- Moving the markets
After much range trading for most of the day, the major indexes shot up during the last hour to not just only close in the green but to also push the Dow to its 71st record close for the year. The supporting actors turned out to be banking shares and to a lesser degree the energy sector with crude oil adding +0.42%. Despite low volume, the late session ramp seems to indicate that the bulls are alive and well.
In ETF space we saw predominantly gains with the only exception being Transportations (IYT), which gave back -0.31%. Other than that, the green numbers were pretty evenly spread across the board led by International SmallCaps (SCHC +0.63%), Emerging Markets (SCHE +0.47%) and MidCaps (SCHM) and Financials (XLF) each adding +0.39%.
Interest rates rose a tad with the yield on the 10-year bond gaining 1 basis point to 2.43%. Gold added +0.45% and is now knocking on the $1,300 ceiling, which has been a resistance point in the recent past, and it remains to be seen if this obstacle can finally be overcome. The US Dollar (UUP) again traded in a tight range, gapped down again and lost -0.29%.
- 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 and sector ETFs from my HighVolume list as posted every Saturday. 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.
The below 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.
For hundreds of ETF choices, be sure to reference Thursday’s StatSheet.
Year to date, here’s how the 2017 candidates have fared so far:
Again, the %M/A column above shows the position of the various ETFs in relation to their respective long term trend lines, while the trailing sell stops are being tracked 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.
- Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) gained a tad as the predominant trend was sideways.
Here’s how we closed 12/28/2017:
Domestic TTI: +3.87% above its M/A (last close +3.78%)—Buy signal effective 4/4/2016
International TTI: +5.14% above its M/A (last close +4.94%)—Buy signal effective 7/19/2016
Disclosure: I am obliged to inform you that I, as well as my advisory clients, own some of the ETFs listed in the above table. 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.
Contact Ulli