Just when it looked like the stock market was about to recover from the first two rounds of tariff threats, stocks were hit with a third and bigger $100 billion tariff threat after the close on Thursday. As a result, stock market indexes fell more than 2% on Friday with all market sectors in the red. That pushed all three major stock indexes back into the red for the week. Foreign stocks also...

The percentage of stocks above the 50-day EMA is a breadth indicator that measures internal performance. Chartists can compare this indicator across indexes to identify the leaders and laggards. The Nasdaq 100 is the weakest of the major indexes and weighing on the broader market. The chart below shows %Above 50-day EMA for the S&P 500, S&P Mid-Cap 400, S&P Small-Cap 600 and...

A wild week for the indexes concluded with a slam on Friday. As we head into earnings, we continue to see the market oscillate between the bulls and the bears. I continue to see a couple of nice things in the wild swings. The upcoming week should tell us which way this is going. Here is a two week view of the $SPX with 60-minute bars. If Friday is the low or near the low: We have a head...

The start of every quarter represents a big opportunity to me and the reason is simple. Historically, the odds favor a bullish move into earnings season. Before we consider which individual stocks might be poised for a solid advance, let's take a look at history and the Volatility Index ($VIX). History is fact and indisputable. It doesn't guarantee future results, but it does...

Earnings season is about to get underway with thousands of companies scheduled to report their Q1 numbers. It's an exciting time each quarter when companies are rewarded or punished depending on their results. It's always interesting to watch how traders react to a specific earnings report since there's really no way of telling what the reaction will be. For example, a company might beat...

If you've been reading the DecisionPoint Blog lately or watching the MarketWatchers LIVE show on StockCharts TV, you know that I have been expressing concern over the sector rotation over the past few weeks and month. Over the past month, the worst performer is the Technology sector, followed by Financials which also took a hit. The highest performers by far have come in the more defensive