Fed is planning to unwind and reduce purchases (and shrink its balance sheet) in 2022, the risk of a more serious correction this year is much greater than in 2021.”

To receive the 2023 S&P 500 Forecast and for continued updates and purely fact based research, sign up for the Profit Radar Report. 

The Profit Radar Report comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, but fair warning: 90% of users stay on beyond 30 days.

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Is it Time to Buy?

Subscribers to iSPYETF’s free e-mail newsletter receive a market outlook, usually once a week. The market outlook below was sent out on May 26, 2022. If you’d like to sign up for the free e-newsletter, you may do so here (we will never share your e-mail with anyone, just as we don’t accept advertising).

Is it time to buy? Considering the financial/economical/political backdrop, that’s a bold question. The headlines below probably reflect investors angst:

– WSJ: Stock market bottom remains elusive despite deepening decline

– Fortune: It’s looking a lot like the dot-com crash again

– IBD: Market correction worsens as ‘hard’ reality sets in

– WSJ: Conditions are ripe for a deep bear market

Sometimes things are soo bad, it’s worth taking a stab at buying some deeply over-sold stocks/indexes.

Recent Profit Radar Reports featured a number of deeply over-sold and over-hated companies worth a flyer. One of them is one of the largest company in the world, down over 45% from its all-time high, trading below it’s pre-pandemic price tag, and resting at major support.

No, stocks are not out of the woods, but many are at an inflection zone. The odds of a bounce here are better than they’ve been in months.

Yesterday’s Profit Radar Report stated that: “The S&P 500’s close back within the trend channel and above the descending trend line is a short-term positive.”

The DJIA chart sports one reason to be bullish that no one is talking about, but has been infallible over the past 13 years. Can you see it?

It’s said that fortune favors the brave, and perhaps now is the time to be brave. Fortune, or better success, for certain does not favor the ignorant, and now is not the time to be ignorant (not being ignorant also means to see the potential down side risk despite the up side potential and protect against it).

The Profit Radar Report looks at all the facts without bias and says it how it is. This includes the reason to be bullish (or at least postpone turning bearish) on DJIA and the over-sold and over-hated mega cap stock at massive support. Find out now and sign up for the Profit Radar Report. 

The Profit Radar Report comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, but fair warning: 90% of users stay on beyond 30 days.

Barron’s rates iSPYETF a “trader with a good track record,” and Investor’s Business Daily writes “Simon says and the market is playing along.”

What a 613-Indicator-Based Risk/Reward Tool Says About Stocks in May

The Risk/Reward Heat Map (RRHM) is a complex tool I created to identify whether risk or reward will dominate in any of the upcoming 12 months. I made the Risk/Reward Heat Map available to subscribers of the Profit Radar Report in December 2019. 

As of right now, the Risk/Reward Heat Map is the compound message of 613 individual studies, indicators and signals.

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

Turning individual studies into a forward-looking Risk/Reward Heat Map is a 2-step process:

1) Develop each individual study. Here is how it’s done:

– Identify a unique market development. Example: Last Friday, the S&P 500 and 32% of its component stocks closed at a 52-week (or all-time) high.

– Identify past precedents that meet the same (or similar) criteria. Example: Since 2000, the S&P 500 and >31% of its component stocks closed at 52-week high 7 other times (total of 8 signal dates). The orange line in the chart below highlight all the signal dates.

2) Turn individual study into a forward-looking component of the Risk/Reward Heat Map. Here is how it’s done:

– Calculate the S&P 500 returns and odds of positive returns for 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 months after past precedents (signal dates). Example: After the above-mentioned signal dates, the S&P 500 was down 1 month later 6 times (86%) with an average loss of 2.2% (using only 1st signal in 30 days). 12 month later, the S&P 500 was up 5 times (71%) with an average gain of 10.5%.

– When the odds of positive returns are 80% or higher for a certain month, it is counted as bullish study for that month (+1 is added for that month).

– When the odds of positive returns are 50% or lower for a certain month, it is counted as bearish study for that month (-1 is added for that month). Example: The above study is bearish for June.

The proof is in the pudding

Shown below is one of many bullish studies published in April 2020 (others are available for review here). Explanatory annotations are made in yellow.

The unique development at the time was that the S&P 500 delivered two 90% up volume days (when 90% of volume flowing into advancing stocks) in a 3-day period. 

2 out of 3 90% up days happened 7 other times in the past. The colored graphs show returns after the 7 prior signal dates. 

The performance tracker (table at bottom of chart) shows that returns for the next 3, 6, 9, 12 month were wildly bullish with 83% – 100% odds of positive returns. +1 (bullish odds) were added for the months of July 2020, October 2020, January 2021, April 2021.

Repeating the above process of identifying a unique event and its precedents and then cataloguing forward returns 613 times results in the up-to-date Risk/Reward Heat Map. 

Does the Risk/Reward Heat Map work?

The chart below plots the S&P 500 against net signals (bullish – bearish) since inception, which allows us to visually assess if the Risk/Reward Heat Map works. 

The outright bearish implications for January/February/March 2020 (red columns) were echoed by the stock market during the February/March 2020 meltdown.

Starting in March 2020, the vast majority of studies implied significant future reward with little risk (green columns). 

Throughout 2020 and 2021 there were only a few periods of weakness, and all of them occurred when the number of bullish studies was less than 20 (orange bars). 

Sell in May and go away?

For May, the Risk/Reward Heat Map is in caution mode, and the May 3 Profit Radar Report warned that: “May continues to be a pressure point, resistance in terms of time.”

The Risk/Reward Heat Map is unique because it’s actually a predictive forward looking tool. To filter out false signal, I use real time data to validate the Heat Map’s message. Right now, it will take a good close below 4,090 to unlock a deeper pullback.

The Risk/Reward Heat Map is constantly updated and shows riks/reward for each of the next 12 months. The Risk/Reward Heat Map is available to subscribers of 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 evaluation 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. 

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S&P 500 – Strong but Ugly

Subscribers to iSPYETF’s free e-mail newsletter receive a market outlook, usually once a week. The market outlook below was sent out on May 6. If you’d like to sign up for the free e-newsletter, you may do so here (we will never share your e-mail with anyone, just as we don’t accept advertising).

Let’s face it, S&P 500 performance has been strong but ugly … and downright boring to watch. Despite the yawn environment, I just discovered a historic pattern that played out 90% of the time (see below).

Yes, while markets are grinding I’m running dozens of screens to gain an edge for the next move.

For example, the last S&P 500 all-time high (last Thursday) also saw:

– Cumulative NY Composite a/d lines at all-time highs

– 88% of S&P 500 stocks above their 50-day SMA

– 95% of S&P 500 stocks above their 200-day SMA

– Only 58% of volume flowing in advancing stocks (10-day SMA)

Running a screen based on the above parameters yields no hits, which means it never happened before.

We can’t learn much from a sample size of 1, but lowering the threshold gives as more precedents to work with.

The yellow lines highlight when less restrictive criteria (see chart) were met. Unfortunately the sample size couldn’t be more conflicting (don’t shoot the messenger). We have some signals right before the 2007 and 2020 crash and others during the 2013 and 2020 melt-up.

Let’s take a different approach. Instead of scanning for similar past occurrences based on breadth we’ll look at performance.

Here is our baseline:

1. From January – April 2021, the S&P 500 was up 11.32%
2. In 2020 (prior year), the S&P 500 recorded a 16.26% gain
3. 2021 was a post election year

Going back to 1970, we now identify the following:

– Years S&P 500 was up more than 10% on April 30

It happened 14 other years

– Years S&P 500 gained 16% +/-5% the year before

It happened 5 other years

– Years that were a post election year (like 2021)

It happened 1 other year

– Years with a similar chart trajectory (correlation)

Based on the above criteria, the gray graphs reflect the January – April performance of the 10 years most similar to 2021 (in red).

The logical next step is to chart the forward performance of the 10 most similar years, which is exactly what I did. After doing that, I look for common themes.

This study revealed an interesting commonality: 3 month later (which corresponds to August 1), the S&P 500 had the same directional bias 90% of the time. The full study was published in yesterday’s Profit Radar Report.

Even dull markets can offer clues about future performance … if you look hard enough … or have someone who does the searching for you.

Continued updates, out-of-the box analysis and forward performance based on historic precedents are available via the Profit Radar Report.

Barron’s rates iSPYETF a “trader with a good track record,” and Investor’s Business Daily writes “Simon says and the market is playing along.”SPX

S&P 500 Update

On March 26, the Profit Radar Report published the projection below and stated: “We anticipate a recovery towards 3,000 (for the S&P 500) over the next couple months and quite possibly new all-time highs in 2020.”

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

Less then two month later, the S&P 500 reached and exceeded 3,000. Are new all-time highs next?

To answer this question, we will take a chronological look at many indicators and studies published (in the Profit Radar Report) over the past couple of months.

April 6, 2020 Profit Radar Report

“90.43% of NYSE-traded stocks closed higher for the day. We have seen large clusters of 80% or 90% ‘all or nothing’ days (where 80% or 90% of NYSE-traded stocks and/or volume occur to the up or down side). This too is rare, and has been longer-term bullish (S&P 500 traded higher 6 and 12 months later 90% of the time).”

April 7, 2020 Profit Radar Report

“It took the S&P 500 just 11 days to retrace more than a Fibonacci 38.2% of the previous losses. This is a very quick retracement. Since 1970, there were only 5 other times where the S&P retraced more than 34% that quickly. The chart below shows the forward performance of those 5 times along with the average. As you can see, returns were rock solid.” Note: Chart below was updated to include price action until May 27.

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April 12, 2020 Profit Radar Report

“More than 90% of volume went into advancing stocks on 2 days last week (April 6: 91.87%, April 8: 93.13%). This is rare and usually significant. The chart below plots the forward performance of the 6 other times when there were more than 2 90% up volume days in a 3-day period within 1 month of a 52-week low.”

April 19, 2020 Profit Radar Report

“Historically, rising stocks despite falling earnings are not unusual. Since 1970, there were 8 other earnings seasons following a 30% drop in the S&P 500. The chart below shows the 1-year forward performance of every instance along with the average forward performance.”

April 19, 2020 Profit Radar Report 

“The March and April PRRs included a ton of data points and studies analyzing the market from all sorts of different angles. Most of the studies and projections pointed to a signifiant rally with a minimum target of 2,900 – 3,000 … and potentially new all-time highs later in 2020.

The S&P 500 has almost reached the ‘first phase’ of our forecast (2,900 – 3,000). While the up side has become more risky, price may continue to move higher as long as the S&P does not fall below support at 2,730 – 2,700.”

May 3, 2020 Profit Radar Report

“The April 11 Profit Radar Report fiirst remarked on the strength of this rally, which implied further gains. Below is an updated look at the same chart, which shows that even the strongest rallies from a 52-week low started to take a pause right about 29 days after the low was struck.”

Summary

In late April the S&P 500 got very close to our up side target and I was looking for a pullback. This pullback was more shallow than expected. Instead of providing a better buying opportunity at even lower prices, it sparked another rally leg.

The S&P 500 is now trading above the upper Bollinger Band with RSI-2 nearing short-term over-bought. RSI-35 on the other hand continues to confirm new price highs.

Short-term, this leaves the S&P 500 in ‘melt up’ mode. Usually it does not pay to chase an over-bought market (in fact the risk of a nasty pullback is high), but this could be one of those rare times where stocks defy the odds and grind higher.

At some point, however, there should be a pullback. The weight of evidence suggests that any pullback will be a buying opportunity (minimum target: open chart gap at 3,328.45).

Continued updates, projections, 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

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

S&P 500 Update – Panic in Context

In response to the relentless Q4 2019 rally in stocks, I created the Risk/Reward Heat Map (RRHM) to objectively asses upcoming risk  (and reward) based on literally hundreds of indicators and historic precedents. RRHM methodology is explained here.

Below is the very first RRHM, published in the December 25, 2019 Profit Radar Report:

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

The red bars projected significant risk, and the market delivered much more risk then even anticipated by the RRHM.

In fact, the market decline is unlike any other we’ve seen before. Below is an excerpt from the March 10 Profit Radar Report, which puts the recent panic into context.

* * * * * March 10, 2020 Profit Radar Report * * * * *

97.70% of NYSE-traded stocks ended down yesterday, the 2nd worst 90%+ down day since 1970. Below is the comple list of 95%+ down days:

• 08/08/2011: 98.73%
• 03/09/2020: 97.70%
• 10/19/1987: 95.98%
• 10/09/1979: 95.56%
• 08/04/2011: 95.56%
• 09/29/2008: 95.11%
• 08/24/2015: 95.05%

Chart #1 outlines the above dates in ‘big picture’ context (dashed blue lines).

Chart #2 provides thumbnail performance for each instance (highlighted in blue). There were two 95%+ days in 2011.

53.04% of NYSE-traded stocks closed at 52-week lows yesterday. Since 1970, there have only been 10 other days where more than half of all stocks sat at 52-week lows (5 of them in 2008).

Chart #3 shows those instances in ‘big picture’ context (dashed blue lines).

Chart #4 provides thumbnail performance for each instance (highlighted in blue). There were 5 instances in 2008, 3 in 1970, and 2 in 1987. 50%+ lows have come in clusters, does this mean we should expect another 50%+ reading before this correction is over?

The S&P 500 lost 7.60% yesterday, it’s 4th biggest daily loss. Since 1970, the S&P lost more than 7% only on 3 other days:

10/13/2008: 11.58%

10/28/2008: 10.79%

10/21/1987: 9.10%

Chart # 5 below provides big picture context for the top 4 daily % losses.

The more extremes this market delivers, the smaller the list of precedents becomes. 2008 and 1987 are two of the few time periods that come up fairly consistent in our list of precedents.

The 1 – 3 month forward performance for the above studies was positive 55-75% of the time. If we were to exclude the 2008 instances, the forward performance would turn positive 90%+ of the time.

1987 was a brief but nasty ‘rip the bandage off’ type of a decline.

2008 was a long and persistent decline that plowed past the initial extremes seen.

Despite today’s strong gains, it doesn’t look like more than 80% of NYSE-traded stocks closed higher. NYSE-up volume, on the other hand, may have delivered a small breadth thrust (we’ll determine tomorrow after final numbers are in).

The S&P 500 bounced from support around 2,740, but was not able to overcome resistance around 2,860. Based on the cluster of 50%+ NYSE low days in the past, it would not be a first to see another 50%+ NYSE low day.

* * * * * END – March 10, 2020 Profit Radar Report * * * * *

Today may deliver another 50%+ down day, which may spark a sizable rally. Long-term trend line support for the S&P 500 is just below 2,500.

Continued updates, projections, 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

S&P 500 Update – Was Risk Flushed Out?

The last S&P 500 update introduced the risk/reward heat map (RRHM), which projected increased risk in January/February (see image below). How exactly the RRHM is produced is discussed here: Risk Reward Heat Map Methodology

The January 15 Profit Radar Report warned that: “Based on our risk/reward heat map, we are approaching a period of increased risk with an initial emphasis on late January.”

Just 4 days later, stocks suffered the biggest pullback since October 2019.

The pullback stopped on February 3, which makes the analysis from the February 2 Profit Radar Report (republished below) all the more interesting:

                                        * * * * *  February 3, Profit Radar Report * * * * *

“Based on preliminary data, 82.85% of NYSE-traded stocks ended Friday lower, the biggest down day since August 8, 2019. The chart below shows various breadth gauges. The bottom graph reflects down days. A cluster of down days (80% or 90%) tends to reflect selling exhaustion and is usually seen near bottoms, so we’ll be keeping an eye on that.

We’ve seen two 80%+/- down days already, so one could argue there’s already a measure of exhaustion.

Almost all of our short-term sentiment gauges perked up nicely and are already showing minor extremes. In times past, readings of similar degree have been enough to mark a bottom. Since we’ve seen some significant optimism extremes at the top, it is quite possible we need some more significant pessimism extremes. This, however, is not required.

The S&P 500 closed right on the green support trend line, which could be considered the minimum down side target for this pullback. Due to the sentiment extremes at the top and our RRHM, we would like to see lower prices, with 3,190 being the next and 3,130 +/- a more ideal down side target.”

                                      * * * * *  End February 3, Profit Radar Report * * * * *

The S&P 500 spiked 110 point this week. The chart below shows the resistance (red) and support (green) levels mentioned in the February 3 Profit Radar Report.

The S&P tagged the minimum down side target, which was based on a trend line going back to 2016. The S&P failed to reach the ideal target, which was based on a trend line going back to 2007, and would have reflected a more proportional correction.

Resistance is still at 3,336. A break above 3,336 would allow for a move to next resistance, but the CBOE equity put/call ratio is getting dangerously low once again, and the RRHM suggests we may not be out of the woods yet.

Continued updates, projections, 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

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

S&P 500: Short-and Long-term Risk vs Reward Analysis

it happened again: The S&P 500 erased a month worth of gains in just 3 days. Being aware of the up side potential compared to down side risk is always a good idea, but especially now.

Let’s objectively assess bullish and bearish factors to determine up side potential vs down side risk for the short-and long-term.

Up Side Potential – Short-term

The October 20 Profit Radar Report published the S&P 500 futures chart below and stated that: “A close above 3,002 (blue triangle) could eventually lead as high as 3,187.75 (3,167.74 for S&P 500).”

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

The S&P 500 came within 12 points of this target and then dropped 84 points in 3 days (as projected, see last chart of this article). Based on the above projection, near-term up side potential is limited.

Up Side Potential – Longer-term

On November 25, the VIX closed below 12 for the first time in 3 months. Over the past 20 years, this has happened 8 other times. 1 year later the S&P 500 traded higher every time (the blue lines below highlight the instances since 2013).

On November 25, the Russell 2000 reached a new 52-week highefor the fist time in a year. Over the past 20 years, this happened 5 other times. 1 year later, R2K traded higher 4 of 5 times.

For the first time since August 2018, the monthly MACD histogram for the NY Composite crossed above 0. The blue lines below highlight times when the MACD histogram exceeded 0 for the first time in a year. This signal was rare (only 6 times since 1980) and always followed by gains 1 year later (on average 16%).

Short-term Down Side Risk – Short-term

The November 24 PRR mentioned that VIX hedgers held a record amount of VIX positions and warned: “The last two times this happened, the VIX spiked and S&P 500 took a nasty spill.”

From November 27 – December 3, the VIX soared as much as 50%. This may have satisfied the need for a VIX spike already, but more could still be to come.

Longer-term Down Side Risk

The November 20 PRR noted that: “Unlike stocks, junk bonds have been trending lower. The chart below plots the S&P 500 against the SPDR High Yield Bond ETF (JNK). The blue boxes highlight other periods where JNK trended lower while the S&P trended higher. It usually and eventually led to stock market pullbacks of various degrees.”

It is difficult to put a time-frame on this ‘setup’ as the bearish divergence could be followed by weakness sooner or later.

Conclusion

When compiling my forecasts I look for ‘signal clusters.’ Those are times when indicators and studies coherently suggest a specific performance over a certain time frame.

Right now, a cluster of bullish studies suggests that stocks will be higher about 1 year from today.

Another cluster of indicators projects lower prices over the next 3 month. This cluster, however, is in conflict with the strong momentum market we’ve seen since early October.

In short, the weight of evidence suggests that pullbacks over the next 3 month are an opportunity to buy.

The yellow projection below, published in the December 1 Profit Radar Report, outlined a path in harmony with a number of indicators.

As you can see, the projection correctly captured the decline from 3,150 to below 3,100. Another rally to the high is quite possible and – if all goes according ‘to plan’ – should be followed by another pullback, potentially a much deeper, but also temporary one.

Continued updates, projections, 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

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

5 ‘Keep it Simple’ Stock Charts and 1 Bearish Constellation

The rally from the June 3 low has created many bullish price and breadth patterns and studies (5 of them are discussed here). The market has followed through on them thus far.

However, the short-term Elliott Wave structure does not look bullish, and the long-term projection published in the June 2 Profit Radar Report (shown here) points to a serious speed bump.

In short, there is a measure of conflict between indicators. When that happens, I like to go back to the basics and keep it simple.

Resistance

The DJIA shows probably the most important resistance range to watch: around 27,300.

Support

The S&P 500 shows some important support levels to watch: around 2,910 and 2,875.

Short-term Trend Channel

The June 23 Profit Radar Report used this chart to simplify the short-term: “A break below channel support would unlock a pullback. The wave labels show the most bearish EWT-based option. It’s not ideal, but it seems more likely than other options.”

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Trend channel support failed the next day and unlocked the biggest pullback of June. It is possible to count the decline from June 21 as 5 waves, which cautions that the trend may have changed from up to down.

Leader Fatigue

The rally from the June low has been led by defensive sectors like consumer staples. Contrary to popular belief, such (defensive-led) rallies are statistically not doomed to fail.

However, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) carved out a pattern with a lot of bearish potential. I recommended to go short at 59.07 on June 13. The stop-loss is now set at breakeven, which allows us to ‘play with house money.’

Overlap

Small cap stocks represented by the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) are lagging. In fact, IWM fell below the June 5 high. If one wanted to count the June rally as 5 waves, June 5 would be wave 1, but yesterday price dropped below the June 5 high. This creates a bearish (wave 4 / wave 1) overlap (blue arrow) that’s not allowed and voids a short-term bullish Elliott Wave count.

Bearish Constellation

Not only small caps are lagging. The transportation and banking sector are too (see chart below).

Only two other times (July 1990 and July 1998) has there been such a big divergence between the S&P 500 and small caps, transportation, and banking. This is a small sample size, but it led to a rocky and negative performance over the next quarter.

Conclusion

Even during times where there is conflict among indicators, going back to the basics provides some general guidance.

It will take a sustained move above resistance to unlock higher targets, and a break below support to unlock lower targets.

Another big but temporary drop would certainly clear up the structure and provide a lot more certainty, but we’ll let the above levels indicate whether it will happen.

Continued updates 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

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S&P 500 Update – Big Fake or Little Fake?

As mentioned in the last S&P 500 update we were looking for stocks to continue lower into the next target/inflection zone, which was around 2,740 (May 29 Profit Radar Report: “We expect 2,740 – 2,720 to be reached. From there, a larger bounce may develop.”).

Sunday’s (June 2) Profit Radar Report featured the chart below and stated that: “S&P 500 Futures are down some 15 points in Sunday night’s session and already reached their first target. Aggressive investors afraid of missing out on a bounce (which could turn into something more) may put some money to work.”

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

This bounce happened, and it happened quickly and honestly stronger than I expected.

Big Fake or Little Fake?

Now the question is: Will stocks relapse or continue to new all-time highs?

The chart below shows that the S&P 500 fell as low as 2,728.81 on Monday. This drop closed the open chart gap at 2,744.13 and tagged Fibonacci target at 2,739.45, where wave c = wave a (a common target for waves c). The open chart gap at 2,851.11 is the next up side target (I wrote about the power of chart gaps here last week).

In terms of breadth, this week’s market action was bullish. Despite Monday’s 6-point drop, 65.03% of NYSE stocks advanced (strength ‘under the hood’), and on Tuesday, 81.48% of NYSE stocks advanced.

The horizontal blue line helps us determine other times when more than 80% of stocks advanced. In general it’s been a positive (green lines), but there’ve been false signals as well (May 16, red line and October 16, 2018, not shown).

So Tuesday’s strong up day is positive, but not an infallible buy signal.

I still prefer for this rally to relapse. The question is how high it will rally and relapse (big fake, or little fake). The June 2 Profit Radar Report outlined the 4 most likely paths going forward. One was already eliminated by this week’s action. That leaves three. Continued updates, projections, 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 evaluation 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, 24.52% in 2015, 52.26% in 2016, and 23.39% in 2017.

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