U.S Equity Index’s Overview – A Repeating PatternU.S Equity Index’s Overview – A Repeating Pattern
The Bull Thesis – Ascending Triangles
The 200 day (blue line on each chart) is squeezing price up towards each red resistance line making each chart look like an ascending triangle (evident on every chart). With the 200 day as underside support for price and the 200 day sloping upwards, things remain positive.
The Bear Caution – Throw overs, Transportation Lag and the Hidden Wedge
We need to be aware and cautious of a throw over top on each chart which is always a possibility. Price on each chart would need to fall back below the red support line (pricing having only been thrown over the red line to come back down again).
The DJ:DJT – Transportation (Chart 1) is lagging behind all the other charts and has not taken out its Nov 2021 or Jul 2023 highs. This relative weakness in Transportation is worrying as this index offers an early indication of potentially less manufacturing and goods being transported, with this chart lagging and failing to take out its highs, it could be an early indication of a more pronounced slowdown in the economy. This chart we need to keep a very close eye on. If DJT fails to rise above its red line and loses the 200 Day, this could be a very bad signal.
We also need to be aware of how one important chart is showing a rising wedge pattern (Chart 3 – Major Market Index TVC:XMI ). This old school chart is watched by the OG traders and investors as a more general market chart. Lets keep an eye on the upper diagonal on the rising wedge for resistance on this one. A rejection here could be something of an early warning sign and obviously losing the red support line would confirm this.
Charts 4 - 6
4. S&P 500 SP:SPX
5. NASDAQ NASDAQ:NDX &
6. US Small Cap 3000 TVC:RUA
All these charts appear to be about to break into all time highs, however they are slightly lagging the Dow Jones Industrials TVC:DJI and the Major Market Index TVC:XMI which have broken all time highs. In the Charts 4 - 6 break out above their red lines (above recent all time highs), this could be another confirmation signal of bullish momentum. Obviously a rejection at this level does not bode well.
SUMMARY
In this hard to navigate market environment we need to pay attention to DJT (Chart 1) and XMI (Chart3) as they provide clear boundaries that we can watch for hidden bear signal warnings. On the contrary, in the even these charts and charts 4 - 6 breach their respective resistance levels mentioned above we can be assured that the wind is at out back in this currently confusingly bullish market.
If you like this overview please let me know and I will complete similar overviews for other markets and indices.
Thanks for reading
PUKA
XMI
General Major Market Indices - An Overview of the MarketGeneral Major Market Indices
These six market indices give a very good snapshot of where we are in this difficult to discern market and why uncertainty still lingers as we continue to climb a wall of worry.
The Chart
▫️ Every index 1 - 6 below has been rejected or is struggling to make new highs on the weekly timeframe.
▫️ At the same time each chart appears to be finding support on the 200 day moving average (40 week moving average). You could argue that ascending triangles are forming, in which scenario we would await a confirmation breakout above the upper resistance line.
▫️ Charts 1 – 3 appear to be leading charts 4 – 6
- You can see that the DJ:DJT , TVC:DJI and TVC:XMI charts
(Charts 1 – 3) have all attempted to break above the
overhead resistance and have been rejected or are
struggling to break through.
- Conversely the CBOE:SPX , NASDAQ:NDX and TVC:RUA charts
(Charts 4 – 6) have made lower highs and have not
yet reached up and even tested the overhead
resistance... For this reason these charts are
showing relative weakness.
▫️ In prior Macro Mondays it was made very clear that Charts 1 – 3 can provide advance warning of recession and or bear market declines ahead of charts such as 4 – 6. Charts 4 - 6 are showing relative weakness and appear to be lagging charts 1 - 3, for this reason revisiting this snapshot would be beneficial to see can we get a lead on the S&P500, Nasdaq and US Small Caps. This in turn could give us a lead on the entire market.
▫️ At present we are above the 200 day moving average on every chart and the 200 day moving average is sloping upwards ✅
- This is positive and would reinforce an ascending
triangle thesis however at this stage, looking at all
the charts a definitive break above the overhead
resistance line would be a preferred entry with
stop losses placed under that resistance line thats
been broken.
- A revisit of the 200 day moving average could also
be another entry consideration, simply because
again you have stop placed under the 200 moving
average, defined entries with defined stops under
them.
In summary, charts 1 – 3 can act as leading indicators of where price will go next in the general market. Charts 4 – 6 are showing relative weakness, potentially making lower highs however this could change in coming weeks as a strong green candle is challenging the recent highs. Ideally we want to see a definitive break above the overhead resistance levels and we would rather not see further overhead rejections or a breach below the 200 day moving average.
The beauty of Trading View is that you can revisit this exact chart on my page, press play and see if we have we broken through the resistance lines or fallen below the 200 day moving average, all at a glance. Be sure to make use of it to save you the time and effort of reviewing every chart. You can get a the jist of these major indices all with a glance. Regardless I will do my best to update you here on X.
If you like these broader analysis covering multiple stocks in particular index's or in particular sectors, please let me know.
What are the components of each index?
- This is for those of you who are unsure what each index is made up of and what they represent.
1. Dow Jones Transportation Index - DJ:DJT
- The Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJT) is a price-weighted average of 20 key transportation stocks traded in the United States.
- The transportation sector acts as a leading indicator as it is further up the value chain ahead of the final products being sold by companies in Dow Jones Industrial Average $DJI. For this reason, in some circumstances we can use the DJT as a helpful leading indicator for the direction of the economy
2. Dow Jones Industrial Index – SDJI
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes
3. Arca Major Markets Index - TVC:XMI
- The XMI is an overlooked chart often utilized by OG traders has been referenced by Sentiment Trader as a leading market index. XMI is a price weighted index consisting of 20 blue chip U.S Industrial Stocks, 17 of which are also in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Within the index there is surprising blend of stocks that include transport, travel, food, pharma, energy and technology.
4. S&P 500 - CBOE:SPX
- The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 of the largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices.
5. NASDAQ 100 - NASDAQ:NDX
- The technology index, the Nasdaq-100 is a market index made up of 101 equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index and includes the likes of NVIDIA and the MAANG stocks (Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google)
6. US SMALL CAP 3000 - TVC:RUA
- Small-cap stocks are defined as having a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 Billion. Examples would be Upstart and Victoria's Secret.
Thanks guys
PUKA
Macro Monday 17~Bear Market Confirmed? Macro Monday 17
The Dow Theory Confirms Bear Market
Today’s post may be thee most important Macro Monday of 2023 as it may be a key moment where we received technical confirmation of a change to a bear trend.
What’s Got Me Rustled?
Manuel Blay, the lead economist and editor from the Dow Theory has recently confirmed an S&P500 bear trend change to his subscribers. Why is this so important? Historically, the Dow Theory has provided some of the best signals for market participants. From 1920 to 1975 the Dow Theory signals captured 68% of the moves in the Industrial & Transportation Averages and 67% of those in the S&P 500 Composite Index.
Over recent years I have been keeping an eye on The Dow Theory’s predictions and they were one of the few who signalled a warning in early 2001 before the Dot.Com Crash in Sept 2001, and they signalled a warning prior to March 2020 COVID-19 Crash. They were also one of the few who turned bullish on the market from November 2022 when bears were out in their droves.
The Dow Theory has a proven track record of outperforming the stock market with significant drawdown reduction (less skin in the game during downturn periods). The Dow Theory is one thee most top ranked investment letters and people will pay very close attention to this recent release by Manuel Blay.
What is Dow Theory and How Does It Work?
There are many elements to the Dow Theory and I am going to try and explain some of the basics with the help of some charts.
In basic terms the Dow Theory is a technical framework that predicts when the market is in an upward trend if one of its averages (Such as Dow Jones Transportation Average) advances above a previous important high, accompanied or followed by a similar advance in another corresponding average (such as Dow Jones Industrial Average).
The theory is predicated on the notion that the market discounts everything, consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis. Efficient Market Hypothesis is something I live by, it is the hypothesis that states that share prices reflect all information, price being the aggregation of everything that’s happening. Price over everything, over the news and any other outside factors. Consistent alpha generation is possible focusing only on price. This hypothesis chants “the market knows best” or “trust the intelligence of the market/price”). The Dow Theory uses a combination of markets to help achieve agreement for the overall market trend using price.
In such a paradigm, different market indices must confirm each other in terms of price action and volume patterns until trends reverse. This means that one chart can lead another. It also means that if multiple charts are confirming a particular trend, this adds weight to the probability that that the new price direction is the new trend. This is important to understand as today we will see that out of the four most common charts used by the Dow Theory, three of them are confirming the bear trend and the fourth is leaning bearish (the final confirmation outstanding).
“The Dow Theory for the 21st Century” by Jack Schannep should be your go for a more detailed understanding of the Dow Theory or visit the TheDowTheory.com and become a subscriber.
The Bearish Signals are here
As noted above the Dow Theory mainly focuses on the price movements of four major market indices all of which we will individually cover on today’s Macro Monday:
1. S&P500 – Three Bearish Signals
2. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index – Three Bearish Signals
3. Dow Jones Transportation Average Index – Three Bearish Signals
4. NYSE Arca Major Markets Index – Two Bearish Signals (one pending)
S&P500 - SP:SPX
The price and price structure on the S&P500 chart has provided us with 3 key bearish confirmations (see Chart 1 Above)
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index - TVC:DJI
The DJI is significantly more bearish than the S&P500 as it failed to make a new high since its high in Jan 2022 whilst the S&P500 broke to new highs in July 2023. We could consider this as a negative divergence with the DJI providing us an advance warning due to its failure to establish a new high in July 2023, instead it confirmed a lower high.
The price and price structure on the TVC:DJI Chart has provided us with 3 key bearish confirmations also (see Chart 2 Below).
Dow Jones Transportation Average Index - DJ:DJT
Similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), the DJT also confirmed a lower high in July 2023 compounding the bearish signal already observed in the DJI. These could also be considered double tops with a lower high for the latter two.
The price and price structure on the TVC:DJI Chart has provided us with 3 key bearish confirmations also (see Chart 3 Below).
NYSE Arca Major Markets Index - TVC:XMI
Similar to the S&P500 the XMI chart made a higher high in July 2023 however this was a false break out followed by a throw over with price then falling through the 21 week moving average.
The price and price structure on the TVC:XMI Chart has provided us with 2 key bearish confirmations with the third pending confirmation, however with the 21 week moving average sloping downwards and with the three other charts above already having breached the diagonal resistance line, it is highly probable that the XMI will follow suit and breach its diagonal support line (see Chart 4 Below).
As you can see all charts are strongly suggesting that we have started to turn into bearish trend and all have an heir of a double top pattern. To be clear, this is using the Dow Theory approach which historically has been very effective at getting us on the right side of probability but there are no guarantees, there are times the Dow Theory has been completely wrong. Given that three of the charts are in complete agreement with the fourth looking liking to confirm a similar bearish path, probability strongly in the favour of the bears. For those who appreciate this theory they would now start to make some changes to their portfolios to protect themselves from a drawdown event, as noted in the introduction protection from drawdown events is where The Dow Theory really shines.
The Halloween Effect might fool us all
The Halloween effect on the markets is based on the historical tendency for the stock market to perform better between Halloween Oct and May Day (the "winter" months) than in the other six months of the year ("summer" months). It closely related to the oft-repeated advice to sell in May and go away. In particular the months of Oct – Dec are some of the best return months impacted by the Halloween effect. I will follow up with a chart in the comments that illustrate the % return of the Halloween effect versus the summer months.
In the past the Dow Theory and other market indicators have provided confirmation of a bear trend and the market has made higher highs thereafter only to be thrown over into a longer bear market many months later confirming the original bear trend thesis. The point being is that it is probable we are going to see some impact from the Halloween Effect and this could in fact press prices higher in the short term, and in some cases we can even make higher highs. We need to be extremely cautious if we make reasonable progress during the Halloween Effect period, perhaps this could be seen as an opportunity to take some profits and de-risk some of your portfolio.
I have covered the XMI, DJT, XMI and DJI charts in detail previously on Tradingview and here. Please review them if you would like to get more familiar with their components and historical performance.
As always folks, stay nimble in this market and reduce risk where possible
PUKA
MACRO MONDAY 5 - Major Market Index XMINYSE Arca Major Market Index - TVC:XMI
The XMI Index is a chart that gets overlooked by many but it is still monitored by OG legacy traders. I recently came across the XMI being utilized by Sentiment Trader in one of their reports, considering that Sentiment Trader provide some of the best metrics in the business, their coverage of the XMI peaked my interest.
The XMI is a price weighted index consisting of 20 blue chip U.S Industrial Stocks, 17 of which are also in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Within the index there is surprising blend of stocks that include transport, travel, food, pharma, energy and technology. A breakdown of its components can be found at this Trading View link (Will be added to comments below).
The Chart
The long term pattern on the chart is very obviously a rising wedge pattern which presents diagonal resistance above and below. We are currently 7% away from the top diagonal resistance line so this will be an important level in coming weeks and doesn’t leave a lot of room overhead. God forbid if we ever breach the base line of the large wedge.
In the past a 200 week SMA re-test and flattening has predated recessionary/capitulation price action. If we come close to the 200 week SMA again we should be preparing ourselves for that potential outcome.
The XMI made lower highs from Jan 1999 - Sept 2000 providing an advanced 9 month warning of the follow up recession/capitulation price action that initiated from Sept 2000 onwards on the S&P 500. The XMI made lower highs as the EIGHTCAP:SPX500 made higher highs over the 9 month period. The XMI did not provide a similar advance warning for the 2008 Great Recession however, it did make a lower high, which is something we else we can look out for as a weaker warning signal. This is not a concern at present as the XMI has just broke up into new highs.
Its interesting to see how the XMI gave a significant 9 month advance warning of the 2000 Recession but was not as clear cut at providing an advance warning of the 2008 Great Recession. Conversely, the SPDR Homebuilders ETF ( AMEX:XHB ) which we covered in Macro Monday 3 provided an advance warning of the 2008 Great Recession, however was not as clear cut at providing an advance warning of the 2000 Recession. This is because the 2008 Great Recession was mainly a result of high risk mortgage lending which lead to a housing market collapse, whilst the 2000 recession was a tech led crash and general economic slowdown invoked by the Federal reserve who had been increasing rates to quell an overvalued bubbling tech stock market.
We will need to pay separate attention to these individual index charts as we move forward for clues and warnings as we do not know what market or chart will provide us with that ultimate advance warning. In March 2020 it was the Dow Transportation Index DJ:DJT (Macro Monday 1), in 2007 it was the Homebuilders XHB (Macro Monday 3) and in 2000 it was the Major Market Index XMI (See Chart).
MACRO MONDAY 1 - DJT
MACRO MONDAY 3 - XHB
It is worth noting that the current yield curve inversion on the 2/10 year Treasury Spread provided advance warning of recession/capitulation prior to all of the above events 2000, 2007 & 2020 however it provided us a wide 6 - 22 month window of time from the time the yield curve made its first definitive turn back up to the 0% level (See Macro Monday 2). We are 5 months into that 6 – 22 month window and thus closing in on dangerous territory, however the DJT, XHB and XMI charts remain very positive suggesting a longer time horizon is likely on the cards. I hope with the addition of DJT, XHB and XMI we are providing you with additional warning/timing indicators allowing us to hone in on a more specific timeframe, making us better informed and more nimble market participants.
MACRO MONDAY 2 - 2/10 year Treasury Spread
As we continue with Macro Mondays we will continue to cover these and similar leading charts and indicators. At present the yield curve inversion suggests recession is only a matter of time however the DJT, XHB and XMI charts do not have clear warning signals presenting, but when and if they do, we will be able to recognize these signals and position accordingly. Into the 6 – 22 month danger window we go. No guarantees, just probable outcomes.
Stay nimble folks
PUKA