Daily State of the Markets

Best to "Ride it Out" (For Now)

There can be no denying that there are issues for traders to wring their hands over here. The possibility of a trade war with China is front and center, which, most assuredly, will go beyond tariffs and include items such as currency devaluation, a reduction in U.S. bond buying, etc. …

A Lot to Consider Here

As expected, the insanely wild ride on Wall Street continues unabated this morning. Just about the time it looked like the stock market action was improving, Mr. Trump decided to drop another bombshell. In case you missed it, last night at about 7:00 pm, the President tossed out t…

Well That Was Interesting

Well, that was interesting! The market cynic in me says that yesterday's wild ride is fairly easy to explain... What the algos take away, the algos can give back - at any time - and vice versa. While I have little doubt that the vast majority of the intraday action these days is b…

Tit-for-Tat Fear Trumps Fundamental Backdrop

Here we go again. The market's biggest fear - a trade war with China (and others) - appears to be taking shape. At least that's what the 550-point dive in U.S. stock futures tell us this morning. Some might have been encouraged by yesterday's rather surprising rebound of nearly 40…

Let's Keep This In Perspective

My how the game has changed. Hand wringing has turned into teeth gnashing. Concern has turned into worry. And confidence has turned to out-and-out fear. All in 44 trading days. Yes fans, in a span of just over two months, the mood of this market has changed - completely. We've gon…

The Question Of The Day Is...

From my seat, the question of the day is whether or not we've seen the lows for the current corrective phase. I can actually argue both sides of this one as the indicator evidence has been and continues to be mixed. For example, the bulls argue that the declines seen since February's emot…

What We Learned

As usual, there was a fair amount of volatility following the Fed announcement yesterday. As usual, stocks spiked in both directions as the algos plowed through the statement and reacted to everything they found. And as usual, it took a few minutes for the humans to digest what Mr. Powell…

And Now We Wait...

And now we wait. For this afternoon's Fed meeting, that is. Make no mistake about it; while there is plenty of other "stuff" for traders to occupy their time with today, what Jay Powell and friends have to say about the economy, inflation, rates, "the runoff," and the now famous "dots" wi…

Here We Go Again

Well, here we go again. Just when I had described the recent five-day pullback as "orderly" all heck breaks loose and the stock market makes headlines again for producing big, red numbers. As long-time readers know, I tend to obsess over the drivers of the stock market action. I f…

Both Teams Appear To Have An Argument

What a difference a week makes in this game, right? At this time last week, we were celebrating the "Goldilocks" economic data and the six-day run higher in stocks that pushed the NASDAQ Composite to a fresh all-time high. However, five days and four big, red candlesticks later, the enthu…