- Moving the markets
The Dow hit a record high today, while traders waited for new inflation and earnings reports.
The S&P 500 also made history on Friday, closing above 5,000 for the first time ever. The index has gained more than 5% since January. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow all extended their winning streaks to five weeks, with the Nasdaq leading the way with a 2.3% increase last week.
Traders are optimistic that the market rally is backed by solid fundamentals, as more stocks are participating in the upward movement.
However, some jitters remain as the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, is due on Tuesday morning. Other important economic indicators, such as retail sales, production, trade, housing, and the producer price index (PPI), will follow later in the week.
Wall Street may be bullish, but it should also be cautious, as the market has been unusually steady and strong for the past three months. The S&P 500 has not seen a 2% drop in over 70 trading days.
Bond yields stayed flat, with the 10-year at 4.168%. The dollar and gold also moved little, with gold ending slightly lower.
In summary, the markets were calm and directionless today, but they could get a lot more interesting soon.
Will the data surprise us or confirm our expectations?
2. Current “Buy” Cycles (effective 11/21/2023)
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) have both crossed their trend lines with enough strength to trigger new “Buy” signals. That means, Tuesday, 11/21/2023, was the official date for these signals.
If you want to follow our strategy, you should first decide how much you want to invest based on your risk tolerance (percentage of allocation). Then, you should check my Thursday StatSheet and Saturday’s “ETFs on the Cutline” report for suitable ETFs to buy.
3. Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)
The tech sector was weak today, but the overall market was strong with some of the smaller indexes rising.
Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) also performed well and increased their gap from their trend lines.
This is how we closed 2/12/2024:
Domestic TTI: +8.35% above its M/A (prior close +7.60%)—Buy signal effective 11/21/2023.
International TTI: +7.32% above its M/A (prior close +6.89%)—Buy signal effective 11/21/2023.
All linked charts above are courtesy of Bloomberg via ZeroHedge.
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