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Bi-Weekly Stock Barometer No. 145
Dear Subscriber,
In this bi-weekly report, we take a look at several indicators to determine
the direction of the market.
Sorry for the tardiness of this weekend's report - vacationed in an area with
no internet access (will never do that again). I'm back, so let's get on to
the charts.
Message From The Markets
Market action is ruled by sentiment and by monitoring market internals
and studying sentiment; you can gain reasonably predict future market movements.
The basis of the Stock Barometer system is overlaying extremes in sentiment
with sound technical analysis to predict the likelihood of future price movement.
Each indicator and chart measures the hope, fear and greed of investors and
traders from different angles. Follow along with my charts and over time,
you'll also learn to understand how to read the markets, which is essential
prior to setting up each and every trade.
STOCK BAROMETER CHART

The Daily Stock Barometer is a proprietary measure of market energy. The
direction of the stock barometer determines our short-term outlook on the
market's direction. A BUY or SELL signal is triggered when the indicator
clearly changes direction. If the line is moving up, we are in BUY MODE
and if it's moving down, we are in SELL MODE. The black line is a 5-day moving
average that we use to confirm changes in direction.
EQUITY PUT CALL RATIO CHART

The CBOE put/call ratio is comprised of two sets of data; equity options
and index options. The index component contains items that are used as a
hedge, thereby distorting the correlation and interpretation of the indicator.
I use the equity put/call ratio. This is one of the most accurate read of
investor's fear and complacency.
TRIN/ARMS CHART

Richard Arms developed the arms index. It is also referred to the Trading
Index or TRIN for short. It is a measure of the ratio of up stocks and down
stocks divided by the ratio of up volume and down volume. Our Spread Chart
converts the arms index data into momentum Buy and Sell Signals.
TICK CHART

The tick index is represents the sum of all stocks ticking higher minus
all stocks ticking lower (a stock is said to be trading on an up tick when
it trades at a higher price than the last sale). It's utilized as a day trading
tool as it gives you an up to the second read of the intensity of buying
and selling.
BREADTH (ADVANCE - DECLINE) CHART

Each day several thousand stocks either advance, decline or remain unchanged.
The number of advances and declines normally ranges from +2500 to -2500.
A high number of advancing stocks normally marks a top just as a high number
of declining stocks normally marks a bottom. Monitoring the 5 and 13-day
moving averages of this allows us to better predict future prices.
VXO CHART

The VIX is a measure of volatility on options pricing. We use the old VIX,
which is now called the VXO. The higher the volatility, the more likely the
market is close to a bottom, as traders are willing to pay more premium for
puts, which act as Insurance on their long positions.
Cycle Time
Monday is day 5 in our DOWN CYCLE. It is apparent from the last few signals
that the system is out of sync with the market advance. There's nothing you
can do about a system getting out of sync as usually that's what happens just
before a large move that fits within the system. One cure for being out of
sync is to skip a signal.
The Stock Barometer signals tend to follow a 5, 8 and 13 and sometimes
21 day Fibonacci cycle that balance with 'normal' market cycles. Knowing where
you are in the current market cycle is important in deciding how long you expect
to maintain a position.
Potential Cycle Reversal Dates
2006 potential reversal dates: 1/16, 1/30, 2/25, 3/19, 4/8, 5/8, 5/19,
6/6(20), 7/24, 8/20, 8/29, 9/15, 10/11, 11/28. We publish these dates 2 months
out.
We use these dates as targets in conjunction with the movement of the barometer.
So if the barometer is in Buy Mode, we look to the next date as a top and if
it's in Sell Mode, then we look at the date as being a bottom.

*Accordingly, we're looking at 10/11 as a potential low, but with the action
of the current market, it's just as likely that 10/11 will mark a top. I know
that doesn't make you all warm and fuzzy, but look at it this way. Sometimes
the road ahead isn't as clear - but it's not the road you're on that's as important
as the road you're going to. So we look at the current move as always setting
up the next move. That's the perspective you should always have. There's nothing
you can do about what already happened - but you can do everything as respects
the next move - and that's always our focus.
My timing work is based on numerous cycles and has resulted in the above
potential reversal dates. They're predictive and have nothing to do with
the barometer cycle times. However, due to their accuracy in the past, I
post the dates here.
2005 Potential reversal dates based on 'other' cycle work were 12/27, 1/25,
2/16, 3/4, 3/14, 3/29, 4/5, 4/19, 5/2, 6/3, 6/10, 7/13, 7/28, 8/12, 8/30-31,
9/22, 10/4, 11/15, 11/20, 12/16.
Stock Barometer Buy And Sell Signals
QQQQ or SPY Chart: A chart is provided in every bi-weekly report and shows
the barometer Buy and Sell Signals (which are provided in my morning updates)
as well as showing the next highlighted 'reversal' window. The numbers adjacent
to the buy and sell signals are the number of days between signal (cycle
time).
Here's one years of our end-of-day buy and sell signals for the Stock
Barometer over the past year. They're marked on the QQQQ chart with red and
blue lines (or red and blue arrows).
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10/11 |
Projected Next BOTTOM Due (7 days) *See comments above under Potential
Cycle Reversal Dates |
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10/2 |
TOP (4 days) |
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9/26 |
BOTTOM (14 days) |
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9/6 |
TOP (15 days) |
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8/15 |
BOTTOM (4 days) |
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8/9 |
TOP (12 days) |
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7/24 |
BOTTOM (10 days) |
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7/10 |
TOP (29 days) |
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5/26 |
BOTTOM (33 days) |
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4/10 |
TOP (8 days) |
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3/29 |
BOTTOM (6 days) |
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3/21 |
TOP (5 days) |
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3/14 |
BOTTOM (10 days) |
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2/28 |
TOP (8 days) |
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2/15 |
BOTTOM (23 days) |
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1/12 |
TOP (6 days) |
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1/04 |
BOTTOM (31 days) |
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11/29 |
TOP (28 days) |
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10/19 |
BOTTOM (10 days) |
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10/5 |
TOP (4 days) |
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(historical reversal dates and performance figures
are published at the bottom of the home page) |
The following work is based on my price based spread/momentum indicators for
the USD$, XAU, GLD and TLT. They are tuned to deliver signals in line with
the Stock Barometer. Combined with up/down indicators and you have a powerful
tool for pinpointing market reversals.
Gold (GLD:AMEX & INDEX:XAU.X)

I monitor Gold in the form of GLD and the XAU as well as the US Dollar
Index as a general guide to the overall health of the US Economy and the
markets, as well as to assist us in the entry of positions in our Gold Stock
Service.
Bonds (Amex:TLT)

I include bonds in our studies and use Lehman's 20 year ETF, as the
direction of bonds can have an inverse impact on the stock market. Normally,
as bonds go down, stocks will go up and as bonds go up, stocks will go down.
Summary & Outlook
We remain in Sell Mode, expecting the market to move lower into 10/11.
This was our position two weeks ago and in the interim, we had to move into
Buy Mode to act as a stop and we them moved into Sell Mode as the market tested
and held the current 45-degree trend.
One stage of the barometer signal is called "trend mode" where we remain in
a trend, regardless of the barometer signal. It's a simple rock/scissors/paper
relationship, where trend trumps the barometer. However, trendlines are in
a category of hindsight indicators that are easy to identify after they're
established. However, in hindsight, I should have given more weight to the
current trend and remained in the previous buy signal until that trend was
broken. Unfortunately, I didn't and it's put us in the current losing position
and we remain in a drawdown.
But that's the past and regardless of the past, our focus is on the future.
And in looking at the future, we see the market in position to move lower in
either of two scenarios - 1) move lower into the 10/11 date - setting up a
continuation of the current advance - or 2) consolidating higher into 10/11
and then setting up a larger move lower.
I know that's not comforting since we remain underwater in our current position,
but we've been here before and we'll be here again and if I can teach you one
thing, it's to remain focused on the next trade - getting lost in your current
position will divert your focus from where it needs to be.
Macro-economically speaking, we're looking at a larger sell signal for Bonds.
The Bond market is substantially larger than the stock market and accordingly,
the money at times will likely seek out other investments. Since commodities
are crashing, that leaves stocks. The money normally moves into safer NYSE
stocks and then moves into Nasdaq Stocks - and that final move into Nasdaq
Stocks is the normal cycle. At the very end of the cycle, money will be moving
into low-priced low-quality stocks. These final stage moves around the holidays
are pretty exciting events - and can result in some large low priced stock
moves, which we hope to exploit in our stock trading services.
Again, if you're new to the biweekly stock barometer, welcome. This article
comes out every 2 weeks and gives a big picture view of the market and our
recent activities. If you're interested in following our signals and learning
more about our system, then I
invite you to click here and subscribe to the daily service - since the
market can turn on a dime and so to can our interpretation as the market gives
its daily clues to the future.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me here
at jay@stockbarometer.com.
Regards,
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