Rick's Picks avidly follows the stock market's ups and downs each day, as well as the way it is influenced by the Fed's silly obfuscations. On some days it feels as though the cheerleaders at The Wall Street Journal et al. are overdoing it, generating enough hubris to stand economic logic on its head. But let's not kid ourselves. Whether this rally has a week to go, a month, or even a year, t...Read More
The stocks have ended March higher every year for the past decadeOil prices are higher this afternoon, after U.S. crude and gasoline inventories declined last week. Meanwhile, a pair of energy stocks could muscle even higher in the next few weeks, if recent history is any indicator. Specifically, both Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) and Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) stocks tend to thrive in the mon...Read More
Gold will break free from $1320-$1340 trading range and form a new range anytime soon. Silver needs to trade over $1596 to zoom. Copper needs to trade over $291 (till Monday) to zoom. If crude oil rises today and tomorrow, then chances of $60 by next week will be very high. Germany's Merkel wants a united Europe to counter Asia. Chancellor Merkel has said that European political and business l...Read More
Back in 2013 I recall having a bearish view on the stock market due to extremely bullish sentiment readings. The market completely ignored that, made a major breakout through 13 year resistance and continued running for years. Lesson learned. Turning to Gold, we find something similar during major breakouts in 2005, 2007 and 2009. In the chart below we plot Gold along with its net speculative posi...Read More
VIX fell more than 30% below its 50-day trendline earlier this weekThe Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) has imploded by historical measures in 2019, falling from a Dec. 26 intraday peak at 36.20 to a Feb. 22 four-month closing low of 13.51. However, a rare technical signal just flashed for the stock market's "fear gauge," which could suggest a short-term spike in volatility, if past is precedent.Accord...Read More
The mobile game maker could be on sale at current levelsGlu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ:GLUU) stock hit an 11-year high of $10.40 on Feb. 4, just before the company reported disappointing earnings. The equity subsequently dropped on the news, but has found an area of support atop the $8.50 level, and still boasts in impressive year-over-year gain of 129%. What's more, the mobile game maker just flashed a...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in Southern Europe have moved up slightly over the past week, while import prices rises have stopped, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday February 27.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic HRC in Southern Europe was ?,?485-510 ($551-580) per tonne ex-works on February 27, compared with ?,?480-510 per tonne ex-works a week earlier.An Italian in...Read More
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is concluding his congressional testimony todayThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is sharply lower at midday, down nearly 150 points amid flurry of market-moving events. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are joining the Dow in the red,after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in congressional testimony that "much still needs to be don...Read More
Today we warn of a potential downside price rotation in precious metals that may last 3~5+ weeks as metals set up for a massive breakout rally which we believe will start in late April or early May. Our custom indicators are suggesting that precious metals, and the general US stock markets, may be setting up for a bit of a reprieve rotation after a very impressive recovery. Be patient as we b...Read More
PLNT has been a long-term outperformer on the chartsShares of Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT) are moving higher this morning, after the company last night reported fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed estimates. With earnings coming in at 34 cents per share on $174.4 million in revenue, PLNT was last seen up 6.8% at $60.81. PLNT has been on a long-term uptrend on the charts, having added 63% yea...Read More
BBY stock is soaring after a holiday-quarter beat The shares of Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) are up 16% at $69.93 today, after the electronics retailer announced fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. The company also issued upbeat guidance and announced a dividend hike. BBY stockis now pacing for its biggest one-day pop since May 2017. BBY stock just bottomed out at an annual...Read More
Lead's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange climbed at the close of trading on Wednesday February 27, finishing above its nearby $2,100 per tonne resistance level amid a continued draw on the LME's dwindling inventory.Total LME lead stocks were now at their lowest level in a decade, with the amount of deliverable material now down to just 61,125 tonnes. More than 40% of on-warrant materi...Read More
The March 30 put was bought to open earlier this monthThe shares of Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTW) are bracing for a big drop out of the gate, after the weight loss specialist's disappointing earnings report was met with a round of bearish brokerage notes. And even news major stakeholder Oprah Winfrey will take a key role in the company's upcoming marketing campaign can't save th...Read More
MYL was trading near a historically bearish trendline heading into todayThe shares of Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) are down 10% in electronic trading, after the EpiPen producer reported adjusted fourth-quarter profit of $1.30, falling short of analysts' $1.36 per share estimate. The drugmaker's 2019 profit forecast also was beneath expectations, prompting five price-target cuts, including one to $36 fro...Read More
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify in front of Congress once againDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are lower again today, amid a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, with the leaders attempting to resolve gridlock over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons. In addition, Wall Street is watching escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, after...Read More
European prices for mesh-quality wire rod stayed flat across the continent on Wednesday February 27, with slow demand keeping prices steady and negating any effect of potential supply pressure from the European Commission's safeguard import quotas.Fastmarkets MB's weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod for both Northern and Southern Europe stayed at ?,?530-550 ($603-625)...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday February 27 that are worth another look.Following reports of a potential power shortage in one of China's major ferro-alloy production hubs in the second quarter of this year, market participants have downplayed any immediate impact on ferro-alloy prices in the country, saying they intend to adopt a wait-and-see stance in...Read More
GW Pharmaceuticals posted strong fourth-quarter revenueGW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:GWPH) is trading up 12.5% before the open, as investors applaud the cannabidiol treatment expert's fourth-quarter results, which featured a 67% increase in revenue. In response, J.P. Morgan Securities and Stifel raised their respective price targets for GWPH stock to $180 and $191. Most analysts are already bulli...Read More
The S&P is pacing toward its fifth 10%+ two-month gain since 1950Stocks have gotten off to a fast start this year. The last time the S&P 500 Index (SPX) was up this much before the end of February was 1987, which is otherwise known as the year of Black Monday. Do fast starts like this tend to be vulnerable to sharp pullbacks? This week, I'm looking back at other instances where stocks shot higher...Read More
How you can transform lagging indicators into leading indicators.Despite the strong January kick-start to 2019, many investors are still apprehensive of what's to come, especially considering some of the latest market-moving events -- think Fed policy announcements, U.S.-China trade negotiations, and earnings season, to start.While it's certainly no crystal ball, becoming familiar with the various...Read More