Hey Market Pilot,Today the markets will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King day. In addition to taking some extra time away from the markets and with friends, family, or hobbies, we should also remember what the holiday is about. I am sure we sometimes have a holiday and don’t give much thought about what the extra day off is for or why we have set it aside as a special day. Maybe we are just happy to have more time to goof off before going back to work, … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, The markets are feeling pretty precarious lately. We know growth is out and the small caps are in trouble with the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) looking like it wants to break down after going sideways for nearly 11 months. With interest rates going up in 2022, tech is experiencing headwinds. But we have seen an inflow into defensive sectors such as commodities, financials, and oil. It’s questionable how the bullish sectors will fare if the general indexes roll over, so I am being extra sensitive about clues … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, There are lots of tickers that make it on my watchlist, despite the fact that I will probably never trade them. Why? There could be several reasons. Maybe I am using the ticker as a market gauge, or I just don’t like how it moves, but I want to learn from it. Or maybe I like to watch them for the soap opera drama that naturally comes with the market. I felt like breaking out my popcorn over the weekend when I was scrolling through my watchlist … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, The Federal Open Market Committee (Fed) came out and said that rate hikes may happen faster than they had been conveying initially. We all knew rate hikes were going to happen, and we even knew there were likely to be three of them in 2022. I am not sure when Wall Street was expecting those hikes to start, but if you divide 12 months by three, there are only so many months to choose from. The news about rate hikes happening sooner and the market’s reaction seems … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, Welcome to 2022! It’s a new year, so does that mean we make a bunch of promises to ourselves which we will likely let fade away in a few months? Heck, maybe a few weeks? I like the notion of New Year’s resolutions, but I also know the reality of how making too many big changes can be difficult to keep. I am more of the type where every day or every week I try to stick to what is best practices for me, and if along … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, So here we are, wrapping up 2021. For as much as 2020 was weird, we at least had an exceptionally fun time with an incredible market. With the world settling into a relatively new normal for 2021, the market shifted and has been very difficult to pin down.  There are big changes happening in the economy which I believe are spurring the shift in the market and I don’t believe we will be seeing anything close to the same action we saw in 2020. Instead, it appears … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, Welcome back to the final stretch of the year. It was certainly a turbulent few weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday, especially with that gap down on December 20. That gap down appeared to be what set the hook for a short-covering rally and the Santa Rally everyone was wondering about. That gap down really put into question the direction of the market and based on the nearly vertical move of the S&P 500 (SPY), it seems a lot of traders had to change their minds … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you all are enjoying whatever special time you prefer to celebrate. I wish that were the market right now, with us in the middle of a Santa Claus rally, but the most we have gotten so far is some bouncing. Right now, the markets are not great for swing traders so there is a high likelihood that you are not doing much trading. This could be great timing, as it turns out, to go spend extra time with the family, … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, We continue to see the markets work themselves lower on the back of significant news and economic developments. Omicron (a Covid-19 variant) seems to be getting politicians panicked again and talk of lockdowns is increasing. The “Build Back Better” plan is on hold. Tapering has doubled. And there will most likely be three interest rate increases next year. Despite the crazy pop last week from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, the market has not been doing well and the internals have been communicating that for … Read more

Hey Market Pilot, Wednesday was Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) day and the market was apparently waiting with bated breath for what members had to say. While they did double the size of the tapering, the rest of the statement was largely dovish. They communicated that they were willing to be accommodative based on what the market and economy needed due to Covid-19 and whatever path the virus might take. The market apparently took this as a good sign and promptly moved to the upside. Just before the report, I … Read more