Special Risk Capital Management LLC

The Grind Higher May 4, 2019

May 3, 2019 – With all the news about the (US) economy, jobs and new market highs, it’s easy to get caught up in a near euphoric state of mind.  But as some have pointed out, a market correction starts at the top, not the bottom.  This week started slow then got hit on Thursday only to recover on Friday.  Not much movement really.

We see on the chart above how we were about to get indicators to rollover in sync and then they recovered.  Money Flow and Market Sentiment showed weakness only to barely recover.  I note that Price Strength did go from “strong” to “neutral”.  Earnings have been pretty good but stocks are fairly well valued.  We’ll need added buyers coming into this market to drive prices higher; earnings alone won’t do it at these prices.  I’m looking at the 7965 level on the NASDAQ Composite Index as a near term support level.  So where does the incremental buyer come from?  The chart below shows that “Dumb Money” (small retail buyers) are approaching a high and “Smart Money” buyers (intuitions) are getting cautious & less confident.

This data along with the number of stocks advancing vs. declining and the number of new highs vs. new lows shows that the upward momentum is slowing and the participation in the moves is getting smaller.  (my Thanks to SentimentTrader.com for this chart)

Another factor is the issue of sector rotation.  We’re seeing Tech slow down and Internet stocks really slowing, while Banks and Financials are finally showing leadership.  Healthcare and Pharmaceutical are recovering from the “social medicine” scare a few weeks ago.  The table below shows the current strength of the major sectors.

That’s about it for this week.  The market loves low interest rates and high consumer confidence so the grind higher continues, but it’s beginning to shows signs of being tired.  Bad news could be a trigger and if it comes (when it comes) it will be quick.  Have a good week.        ………….  Tom  …………

Price chart by MetaStock; pie chart & table by http://www.HighGrowthStock.com. Used with permission.