A Time For Sitting
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Bob Loukas is the founder of The Financial Tap. With over 20 years of experience in market analysis and trading, Bob is a life-long student of economics and has an abiding passion for the financial markets.
He is a leading expert in Market Cycles. His love of Cycles emerged from the study of the work of Walter Bressert, a pioneer in the field.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, Bob has been settled in New York City for the past 16 years. His background is in Computer Sciences, with extensive experience in the Financial Software arena. Prior to launching The Financial Tap, Bob served as a senior executive at various Fortune 50 firms where he led development of financial trading and reporting software.
This content is for members only
This content is for members only
Last week, Crude put in one of the best single week rallies on record. Such a move was obviously not the result of bargain hunters or demand buying; it was driven purely by overly-leveraged speculators covering Short positions as the market turned higher. Once such moves get going, they often take longer than six sessions to resolve, so I expect that Crude will continue higher in the coming week as traders continue to cover their Shorts.
In summary, so far the declines have been of the ICL variety. But the fact that the market has entered into a correction with such high volatility and so early in the Investor Cycle points to a deeper market correction. But it won’t be a straight line lower, and with markets extended to the downside, we should have a period of stability (maybe 2 weeks higher) that should lead to a short-term top. Only then, after the bulls have begun to feel comfortable that the “buy the dip” narrative will hold true again, will the market be in a position to continue its decline.
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This content is for members only
This content is for members only
This content is for members only
We saw an amazing capitulation event in equities these past three sessions. It’s clear that market internals were weak, but no one could have foreseen the degree and rapidity of the selloff. The major US indices have already entered into official corrections (-10%), while many world markets are approaching bear market (-20%) territory. And it’s unlikely the declines are over. Friday’s drop was a massive distribution day, with 93% of volume trading lower. With a 1,433 point decline, that was the largest three day DOW decline on record.
The VIX spiked sharply, showing the sort of extreme panic/fear in the market that is typically reserved for the end of Investor and Yearly Cycle declines. If we use the the four-year rally in equities as our guide, this type of sell-off corresponds with markets completing a Cycle Low, after which they should turn higher and rally for 10-20 weeks in a new Cycle.
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