Special Risk Capital Management LLC

Market Neutral (for now) June 13, 2020

June 12, 2020 – OK, an interesting week. What we knew going into the week was that the market was “over bought”, both technically (gap up and too far, too fast), plus fundamentally (valuations, earnings & revenues) are excessive in the historical context. The bottom line is there was too much money chasing stocks prices higher for . . . . . what reason?

The two big contributors are the FED with easy money . . . . . it’s got to go somewhere with companies not investing in themselves right now. The other is a very unusual phenomena of a big surge of retail investors. The surge is likely driven by the “stay a home” virus situation. Need money? Trade at home; it’s easy. The recipe for a bubble ready to burst.

So now what? My model is near the Neutral point, and will likely confirm that with a close below the low on Thursday. (9560 level)

From the chart above (click on it to enlarge) we see the top indicators remain positive / bullish. The bar color is neutral (a warning). The low price pretty much held at the 9560 level, well at least for now. On the plus side I note the volume has been dropping off. Two observations: one, a sign of No Demand (lack of buying) but there is not a major rush for the exits. At least not yet. We’re still in the “Buy the Dips” mode apparently.

IF we get a major news item, such as the number of virus cases sky rocketing or similar, the correction could just be starting. Time to have a plan to exit IF need be. I have lightened up positions that were showing weak relative strength to the market and I’m ready to get more liquid as needed.

One thing I noticed, is the number of “Put” options being bought, likely as a hedge, increased significantly on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. At the Friday close some of that had unwound, but remains relatively high. Looks like the “Pros” are not taking any chances.

Short Term Sector Strength is shown below.

I note the number of International sectors that are holding up. Perhaps a rotation or maybe just diversifying. We’ll see it that holds into next week.

That’s about it for now. Don’t rush, but keep an eye on the exit door. Have a good week. …………. Tom ……….

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