Major U.S. indices were essentially unchanged in a week that featured a lot of day-to-day volatility but not much directional movement. When markets move in a sideways range, as the U.S. stock market has been doing since February, it indicates temporary investor indecision.  #-ad_banner-#These periods of indecision almost always lead to the next meaningful directional move, which is precisely where the market finds itself heading into this week. The big question is: “Which way from here?” That is the focus of this week’s report. At the sector level, financials and consumer staples were last week’s best performers. The recent strength… Read More

Major U.S. indices were essentially unchanged in a week that featured a lot of day-to-day volatility but not much directional movement. When markets move in a sideways range, as the U.S. stock market has been doing since February, it indicates temporary investor indecision.  #-ad_banner-#These periods of indecision almost always lead to the next meaningful directional move, which is precisely where the market finds itself heading into this week. The big question is: “Which way from here?” That is the focus of this week’s report. At the sector level, financials and consumer staples were last week’s best performers. The recent strength in financials, which are up 1.9% in the past month, has been driven by the spike in long-term U.S. interest rates amid a steepening yield curve. Both of these factors will help make banks more profitable.   The weakest sector last week was energy, which lost 0.9% and is down 4.5% over the past month. This has been driven by a strong outflow of investor assets, according to Asbury Research’s own metric, as shown in the table below. The biggest inflow of investor assets over the past one-week and one-month periods went into the financial sector. Stocks Need… Read More

Most major indices finished lower for the second consecutive week. Only the small-cap Russell 2000 managed to eke out a 1.2% gain.  The U.S. markets were pressured by a number of factors. These included sharply rising long-term U.S. interest rates and worries of a debt default in Greece. Generally favorable U.S. economic data had investors concerned the Federal Reserve will begin raising short-term interest rates sooner rather than later. Another negative factor last week was generally declining global equity prices, which I’ll discuss in more detail later in the report.  At the sector level, only financials, consumer discretionary and industrials… Read More

Most major indices finished lower for the second consecutive week. Only the small-cap Russell 2000 managed to eke out a 1.2% gain.  The U.S. markets were pressured by a number of factors. These included sharply rising long-term U.S. interest rates and worries of a debt default in Greece. Generally favorable U.S. economic data had investors concerned the Federal Reserve will begin raising short-term interest rates sooner rather than later. Another negative factor last week was generally declining global equity prices, which I’ll discuss in more detail later in the report.  At the sector level, only financials, consumer discretionary and industrials finished in positive territory last week. Financials were driven by rising interest rates and a steepening yield curve that will help banks become more profitable. The weakest sector last week was utilities as rising interest rates lured yield-seeking investors out of this sector and into safer U.S. Treasuries.  Keep a Close Eye on Technology This Week  In last week’s Market Outlook, I discussed the importance of the 5,133 March 2000 tech bubble high in the Nasdaq Composite. I said, “Historic benchmark highs like this one are seldom appreciably and sustainably broken without at least a multiweek decline first.”  What I… Read More

All major U.S. indices finished lower last week, reversing the previous week’s advance (minus the Dow), as the market continues the unusual one week up, one week down pattern that has dominated most of 2015. As a result, the broader market S&P 500 is only up 2.4% almost halfway through the year despite a lot of day-to-day volatility that has frightened investors. #-ad_banner-# All sectors of the S&P 500 gave up some ground last week, led lower by energy, down 2.3%, and industrials, which lost 1.9%. My own ETF asset flow-based… Read More

All major U.S. indices finished lower last week, reversing the previous week’s advance (minus the Dow), as the market continues the unusual one week up, one week down pattern that has dominated most of 2015. As a result, the broader market S&P 500 is only up 2.4% almost halfway through the year despite a lot of day-to-day volatility that has frightened investors. #-ad_banner-# All sectors of the S&P 500 gave up some ground last week, led lower by energy, down 2.3%, and industrials, which lost 1.9%. My own ETF asset flow-based metric shows that the biggest outflow of investor assets over the past one-week and one-month periods came from energy. This reversed the strong inflows I pointed out earlier this year, which fueled the sector’s strength and relative outperformance in March and April. Recent outflows warn of more weakness in energy, at least over the near term. Bigger picture, however, my metric also shows that the energy sector currently comprises just 14% of all ETF-related sector bets, compared to 20% historically. This indicates that, despite recent weakness, energy is still historically very under-invested amid favorable conditions for more relative… Read More

Average Gains of 144% — Is it Possible? One of the top trading experts in the world has created a unique, two-part options strategy with average annualized gains that seem too good to be true: 89% in 2012… 144% in 2013… 211% in 2014. I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same kind of success. But if history is any guide, it could help you make annualized gains of 220%… 508%… even 2,201% — which is what it has delivered over the past few weeks. We’ve put together a… Read More

Average Gains of 144% — Is it Possible? One of the top trading experts in the world has created a unique, two-part options strategy with average annualized gains that seem too good to be true: 89% in 2012… 144% in 2013… 211% in 2014. I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same kind of success. But if history is any guide, it could help you make annualized gains of 220%… 508%… even 2,201% — which is what it has delivered over the past few weeks. We’ve put together a free webpage revealing the details behind this strategy. Click here to go there now. Sincerely, Frank Bermea Publisher, Profitable Trading P.S. This expert just revealed his latest trade. He expects it to deliver 106% — but only if you take advantage immediately. Click here to get all the details. All major U.S. indices except for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher last week, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and small-cap Russell 2000,… Read More

THESE RETURNS ARE ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Before we get to the Market Outlook… Since Profitable Trading launched Profit Amplifier with Jared Levy three months ago, he has already closed trades with annualized returns of 220.9%, 508.6% and 2,201.6%. He truly is living up to his reputation as an options prodigy.  You can learn more about him and get his next eight trades without making any long-term commitment by clicking here. Sincerely,  Frank Bermea Publisher, Profitable Trading… Read More

THESE RETURNS ARE ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE Before we get to the Market Outlook… Since Profitable Trading launched Profit Amplifier with Jared Levy three months ago, he has already closed trades with annualized returns of 220.9%, 508.6% and 2,201.6%. He truly is living up to his reputation as an options prodigy.  You can learn more about him and get his next eight trades without making any long-term commitment by clicking here. Sincerely,  Frank Bermea Publisher, Profitable Trading All major U.S. indices closed in positive territory for the second consecutive week. This broke the recent pattern of alternating positive and negative weekly closes, which has been the norm this quarter. Last week’s gains were led by the Nasdaq 100, up 0.8%, and Russell 2000, up 0.7%. I view this as a good sign heading into this week as technology and small-cap issues typically lead the broader market both higher and lower. It is disappointing that three of last week’s four strongest market sectors were defensive ones: consumer staples gained 1.2%, health care was up 1.1%,… Read More

Dear readers, A team of researchers at EarthRisk Technologies made a shocking discovery. They created an amazing “prediction tool” that can accurately predict the weather up to 40 days out. This same kind of technology is also being used to “predict” future share price movements — with stunning results. BlackRock used a prediction tool to largely avoid the 2008 market crash. Researchers at the University of California used a similar tool to beat the market by 10% over a four-month period. And since creating our own in-house tool in 2013,… Read More

Dear readers, A team of researchers at EarthRisk Technologies made a shocking discovery. They created an amazing “prediction tool” that can accurately predict the weather up to 40 days out. This same kind of technology is also being used to “predict” future share price movements — with stunning results. BlackRock used a prediction tool to largely avoid the 2008 market crash. Researchers at the University of California used a similar tool to beat the market by 10% over a four-month period. And since creating our own in-house tool in 2013, it’s spotted 33 stocks right before they soared up to 242% in 11 months. Check out the fascinating story behind this amazing prediction technology here.  Sincerely, Frank Bermea Publisher, Profitable Trading All major U.S. indices, except for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and Composite, closed in positive territory last week, reversing the previous week’s negative close as the stock market continues its recent pattern of alternating positive and negative weekly closes. This back-and-forth action indicates investor indecision as the market continues to handicap… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed in the red last week, continuing their recent pattern of see-sawing between positive and negative weekly closes. With the exception of the tech-heavy Nasdaq, they remain essentially unchanged for 2015.   It is noteworthy that the weakest of the major indices last week were the small-cap Russell 2000 and Nasdaq 100, which lost 3.1% and 1.3%, respectively. These two market leaders are the very indices that must remain strong to keep the broader market afloat this summer. If they don’t, it is likely that we will see our first real stock… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed in the red last week, continuing their recent pattern of see-sawing between positive and negative weekly closes. With the exception of the tech-heavy Nasdaq, they remain essentially unchanged for 2015.   It is noteworthy that the weakest of the major indices last week were the small-cap Russell 2000 and Nasdaq 100, which lost 3.1% and 1.3%, respectively. These two market leaders are the very indices that must remain strong to keep the broader market afloat this summer. If they don’t, it is likely that we will see our first real stock market correction since the quantitative easing era began years ago. Materials, up 2%, and energy, up 1.1%, were the strongest sectors last week. The two weakest sectors were health care, down 2.3%, and consumer discretionary, which lost 1.7%. #-ad_banner-# In the March 23 Market Outlook, I told readers it was time to protect profits on bullish positions in the consumer discretionary sector, as it had outperformed the S&P 500 by 6% since I identified it as an investment opportunity in… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed higher last week following a loss the week earlier, as the market continued what has thus far been a choppy but relatively flat 2015. One exception has been the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which led last week, closing 4.3% higher, and is now up 7.1% for the year.  As I have been stating here for some time, the market is vulnerable to an overdue summer correction as the Federal Reserve gets closer to an inevitable interest rate hike. However, as long as perennial market leaders like the Nasdaq 100 and small-cap Russell… Read More

All major U.S. indices closed higher last week following a loss the week earlier, as the market continued what has thus far been a choppy but relatively flat 2015. One exception has been the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which led last week, closing 4.3% higher, and is now up 7.1% for the year.  As I have been stating here for some time, the market is vulnerable to an overdue summer correction as the Federal Reserve gets closer to an inevitable interest rate hike. However, as long as perennial market leaders like the Nasdaq 100 and small-cap Russell 2000 continue to outperform the broader market, this year’s modest overall advance can continue in the near term. #-ad_banner-# All sectors of the S&P 500 finished in positive territory last week, led by technology and consumer discretionary.  Although energy was the weakest sector, my own ETF-based metric shows it had the biggest inflow of sector bet-related investor assets over the past one-month and three-month periods. This suggests the likelihood of more outright strength and… Read More

All major U.S. indices declined last week. This followed a strong showing the week before, as the market continued its year-long trend of lurching back and forth while remaining essentially unchanged.   Last week’s decline was led by the Nasdaq 100, which could prove problematic this week because of the market-leading index’s position just above a key support level that I have been discussing here for some time. Another potential problem is the economically sensitive Dow Jones Transportation Average, which as I mentioned in last week’s report, continues to negotiate… Read More

All major U.S. indices declined last week. This followed a strong showing the week before, as the market continued its year-long trend of lurching back and forth while remaining essentially unchanged.   Last week’s decline was led by the Nasdaq 100, which could prove problematic this week because of the market-leading index’s position just above a key support level that I have been discussing here for some time. Another potential problem is the economically sensitive Dow Jones Transportation Average, which as I mentioned in last week’s report, continues to negotiate major support at its 200-day moving average, now at 8,689, and may be failing there. #-ad_banner-# While industrials and consumer discretionary led the broader market lower last week, energy was the only sector of the S&P 500 to finish in positive territory, gaining 2.2%. In the previous report, I said that energy “continues to look like an emerging investment opportunity over the next one to two quarters.” Last week’s strong showing within an otherwise weak market suggests the move… Read More

Dear Readers, Before we get to the Market Outlook, I want to share a short but important document with you. It contains the track record of a trading prodigy who averaged 56.8% returns with an average holding period of just 27 days. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. This fact sheet, which takes no more than a few minutes to read, will tell you everything you need to know about his unique strategy — and how you can get his next eight trades without making any long-term commitment. … Read More

Dear Readers, Before we get to the Market Outlook, I want to share a short but important document with you. It contains the track record of a trading prodigy who averaged 56.8% returns with an average holding period of just 27 days. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. This fact sheet, which takes no more than a few minutes to read, will tell you everything you need to know about his unique strategy — and how you can get his next eight trades without making any long-term commitment. Get the facts here. Sincerely, Frank Bermea Publisher, Profitable Trading   One recurring theme within what has otherwise been a lackluster 2015 thus far for the U.S. stock market is its ability to quickly recover from the brink of a corrective decline. We saw this phenomenon again last week as all major indices finished in the black. They were led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which edged below key underlying support levels a week earlier. On the sector front, last week’s advance was led by… Read More