Trader’s Narrative

Today’s market got spooked in the morning with the release of consumer price index data showing a more than expected 0.4% rise for January, Almost all components, including energy, contributing to the increase.
Yesterday crude oil futures (March 08) jumped $4.51 to close at $100.01 and today they reached $100.74 - so what better time to […]

Today the venerable Dow Jones Industrial index is undergoing changes to its component stocks: Altria Group, formerly Philip Morris (MO) and Honeywell (HON) are being replaced with Chevron (CVX) and Bank of America (BAC).
Actively Passive
Which explains why I always chuckle when people get into debates about “passive” (aka index) funds vs. “active” funds. As […]

This is for all the chart junkies out there, especially the conspiracy theorists (remember, just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!).
Whenever the oil companies’ profits wane, an “energy conflict” emerges on cue to restore them to giddy heights:

I’d love to see a similar chart comparing the relative stock […]

On Wednesday - February 13th - after 3 consecutive up days, I mentioned the peculiar way that option traders were in denial of the rally and of the likelihood of seeing a pause:
It would be very normal for the market to pause and digest this short term move up but the negative sentiment is undeniable.
We […]

There was a chart request for the Philadelphia Semiconductors Index, otherwise known as the SOX.
The analysis is simple, but perhaps not too satisfying. This stalwart of the tech sector has been stuck in a meandering channel for more than five years.
The upper range is ~550 (resistance) and the lower range is ~360 (support) - […]