1. Moving the Markets
Equities slipped with the sell-off accelerating late in the day as volume dropped way below its three-month average. That is sure to change on Friday the first trading day of the New Year when we will be off to the races again.
There was no earthshaking news other than that applications for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in over a month, which was offset by a report showing that contracts to buy previously owned homes rose in November in part due to employment gains and continued low borrowing costs.
Oil remained on its slippery slope and is heading closer to breaking the $50 handle to the downside.
All of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight headed south, as any upward momentum vanished during the last 30 minutes of the session.
2. ETFs in the Spotlight
In case you missed the announcement and description of this section, you can read it here again.
It features 10 broadly diversified ETFs from my HighVolume list as posted every Monday. Furthermore, they are screened for the lowest MaxDD% number meaning they have been showing better resistance to temporary sell offs than all others over the past year.
Here are the 10 candidates:
The above table simply demonstrates the magnitude with which some of the ETFs are fluctuating in regards to their positions above or below their respective individual trend lines (%M/A). A break below, represented by a negative number, shows weakness, while a break above, represented by a positive percentage, shows strength.
Year to date, here’s how the above candidates have fared so far:
Again, the first table above shows the position of the various ETFs in relation to their respective long term trend lines (%M/A), while the second one tracks their trailing sell stops in the “Off High” column. The “Action” column will signal a “Sell” once the -7.5% point has been taken out in the “Off High” column.
3. Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) joined the pullback and closed 2014 as follows:
Domestic TTI: +2.85% (last close +3.15%)—Buy signal since 10/22/2014
International TTI: -0.68% (last close +0.07%)—New Sell signal effective 12/15/14
Have a Happy New Year!
Ulli…
Disclosure: I am obliged to inform you that I, as well as advisory clients of mine, own some of these listed ETFs. Furthermore, they do not represent a specific investment recommendation for you, they merely show which ETFs from the universe I track are falling within the guidelines specified.
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