General Market

Shanghai is a Nasdaq Déjà vu

September 17, 2008 by Chris 4 Comments

“All through time, people have basically acted and re-acted the same way in the market as a result of: greed, fear, ignorance, and hope – that is why the numerical formations and patterns recur on a constant basis” – Jesse Livermore

Jesse Livermore says it better than me and he is a big part of the reason why I study chart patterns so intensely. Stock charts organize human behavior in patterns that allow us to anticipate future moves based on past results. Based on this assumption, I wrote a post last October titled: Is Shanghai a Nasdaq Déjà vu

I compared the 1929 Dow Jones to the 2000 NASDAQ (as many have before me) and then the 2000 NASDAQ to the 2007 Shanghai Composite Index. The three looked so eerily similar that I knew I had to write an intense post with excellent graphics to back up the possibilities. The entire post is pasted below or can be found on the link above. This is what I had to say about the future developments of the Shanghai Composite Index based on my studies of 2000 and 1929:

This won’t happen overnight but human nature always repeats so expect a huge decline in the Shanghai Stock Exchange within the next several years.

“The price pattern reminds you that every movement of importance is but a repetition of similar price movements, that just as soon as you familiarize yourself with the actions of the past, you will be able to anticipate and act correctly and profitably upon forthcoming movements” – Jesse Livermore

Well, take a look at what has happened to the Shanghai markets since my post last October: The chart has dropped in almost an exact shape and slope as did the NASDAQ in 2001 and 2002. The index is now down more than 65% since my blog post and more than 70% since its peak.

The moral of this post (I’ll leave it to Livermore one last time):
“Wall Street never changes, the pockets change, the stocks change, but Wall Street never changes, because human nature never changes” – Jesse Livermore.

Take a look at the charts from 2007 and compare them to the charts above. Human nature!

*************October 3, 2007 Blog Post*************
The rise of NASDAQ in the late 1990’s has been compared to the rise of the Dow of the late 1920’s. Chart overlays are amazingly similar.

Image from BullandBearWise.com

Well, the current two year rise of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index looks remarkably similar to the rise of the NASDAQ of the late 1990’s and the charts below explain better than I can!

The NASDAQ rose from 1,250 to 5,132 from March 1997 to March 2000: 310% gain!
The Shanghai Stock Exchange has moved from 998.23 in June 2005 to 5,552.30 today (10/2/07): 456% gain!

As you can see, the blue line of the late 1990’s NASDAQ has moved meticulously with the Shanghai Index of today.

Will the Shanghai Stock Exchange end up with the same result as the NASDAQ of the late 1990’s. As you can see, the NASDAQ went from 1,250 to 5,132 back down to 1,192 (all within a five year period).

This won’t happen overnight but human nature always repeats so expect a huge decline in the Shanghai Stock Exchange within the next several years.

1929, 1999, 2007, etc…
***************************************

Is Shanghai a Nasdaq Déjà vu

Filed Under: China, General Market, Psychology, Technical Analysis, Wall Street

Sell in May?

May 28, 2008 by Chris 4 Comments

It’s that time of year again, “Sell in May and Go Away”, so I will upload up my annual post of statistics using the help of the Stock Trader’s Almanac written by Jeffery A. Hirsch and Yale Hirsch.

For the record, I don’t sell just because the calendar says May but I do enjoy sharring the statistical data (it is very interesting):

Worst six months of the year begin in May:
* All data is from the DJIA from 1950 to 2005

A $10,000 investment in the DJIA compounded to $544,323 for the period beginning in November through April over the past 56 years (termed the best six months)
Compare this to a $272 loss; yes I said loss for the same investment in May through October (termed the worst six months)
44 of the 56 periods ended with a gain in the November through April period
Only 33 periods ended with a gain versus 23 losing periods in May through October
The average gain for the November through April period is 7.9% (56 yrs)
The average gain for May through October is 0.3% but the period did have an overall loss of $272 as mentioned above
The best six months gained 11,691.79 Dow points over the 56 yrs (data ends in 2005)
The worst six months actually lost 538.98 Dow points
Top performing period for best six months was a gain of 29.8% in 1985 and then 25.6% in 1998
Top performing period for worst six months was a gain of 19.2% in 1958 and then 16.9% in 1982
The poorest performing period for the best six months was a loss of 14.0% in 1969 and then 12.5% in 1973
The poorest performing period for the worst six months was a loss of 25.2% in 2002 and then 22.4% in 1974
The best six months has only had one losing period in the past 22 years and that was only 2.2%
The worst six months has had eight losing periods over the past 22 years with several in double digits
Seven of the past eight years have been losers for the worst six months
All of these results are based without timing the market using technical analysis
Using a simple MACD indicator to time the entries and exits, the gain during the best six months rises up to $1,548,121 while the loss during the worst six months increases to $6,646.
Finally, five of the last nine May months have been down for the markets; starting the period of the “worst six months”

One side note: the Stock Trader’s Almanac notes that the Nasdaq actually has a best eight month period from November to June.

For further detail, grab a copy of the Almanac as I buy one every year for the excellent statitical information and the great quotes.

For all CP sell articles, visit my category on selling or short selling!

Filed Under: General Market, Selling, Wall Street

Smelling Trouble

May 23, 2008 by Chris 4 Comments

Well, DRYS is now down 16.81% this week and volume is peaking at the largest level we have seen in years – huge distribution!

This is what I had to say a few weeks ago in my post titled DryShips (DRYS) Drying up?

All in all – I am not a buyer of the stock at this level. It may be a solid short term buy for traders that make these types of plays such as Blain and Rajin but it does not fit into my criteria for a trend trading opportunity.

I see a decent consolidation over the past few months but I have a problem with the current pattern that is forming if it does not test former highs near $130. Volume is increasing as it moves higher but the stock is starting to struggle near the last peak of $88.

I stick to my original analysis as I am watching the stock from afar or the weekly chart. I am not day trading DRYS or any stocks for that matter so I can cut through the noise and view the market on a weekly basis to assess the “true overall trend”. Don’t get me wrong, many traders made money on the recent spike in DRYS but I wasn’t touching it with a 10-foot pole. I look for the big runs and couldn’t be bothered with a few points here and there (and I am not about to support my broker with constant buy and sell commissions, even if they are minimal).

The easiest way to characterize this trade and the market in general is to view it all as a risk/ reward potential or an expected value, as I wrote yesterday. DRYS was not a +EV trade in my trading system but, it very well may have been an excellent +EV trade for a shorter term day trader such as Rajin or Blain.

Anyway, here are a few more charts that are starting to look suspicious (some more than others). The bottom line or point of today’s rant is the fact that I still feel that the market is headed for a decline or as I phrased it a couple weeks ago:
The Big Decline (long term perspective of course).

These charts are just examples as many more exist but they were some of the first I viewed Thursday night:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: General Market, Selling, Shorting, Uncategorized

Market Distribution

May 8, 2008 by Chris 2 Comments

“Higher oil, rate-hike fears and new regulations in the financial sector handed stocks their biggest beating in nearly a month…”

– Stocks Get Hit In Heavier Volume, By Vincent Mayo of Investor’s Business Daily.

There is some truth to the statement above but the charts have clearly been raising red flags that this market may be heading lower. I highlighted this trend over the past week or so I as I started to see the same faulty charts appearing on my screens. Visit these posts to see what I have been saying over the past week:

The Big Decline
DryShips (DRYS) Drying up?
(By the way, DRYS was down 2.87% on above average volume – distribution)

The NASDAQ, DJIA and S&P 500 fell about 1.8%, 1.6% and 1.8% respectively as crude oil was up $1.69 to close above $123 a barrel (a new record).

I originally started to point out market troubles back on March 14, 2008 in a post titled Snapshot Friday; I highlighted both the Dow Jones and NASDAQ with clear yellow shaded areas showing the 200-day moving averages pointing down for the first time since 2003 (that’s huge if you ask me).

Yes the market is now higher than it was in March but the recent bounce is smacking up against the 200-d m.a. for the first time since 2003 for both indices. The last time the market crossed below a down-trending 200-d moving average and couldn’t recover was back in 2000 and 2001.

So what does that mean? As I said yesterday, I think it means a possible Big Decline.

The Dow Jones is now back below the 200-d m.a. and is failing to challenge recent highs. The day’s action came on above average volume which makes today pure distribution.

I hate to pick tops but we may be coming off the official top of the bull market that lasted from 2003 to 2007.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: General Market, Selling, Technical Analysis

The Big Decline

May 7, 2008 by Chris 17 Comments

I am a positive person by nature and I prefer to buy stocks going up but I am starting to see several leading stocks struggle to hold new highs or fail to challenge recent highs. These patterns are familiar and they are suggesting that the recent bounce is the final stage before a possible market decline. A perfect example can be the charts posted of DRYS yesterday.

Now, this big decline could take years to materialize so I don’t want to jump the gun and start yelling sell or short sell everything in sight. I trade to catch the mid to long term trends so time is on our side to determine what is happening.

I don’t need to call the tops and bottoms of moves
I just need to be able to identify the trend (if one exists) and then trade accordingly.
It’s a fairly easy method of investing and doesn’t require watching the market every hour of every day.
Trending markets are not very common to begin with but certain sectors, industries or markets are always forming some type of trend.

I will look to post up examples from former declining markets and will highlight what the charts looked like before those big declines.

Now, take a look at the charts of First Solar Inc. (FSLR). The market leader recently recorded new highs after the first correction since its IPO but it is now starting to churn. We have witnessed three consecutive weeks of churning action as the stock is not moving higher on above average volume.