There have been three sectors that have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past three months and they are: technology (XLK), consumer discretionary (XLY), and communication services (XLC). These three sectors represent 26.01%, 10.09%, and 8.11%, respectively, of the S&P 500. That TOTALS 44.21% of the S&P 500. One of the best-performing ETFs has been the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT):...keep reading

When I think of aggressive growth stocks, my mind generally turns to semiconductors ($DJUSSC), software ($DJUSSW), and internet stocks ($DJUSNS). Recently, we saw a huge breakout from the semiconductors group. Last week, it was software that was able to close at a multi-month high. And now, I'm watching and waiting for internet to make their move and clear the early-February high:...keep reading

I believe it's arrived. If you're an EarningsBeats.com member, you know all the warnings that I passed along in late 2021 and early 2022. In our MarketVision 2022 event on Saturday, January 8th, I showed on a chart how I believed 2022 would unfold. I suggested the first six months would be very bearish with a cyclical bear market gripping Wall Street. I pointed to a potential low in the 3500-3800 area. Yesterday's low was 3639, right in the middle of that range. But that's not why I'm calling the bottom....keep reading

Yesterday, several key homebuilders reported quarterly results that were way ahead of Wall Street consensus estimates. DR Horton (DHI) and PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) both blew away consensus estimates, easily surpassing both revenue and EPS estimates. Those two, along with Lennar (LEN), were among the top 6 performers on the S&P 500 on Tuesday. KB Homes (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) were among the Top 6 performers on the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index....keep reading

Gambling stocks ($DJUSCA) have been a strong group thus far in 2023, and finding leaders within the space is what we generally want to do. I've discussed in recent weeks the strength displayed by Las Vegas Sands (LVS). Today, I want to focus on a second stock in the group showing very bullish characteristics - Red Rock Resorts (RRR):...keep reading

I love to do research involving U.S. equities to help provide our members a leg up vs. Wall Street. One fascinating development throughout 2022 has been the performance of the stock market during various parts of the day and during various phases of the current cyclical bear market. I've committed entire Trading Places LIVE shows to this chicanery on Wall Street....keep reading

While many analysts have labeled the market laggards in 2023 a big problem and a reason to be bearish, I've taken the opposite view. I believe it was GREAT that we saw such massive leadership out of growth stocks and now I've turned my attention to stocks that WERE leaders in late 2022 and into early 2023, but relinquished their leadership roles and consolidated for several weeks. Enter Boeing, Inc. (BA), which one could argue has been a dog since January. Again, I'd take the opposite side of this argument, pointing out that BA has been consolidating in very bullish fashion after a prior mammoth uptrend:...keep reading

Hit 124.99 earlier today, not far from our 126.50 target. Not a bad idea to think about lessening the load here....keep reading

For a long time, and certainly throughout 2022, consumer discretionary (XLY) was under tremendous selling pressure as both Amazon.com (AMZN) and Tesla (TSLA), the top two component stocks in the ETF, fell precipitously. However, both stocks have now stabilized, despite the weak response to AMZN's quarterly report on Friday, and we're now seeing this key consumer ETF outpacing the more defensive consumer area - staples (XLP):...keep reading

On Friday, I was looking over the new 52-week highs on the NYSE and was a bit surprised to see that the asset managers group ($DJUSAG) had 15 different stocks setting new annual highs....keep reading

I've written much lately about the strengthening communications service sector (XLC). Year-to-date, the XLC is the strongest sector (+23.76%), edging out technology (XLK, +19.72%). But the best news of all is that it's on the verge of a neckline breakout in a bullish, bottoming, reverse head & shoulders pattern. If that breaks, we should see areas like internet ($DJUSNS) and broadcasting & entertainment ($DJUSBC) get a lift. One stock in internet that certainly seems poised to benefit is Pinterest, Inc. (PINS):...keep reading

Growth stocks have been struggling as the 10-year treasury yield ($TNX) continues to climb higher and higher. The Fed hasn't backed down from its aggressive rate-hiking campaign and technology stocks (XLK), along with stocks in consumer discretionary (XLY) and communication services (XLC) are not offering many uptrending stocks. But that doesn't mean there aren't strong and strengthening stocks out there....keep reading

I've discussed the fact that financials (XLF) LOVE the balance of the year. In fact, the XLF averages outperforming the S&P 500 by a wide margin from September through December. How much? Well, it depends on the time frame we're looking at. Check this out:...keep reading

Originally Posted on August 25, 2014...keep reading

I like to call it Opposite George week (a Seinfeld reference) and for a reason. There is generally financial incentive for market makers to reverse whatever's been working in the stock market leading up to options expiration week. Stocks that have been climbing relentlessly for a few weeks to a few months can attract a large number of call buyers. As a result, there could be a significant amount of net in-the-money call premium that market makers will have to pay out - unless these recent winners begin to reverse and lose ground. Enter Datadog, Inc. (DDOG):...keep reading

From prior options expiration weeks, we KNOW how quickly things can change during "Opposite George" (Seinfeld reference) week. We've seen the stock market move mostly straight up since the June 17th low and, in particular, the past four weeks. The S&P 500 hit a low of 3721.56 on July 14th and we hit a high on Thursday of 4257.91. That's more than 536 points higher in 4 weeks! Below highlights sector performance over the past month:...keep reading

I'm seeing key breakouts across many different sectors, industry groups, and stocks. Those companies seeing their stock prices rise to 52-week highs are mostly the leaders that we want to keep a close eye on - and potentially trade when they pull back to key price and moving average support levels. One of the strongest banks that I've seen is United Bankshares, Inc. (UBSI), which broke out to a new 52-week high on Thursday and then added another 4% on Friday. Here's the chart:...keep reading

Opened today just one penny beneath key closing resistance. 8.00-8.10 has been solid support lately. A breakout above 8.36 on heavy volume is what we're looking for....keep reading

Originally Posted on August 3, 2014...keep reading

Well, sort of. The Dow Jones U.S. Semiconductors Index ($DJUSSC) closed at another all-time high, but it did not set a new all-time high on an intraday basis, so there's more work to do. But we continue to see individual stock breakouts in this key area of the market and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was the latest to do so. After nearly doubling in price during its 3-month torrid run higher from late October to late January, AMD consolidated for awhile as its overbought RSI tumbled from its January high above 80 to a subsequent low beneath 50 on February 21st. During uptrends, RSIs in the 40-50 zone during pullbacks can represent much better reward-to-risk entry points and that's exactly what we saw with AMD:...keep reading