Wishing Wealth Blog

GMI back to 5; QQQQ short term up-trend completes 5th day; UNG

2010-07-30T02:55:11Z

The GMI rose back to 5 (of 6); there were 102 new 52 week highs in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Thursday. While my longer term indicators remain down, this short term rally in the Nasdaq 100 stocks (QQQQ) is still intact, having lasted five days. I am beginning to look at the natural gas ETF (UNG) again and have taken a small long position because it looks to me like it has bottomed. UNG has not confirmed a new longer term up-trend, however. (A close above 8.26, its 30 week average, would be quite bullish.) But since it is a valued commodity, I do not see much chance that it will fall to zero! UNG gave me a short term buy signal when its stochastic became oversold and then UNG closed back above its key 30 day average. If UNG declines back below this average, currently 7.84, I will sell my position.

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For those of you who are first time readers, welcome! I want you to know that I write this blog to share my experiences gained from trading over more than 40 years. I also write this blog to educate my students at the University of Maryland, who are enrolled in my classes on technical analysis of stocks. I am passionately committed to educating people about trading because I believe that our education system has failed to prepare its citizens for their financial survival. My students learn to greet assertions and advice from the pundits in the financial media with a heavy dose of skepticism and their own critical analysis.

As a part-time trader, I have educated myself through extensive reading of the works of successful traders and through analysis of my own trading performance. I bring my training as a research psychologist to the subject of trading. I have been able to multiply my IRA 14x since 1995 and have been able to keep my university pension safely in cash during all of the major market declines since 1998, and to reinvest the funds in the subsequent advances. My university pension has been spared the scars and heavy losses from the declines in 2000-2002 and 2008.

I rely heavily upon my General Market Index (GMI) to keep me on the same side as the major market trend. The GMI is a simple count of the six indicators that I use to gauge the market’s short and longer term trends. I exit to cash when my indicators signal a major down-trend, usually when the GMI is below 3. I wade back into the market slowly when the GMI recovers. I do not predict the length of trends, I try only to ride them until they end. The few excellent books that made a difference to my trading are posted to the lower right of this blog, and most are required reading before my students are allowed to formulate trading rules and test them in a virtual trading exercise. I compose each daily post after the market close, and publish it on Monday through Friday around 7:00 AM EST. While I publish the GMI reading every post, I present the GMI’s full components only on Monday morning. I hope that readers will benefit from my experiences and apply whatever they find useful to their own trading. I am empowered by your comments and ask that you give me feedback in the comment section of each post, or send them to me via email at: silentknight@wishingwealthblog.com.

gmi: 5
gmi-r: 9
t2108: 78

GMI falls to 4 as longer term up-trend is in question

2010-07-29T03:03:10Z

One reader questioned my writing that “the train has left the station” a couple of days ago. I think I was too early in my call. I like to describe the trend and not predict it. Furthermore, I write often that when I think the trend has changed, I wade very slowly into the market. I remain largely in cash right now. There were less than 100 new 52 week highs in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Wednesday and my weekly QQQQ trend indicator is now negative. This is why the GMI declined 2 points. While my short term trend indicators remain in up-trends, the longer term trend is flat. It is too early to call a new long term up-trend. We are still in a market fraught with whip-saw moves, not one for me to be heavily invested in. The chart below shows the daily GMMA for the QQQQ. Note that some of the short term averages (black) are now above the longer term averages (red). Only time will tell if this is the beginning of a multi-month up-trend like the one that began last March.

gmi: 4
gmi-r: 8
t2108: 77

GMI: 6

2010-07-28T14:41:58Z

My power went out again in the middle of my post. The GMI remains at 6. Will be posting on schedule starting Wednesday night.

GMI:6 All indicators positive

2010-07-27T13:50:52Z

This is one of those up-trends that everyone loves to hate. But the train has left the station. I am still without power at home after the flash storm on Sunday. When things get back to normal I will post the results of scans for stocks that meet my buying criteria.

gmi: 6
gmi-r: 10
t2108: 83

GMI: 5; T2108: 78%; Looking to go long

2010-07-26T16:08:24Z

I was prevented from completing my blog post this weekend because we lost power during the storm Sunday afternoon. I still lack power, and will do a full post when it returns and I can get on my home computer.

The only indicator still negative is the QQQQ Weekly Indicator, which means the longer term trend remains flat or down. We are close to a turn, however, and then the GMI would equal 6. There were 178 new 52 week highs on Friday in my universe of 4,000 stocks. I will look for buys among these stocks which held up during the recent market turbulence.

One negative, with the T2108 at 78%, it is getting near the level where markets have topped. I always wade into the market slowly when I think the market trend is turning.

gmi: 5
t2108: 78
gmi-r: 7

GMI: 4; Turn coming?

2010-07-23T10:35:08Z

The indexes are very close to breaking above their key longer term moving averages. There were 134 new 52 week highs and only 17 new lows in my universe of 4,000 stocks on Thursday. The Worden T2108 Indicator is now at 70%, almost in overbought territory. The GMI is at 4. The IBD Mutual Fund Index is now above its 50 day average, which is still declining. The key is not to jump the gun but to wait for a definite signal of a longer term up-trend. The GMMA daily chart of the QQQQ (click on chart to enlarge) shows that the short term averages (black) are climbing up through the longer term averages (red)–but they are not there yet!

gmi: 4
gmi-r: 7
t2108: 70

GMI back to 2; On the sidelines, in cash

2010-07-22T10:41:00Z

The GMI declined to 2 (of 6) and the GMI-R to 4 (of 10). We are at a point in time when the daily moving averages are flat and the major indexes whipsaw us as they close above and below the averages. I am concerned when the leaders like AAPL, GOOG and NFLX are weak and unable to reach new highs. The leaders of the prior bull move often weaken and decline before the rest of the market. On the other hand, the Investors Intelligence polls show about as many newsletters are bearish as bullish, a rare occurrence and a contrary, bullish sign.

It is much easier to be in the market when there is a clear general market trend. This is a good time to be on the sidelines safely in cash.

gmi: 2
gmi-r: 4
t2108: 52

GMI rises to 3, critical test coming; Judy buying APKT and ARMH

2010-07-21T01:23:47Z

For the first time since June 21, there were more than 100 (104) new 52 week highs in my universe of 4,000 stocks. In addition, 73% of the stocks that hit a new high 10 days ago closed higher on Tuesday than they did 10 days before, showing strength in stocks hitting new highs. While the GMI rose to 3 (of 6) all 4 of the more sensitive indicators in the GMI-R are now positive, yielding a GMI-R of 7 (of 10). The Worden T2108 Indicator is at 60%, indicative of a rising, but not overbought, market. And the QQQQ closed slightly above its 10 week average, breaking a run of 11 weeks below that critical level. What is the major negative? The 10 and 30 week averages are still in down-trends, reflecting a potentially serious down-trend.

Given these conflicting signals, it is time for me to move my stops very close on my short positions and to remain mostly in cash. It remains to be seen if the indexes can hold on to these critical short term technical levels through the close on Wednesday. If they can, I will slowly wade back into the market on the long side. It is critical not to marry a particular market scenario and to be ready to adjust quickly to a significant change in trend.

By the way, my very wise stock picker friend, Judy, took small long positions in APKT and ARMH on Tuesday. Judy buys stocks based on the concept behind the business and her own technical analysis methods and frequently buys a stock before my technical indicators signal a buy.

gmi: 3
gmi-r: 7
t2108: 60

GMI back to 1; Short and in cash; GMMA shows QQQQ down-trend

2010-07-20T11:32:55Z

The QQQQ short term trend is now back to down and the GMI is at 1 (of 6). When tech stocks like TXN and IBM decline after hours after reporting earnings increases it does not bode well for the market–unless you are a bear. The daily GMMA chart of the QQQQ (click on chart to enlarge) shows that all of the short term averages (black) are below the declining longer term averages (red). Compare the pattern now to that which we had from February to May. Why fight the down-trend??!!! I remain mainly short and in cash.

gmi: 1
gmi-r: 4
t2108: 49

Major indexes remain in longer term down-trends; in cash or short

2010-07-19T02:20:25Z

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One reader chastised me for appearing to depart from my prior recent posts in which I wrote about a weak market. He said that if I began to question the down-trend, then Mr. Market had finally fooled me, and the market would fall. He was right, the market did decline on Friday, but I think it had little to do with my sentiment about the market. I have been saying that the longer term trend of the indexes remain down, even as my short term indicator for the QQQQ turned up late last week. According to my way of identifying the short term trend of the QQQQ (Nasdaq 100 index ETF), the market completed its third day of its new short term up-trend on Friday, which is a counter-trend move within a longer term down-trend. I have been showing you that the daily 10,4,4 stochastic statistic reached very overbought levels and the market was due for another dip. It was this overbought condition, and not the reasons posited by the media pundits why the market sold off. So now we have to wait to see whether this dip will go to new lows or hold above them. You can see in this daily chart of the Dow 30 (click on chart to enlarge) that the stochastic at the bottom window (red line) has just curved down. Whether it will fall to oversold levels again is unknown, but note that all of the recent declines ended with the stochastic well below 50 . We just need to wait for the market to reveal its trend. I also use the stochastic to time my buys and sells. For example, I was not looking to take any new short positions while the stochastic was very low. By the way, the other two major index ETF’s I follow (SPY, QQQQ) show the same pattern as the Dow.

But all of this daily action is occurring within a weekly down-trend. It is the weekly down-trend that tells me whether to be in cash or in stocks. As you know, I have moved all of my university pension from mutual funds to money market funds recently. I could be wrong or perhaps premature in my timing, but my philosophy is to be in the market when we are in an established longer term up-trend and to stay on the sideline safely in cash otherwise. I was able to remain invested for a long time while the GMI was at 4 or higher. But the GMI has been less than 4 for much of May and June and every day since June 22nd. As you can see, the GMI is now at 2? (of 6) and the more sensitive GMI-R (revised) is at 4? (of 10). The “?” indicates one of the indicators is too close to call. In addition, the Worden T2108 Indicator is at 46%, in neutral territory. Prior tops tend to occur when the T2108 is near 80% and bottoms when it is below 20%. (The T2108 measures the percentage of NYSE stocks that have closed above their simple 40 day moving average of price.) 86% of the Nasdaq 100 stocks have their daily MACD above its signal line, a sign of a short term up-trend. Finally, the QQQ and SPY have closed below their 10 week averages for 11 straight weeks. I cannot make money trading on the long side when these indexes are below their 10 week averages. More disconcerting is that the 10 week average is now declining below the 30 week average (click on weekly chart of the QQQQ below to enlarge).

So, to sum it up, I remain largely in cash or short. I will not trade long when the major averages are in longer term down-trends. When they reverse, there will be plenty of time to get back in during the next major longer term up-trend. Unfortunately, we have all been wrongly taught that we cannot time the market and should remain in the market all of the time. The most successful traders in history, exit the market or go short when the trend turns down.

gmi: 2
gmi-r: 4
t2108: 46