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The technicals for the major indexes are pretty weak even though tonight’s futures indicate an up opening on Monday.  Friday was the first day of a new QQQ short term down-trend. About 40% of these short term down-trends last under 5 days. This is a good time for me to retreat to cash in my trading accounts. However, the put/call ratio on Friday was 1.25, about as high as it gets. This means that many more put than call options were traded–relatively more traders were betting on a decline or buying insurance for their holdings. This is a contrarian indicator–extreme bearishness tends to precede a short term bounce up in the markets. Another contrarian indicator, the Worden T2108 is at 26% but it reached a more extreme 8.6% during the February decline. A T2108 below 10% is a really good sign for me of an oversold market. Finally, the 10.4 daily stochastics indicator is at 9, a level at which the market indexes I monitor tend to bounce. The QQQ has advanced in only 2 of the last 10 days. This daily chart shows the QQQ’s recent failed break-out and subsequent decline. Re-test of the February lows coming?

With the end of quarter coming this week, we may see some mutual fund window dressing and a respite from this decline. We could then subsequently see a rise into earnings in mid-April, leading to the “Sell in May and go away and come back at Halloween” maxim. This strategy may actually work this year, or it may not.  Either way, it appears to me that the multi-year bullishness we witnessed since 2016 (2009?) has dissipated. It amuses me when media pundits say there is no problem for stocks now because the economy still looks fine. The market always discounts the future. There were very few media bulls in 2009 when the market bottomed and began to move up. There will be few media bears at the top……..

I have not transferred from mutual funds into money market funds in my university pension— yet. I typically do so when the market indexes enter a Weinstein Stage IV decline. That has not happened yet. If it does, it might signal the beginning, not the end, of a major decline.  It is troublesome to me that the DIA and SPY have closed below their critical 30 week averages for the first time since 2016.  The QQQ remains above its 30 week average but is heading down towards it. The 30 week average is the solid red line in this chart.

In comparison, here is the SPY. The SPY may be leading the techs down. The market may be getting ready to slaughter the multitude who were told to seek refuge in this “safe” market ETF.

When the 30 week average for the QQQ curves down, it is a sign for me to exit the market even in my university pension.  That signal got me out before the 2000 and 2008 market debacles. I am a chicken and would rather retreat and reinvest later when the 30 week average turns up. Trend followers rarely exit/enter at the exact top or bottom. We follow the trend.

This weekly Guppy chart shows the market was in a strong RWB up-trend (see glossary)  for most of the time since 2013. There was a period in 2015/2016 when the market leveled off and the white band in the middle disappeared. Perhaps we are entering such a period. With the strong advance we had  since 2016, we got spoiled and it is easy to forget that the market can go sideways (or down) for many months. Perhaps we will enter such a period again.

The truth is that no one knows how long this decline will continue. It is up to all of us to analyze our tolerance for risk and to protect our capital. Contrary to popular advice, I do not have to remain in the market at all times. I am a boomer,  too close to retirement.

Meanwhile, the GMI (see glossary) is now down to 1 (of 6) and has flashed a Red signal. The Red signal can sometimes occur at a brief market bottom of a decline or at the beginning of a long term down-trend. Time will tell.

I have been trading in the market since the 1960s. Over that time I have witnessed many market cycles. The late perspicacious Martin Zweig published a book that educated me about the force that the Federal Reserve’s actions exert on the markets. After the Fed raises interest rates several times the market eventually declines. I observed that when interest rates rise, there is typically a market decline and afterwards people, ever optimistic, believe that the market can survive rising rates or they won’t continue to rise. At some point, however,  investors eventually surrender to the rising rates and the market enters a sustained decline. We are now in the period after the bull market euphoria has been dissipated and people are turning their attention to interest rates. Pundits want to believe that the short correction is over and the bull market will resume. Still, every move and utterance by the Fed members will be scrutinized for an indication of how much and how rapidly they will raise rates. The Fed has to raise rates because they had to lower them to historic levels to bring the economy back from the horrendous debacle of 2007-2008. As the economy recovers they want to normalize rates and get most of the bonds they purchased to bring down rates (quantitative easing) off of their balance sheets. The resulting increase in the supply of bonds will reduce bond prices and raise interest rates.

As a psychologist and a chartist, I have found that the best way to predict behavior is to study the behavior itself. I therefore monitor a number of treasury bond ETFs as a way of understanding what is happening. I usually provide daily or weekly RWB charts (see glossary for definitions) to show trends. However, with the bond ETFs, I look at long term monthly RWB charts to see the major long term trends. I do not want to scare you, but these charts tell me that the multi-year RWB rise in bonds and corresponding decline in interest rates is over and bonds may be entering a significant BWR down-trend pattern. Note the huge RWB pattern in SHY through about 2013.

This chart zooms in on the recent past and shows the RWB pattern actually lasted until mid 2016 and now SHY is entering an ominous BWR decline (see glossary) for the first time since at least 2003 (as far back as I have data). Given that this is a monthly chart, it suggests to me that this trend could persist for months if not years.

Rather than looking at bonds to discern rates, TC2000 also offers a chart of the short term interest rates themselves. This monthly RWB chart shows the Fed reducing rates after the collapse of the internet bubble in 2000, then raising them again until the 2007 housing related crisis when they lowered them tremendously through 2015. Now look at how rates have been rising so much that they now form a steep RWB up-trend.

If we are indeed entering a period of a persistent decline in short term bonds and a rise in interest rates, the market may be forming a long term top. The lure of higher rates will eventually suck money out of relatively more risky stocks, especially by anxious boomers nearing retirement. With that in mind, I am willing to own some stocks but am keeping one foot out the door so that I will be ready to exit quickly if my market technical indicators should weaken…..

Meanwhile the market indexes are currently rebounding, as shown by the GMI being Green and the SPY and QQQ having closed above their 10 week averages for the 2nd week in a row. Note, however, the paucity of new highs among US stocks on Friday (90). Prior to January 29, there were  more than 200 new highs each day.