Archive for year: 2021

Has the Santa Rally arrived late this year? Are traders trying to position for a Q4:2021 earnings blowout before the end of 2021? Let’s take a look at what predictive modeling can help us understand.

The recent rotation in the SPY/QQQ has shaken some traders’ confidence in the ability of any potential rally – blowing up expectations of a Santa Rally. Yet, here we are with only five trading days before the end of 2021, and the US major indexes are nearing all-time highs again.

Predictive Modeling Shows A Continued Melt-Up Trend Through Jan/Feb 2022

Our Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) Predictive Modeling system may hold the answers you are looking for. Let’s look at a few charts to prepare for what may unfold over the next 60+ days.

First, this SPY Weekly ADL chart highlights the range of potential outcomes going forward into March/April 2022. The further out we attempt to predict using this technique, the more opportunity exists for outlier events (unusual price trends/activity). Yet, the SPY ADL predictive modeling system suggests a very strong upward price trend in January/February 2022, with a possible narrowing of price in late February – just before another big move higher in March/April 2022.

There is an outlier trend that appears below the current price trend. So far, this outlier trend has not aligned with price action over the past 5+ weeks and shows an alternate support level near $430.

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The ADL predictive modeling system suggests a broad market uptrend is likely in the SPY, with an initial target near $490 possibly being reached by early February. If Q4:2021 earnings come in strong and revenues continue to impress the markets, we may see a rally above the $490 level before the end of February 2022.

After the tightening of price near the end of February 2022, it appears the SPY will consolidate near $480, then enter another rally phase and attempt to rally above $500. This type of price action aligns with solid Q4:2021 expectations and continued Q1:2022 economic growth.

ADL Predicts QQQ Will Rally Above $430 By March/April 2022

This Weekly QQQ ADL Chart highlights a similar type of price trend compared to the SPY. The QQQ appears to have a more consistent upward trend bias with a fairly solid upward price channel trending through the first four months of 2022. It appears the QQQ will rally to levels above $420 by mid-February 2022, then stall for a few weeks, then resume a rally trend through most of March 2022 and into early April 2022. After mid-April 2022, it appears the QQQ will consolidate, again, near the $420~$425 level.

This ADL prediction suggests Technology, Healthcare, Consumer stables/discretionary, Real Estate, and other sectors will continue to do well in Q1:2022 and beyond. A rally of 7% to 10% in the first few months of 2022 may send the US markets dramatically higher throughout the rest of 2022 if economic growth stays strong.

The ADL predictive modeling system has proven to be a valuable tool in understanding what lies ahead for the markets. Not only does it show a range of potential outcomes and price targets, but it also helps us understand if and when price breaks beyond these ADL predictive ranges (which translates into a unique price anomaly).

Price anomalies happen. The COVID-19 price collapse represented a unique price anomaly in 2020. This event, somewhat like a Black Swan event, hit the markets hard and quickly sent prices tumbling. It is important to understand that these events can still happen in the future and can dramatically disrupt expected price trends.

Still, if the ADL predictive price trends continue to be accurate, it looks like Q1:2022 and Q2:2022 may continue to see moderate upward price trends with bouts of sideways volatility taking place. The range of the ADL predictive levels (the MAGENTA LINES) shows the type or expected volatility in the markets for Q1 and Q2. It appears volatility will stay elevated over the next 6+ months – so get ready for some big, explosive price trends.

Watch for the markets to continue to melt higher over the next few weeks as traders prepare for Q4:2021 earnings to start hitting in early January 2022. We may see the US markets start another big upside price trend – possibly breaking to new all-time highs soon enough.

Want to learn more about predictive modeling?

Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.

Please take a minute to visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn about our Total ETF Portfolio (TEP) technology and how it can help you identify and trade better sector setups. We’ve built this technology to help us identify the strongest and best trade setups in any market sector. Every day, we deliver these setups to our subscribers along with the TEP system trades. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.

Have a great day!

Chris Vermeulen
Chief Market Strategist

As the US and global markets rattle around over the past 60+ days, many traders have failed to identify an incredible opportunity setting up in both Gold and Silver. Historically, Silver is extremely undervalued compared to Gold right now. In fact, Gold has continued to stay above $1675 over the past 12+ months while Silver has collapsed from highs near $30 to a current price low near $22 – a -26% decline.

Many traders use the Gold/Silver Ratio as a measure of price comparison between these two metals. Both Gold and Silver act as a hedge at times when market fear rises. But Gold is typically a better long-term store of value compared to Silver. Silver often reacts more aggressively at times of great fear or uncertainty in the global markets and often rises much faster than Gold in percentage terms when fear peaks.

Understanding the Gold/Silver ratio

The Gold/Silver ratio is simply the price of Gold divided by the price of Silver. This creates a ratio of the price action (like a spread) that allows us to measure if Gold is holding its value better than Silver or not. If the ratio falls, then the price of Silver is advancing faster than the price of Gold. If the ratio rises, then the price of Gold is advancing faster than the price of Silver.

Right now, the Gold/Silver ratio is above 0.80 – well above a historically normal level, which is usually closer to 0.64. I believe the current ratio level suggests both Gold and Silver are poised for a fairly big upward price trend in 2022 and beyond. This may become an exaggerated upward price trend if the global market deleveraging and revaluation events rattle the markets in early 2022.

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I expect to see the Gold/Silver ratio fall to levels below 0.75 before July/August 2022 as both Gold and Silver begin to move higher in Q1:2022. Some event will likely shake investor confidence in early 2022, causing precious metals to move 15% to 25% higher initially. After that initial move is complete, further fallout related to the deleveraging throughout the globe, post-COVID, may prompt an even bigger move in metals later on in 2022 and into 2023.

COVID Disrupted The 8~9 Year Appreciation/Depreciation Cycle Trends

In May 2021, I published an article suggesting the US Dollar may slip below 90 while the US and global markets shift into a Deflationary cycle that lasts until 2028~29 (Source: The Technical Traders). I still believe the markets will enter this longer-term cycle and shift away from the broad reflation trade that has taken place over the past 24+ months – it is just a matter of time.

If my research is correct, the disruption created by the COVID virus may result in a violent reversion event that could alter how the global markets react to the deleveraging and revaluation process that is likely to take place. I suggest the COVID virus event may have disrupted global market trends because the excess capital poured into the global markets prompted a very strong rise in price levels throughout the world in real estate, commodities, food, technology, and many other everyday products. The opposite type of trend would have likely happened if the COVID event had taken place without the excessive capital deployed into the global markets.

Demand would have diminished. Price levels would have fallen. Demand for commodities and other technology would have fallen too. That didn’t happen. The opposite type of global market trend took place, and prices rose faster than anyone expected.

Markets Tend To Revert After Extreme Events

As much as we may want to see these trends continue forever, any trader knows that markets tend to revert after extreme market trends or events. In fact, there are a whole set of traders that focus on these “reversion events.” They wait for extreme events to occur, then attempt to trade the “reversion to a mean” event in price action.

My research suggests the COVID virus event may have created a hyper-cycle event between early 2020 and December 2021 (roughly 24 months). My research also suggests a global market deleveraging/revaluation event may be starting in early 2022. If my research is correct, the recent lows in Gold and Silver will continue to be tested in early 2022, but Gold and Silver will start to move much higher as fear and concern start to rattle the markets.

As asset prices revert and continue to search for proper valuation levels, Gold and Silver may continue to rally in various phases through 2028~2030.

Initially, I expect a 50% to 60% rally in Silver, targeting the $33.50 to $36.00 price level. For SILJ, Junior Silver Miners, I expect an initial move above $20 (representing a 60%+ rally), followed by a follow-through rally targeting the $25.00 level (more than 215% from recent lows).

I believe the lack of focus on precious metals over the past 12+ months may have created a very unusual and efficient dislocation in the price for Silver compared to Gold. This setup may present very real opportunities for Silver to rally much faster than Gold over the next 24+ months – possibly longer. If my research is correct, the Junior Silver Miners ETF, SILJ, presents a very good opportunity for profits.

Want to learn more about the movements of Gold, Silver, and their Miners?

Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels in various sectors to identify strategic entry and exit points for trades. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.

If you need technically proven trading and investing strategies using ETFs to profit during market rallies and to avoid/profit from market declines, be sure to join me at TEP – Total ETF Portfolio.

Pay particular attention to what is quickly becoming my favorite strategy for income, growth, and retirement – The Technical Index & Bond Trader.

Have a great day!

Chris Vermeulen
Chief Market Strategist

Market Bottom/Reversal trader tip: Chris Vermeulen of The Technical Traders talks about what is going on with the markets. We’ve seen a strong rally off the Fed followed by some all times highs in the S&P500. Now we have dropped back down to make some lower lows in the markets. The S&P 500 is still holding up from the lows we saw a few weeks ago. Based on the Fibonacci theory, the market always searches for a lower low or a higher high which is what can create the market bottoms.

Looking at the daily charts, we can see a pretty good move off the FOMC meeting to the upside. Overall, the Nasdaq trades sharply lower this morning, poking to some nominal new lows.

Join Chris as he discusses the put and call ratio and what this means for the markets. He also talks us through the triple witching trading day that occurred this past Friday, Dec 17th – traditionally the most consistently volatile trading days of the year.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARKET BOTTOM/REVERSAL TODAY – WATCH THE VIDEO

Subscribers: Please let us know what you would like to learn and we will add it to the roster of our weekly Technical Trader Tips!

Non-subscribers: Please enjoy these micro-lessons as a way to further your education and understanding of how a technical trader…well…trades!

TO EXPLORE THE DIFFERENT TRADING STRATEGIES CHRIS OFFERS, PLEASE VISIT US AT THE TECHNICAL TRADERS. YOU’VE GOT MORE TO GAIN THAN TO LOSE WHEN SEEKING INFORMATION!

Disclaimer: None of this material is meant to be construed as investment advice. It is for education and entertainment purposes only. The video is accurate as of the posting date but may not be accurate in the future.

Options are an increasingly popular financial product that gives traders numerous ways to manage risk while significantly leveraging capital. They are a powerful trading “tool” that can be bought, sold, and combined in a seemingly limitless number of ways to achieve a specific objective.

One of the bigger questions for new — and even experienced traders — is whether to be an options buyer or seller. Or both.  

QUICK REVIEW

The price of an option is the sum of intrinsic and extrinsic (time) values. Intrinsic value is the mathematical difference between the option strike price and the price of the underlying.  Extrinsic value is variably priced based on the expected volatility of the underlying and remaining time before the option expires. 

Let’s go through some of the pros and cons of buying versus selling options.

BUYING OPTIONS

Buying options seems like a simple enough strategy. The trader picks a bullish or bearish direction and goes long (buys) a put or a call corresponding to the stock’s anticipated directional move. Be sure not to confuse being long an option and being long underlying. For example, if a trader is long a put, due to inverse correlation that is akin to being short the underlying.

But being long an option is not as simple or easy as it appears. The first challenge with a long option is being right about the direction of the stock. The underlying has to move in the expected direction for the option to go up in value and possibly generate a profit. 

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The option buyer also has to be correct about the magnitude of the underlying move. If a trader buys an option and the amount of the move is not greater than what was spent for the time value, the option won’t be profitable. For example, if $2 is spent for options time value, but the stock only moves $1, it is quite possible to be right about direction but still not profitable. 

Time Value

The time value in options is a wasting asset as it will always approach $0 at expiration, so that works in favor of option sellers and against option buyers. Think of time value like an ice cube, melting away slowly at first and then more rapidly.

Since all options have a fixed time when they expire, duration is a significant consideration. A trader could be right about the direction and magnitude of the underlying move, but perhaps that doesn’t materialize sufficiently during the option’s lifetime. So enough time value has to be purchased for the move to happen. And more time value, of course, costs more money.

Implied Volatility (IV)

There’s also the effect of volatility. The time value portion of an option is priced according to the underlying’s anticipated (Implied) volatility. If an option is bought when volatility is low, and there is an increase in volatility, that makes the remaining time value portion of the option price more valuable. That can work in the option buyer’s favor. But there’s also the opposite situation; when an option is purchased when volatility is high, and there is a contraction in volatility.

It’s important to be able to gauge if option premium is underpriced, overpriced, or “average” priced. Technical tools to do that include charting implied volatility itself and some version of IV Rank where current IV is evaluated as a percentile of the range of IV over some time period, typically one year.

So the inherent disadvantages of a long option are the necessity to be correct about direction, magnitude, duration, and possibly implied volatility. These considerations can make the probability of profit with a long option relatively low, often far below 50%.

So why buy an option?

Simple – unlimited profit potential! Long options can generate outsized profits when the trader is right about direction, magnitude, and duration.

When does it make sense to use a long option?

• When a significant move in a stock is expected.
• When there’s a trend.
• When there’s a reversal in a range.
• When there’s a breakout (up or down).

Solid technical analysis and a keen sense of the specific market are key success factors.

SELLING OPTIONS

For every buyer of an option, there is a seller (counterparty). Option sellers take on an obligation to either buy or sell and stock in return for collecting a premium. 

There are a couple of disadvantages to selling options. The premium collected is the maximum profit possible. Selling an option also comes with a possibly substantial obligation to buy or provide stock. There are ways to reduce and manage that obligation risk, such as structuring trades as either vertical or calendar spreads, and these and others will be the subject of many future posts.

So why sell an option?

Probability of profit! Depending on how an option selling trade is structured, it’s possible to have a very high probability of success, sometimes 80% or more. It can be quite a bit easier to generate consistent, albeit smaller, profits with selling options.

So, in summary, buying options come with an inherently low probability of an unlimited profit. Selling options come with a relatively high probability of a modest profit. 

What do I do?

Both. But I tend to be an option seller much more often than an option buyer. That better suits my personal style in trying to generate consistent profits for income. Other traders and investors with different objectives may find a different approach works best for them.

Want to learn more about Options Trading?

Every day on Options Trading Signals, we do defined risk trades that protect us from black swan events 24/7. Many may think that is what stop losses are for. Well, remember the markets are only open about 1/3 of the hours in a day. Therefore, a stop loss only protects you for 1/3 of each day. Stocks can gap up or down. With options, you are always protected because we do defined risk in a spread. We cover with multiple legs, which are always on once you own.   

If you are new to trading or have been trading stock but are interested in options, you can find more information at The Technical Traders – Options Trading Signals Service. The head Options Trading Specialist Brian Benson, who has been trading options for almost 20 years, sends out real live trade alerts on actual trades, such as TSLA and NVDA, with real money. Ready to check it out, click here: TheTechnicalTraders.com.

Enjoy your day!

Chris Vermeulen
Founder & Chief Market Strategist
TheTechnicalTraders.com

I find it interesting that so much speculation related to the US Federal Reserve drives investor concern and trends. In my opinion, the US Federal Reserve has been much more accommodating for the global economy after the 2008-09 US Housing Market crash. The new US Bank Stress Tests and Capital Requirements have allowed the US to move away from risk factors that may currently plague the global markets. What do I mean by this statement?

US Fed Continues To Maintain Extremely Accommodative Monetary Policy

Over the past 12+ years, after the 2008-09 US Housing Market collapse, the US Federal Reserve has acted to support the US and global economy while the US Congress and US Federal Reserve have acted to build a stronger foundation for US banking and financial institutions. The most important aspect of this is the Capital Requirements that require an operating US bank to hold a minimum amount of reserve capital (Source: Federal Reserve). The US Federal Reserve installed this program to prevent US banks from over-leveraging their liabilities based on the 2008-09 Housing Market Crisis lessons.

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There are still risks associated with a complete global economic collapse – where consumers, banking institutions, and economic activity grinds to a halt because of some external or unknown factor. Yet, the risks of a US-based collapse based on excessive Banking or other financial institution liabilities are somewhat limited in today’s US Economy. Although, globally, the risks have accelerated over the past 12+ years while the US Federal Reserve maintained a very accommodative monetary policy.

Historical US Federal Reserve Actions

Let’s review some of the most significant US Federal Reserve actions over the past 25 years.

• Early/Mid-1990s: The Fed raised the FFR from 3.0% to 6.5% to 7.0% as the DOT COM Rally continued to build strength.
• 1998/1999: The Fed dropped the FFR to 4.0% as the DOT COM bubble became frothy and started to fracture/burst.
• Early 2000: The Fed raised the FFR from 4.0% to 6.86% over just five months, pushing the cost of borrowing above 7.5%~8.5% in the open market.
• Late 2000/Early 2001: The September 2001 Terrorist Attack on the US pushed the Fed to lower the FFR to 1.0% by December 2002. Before the 9/11 attack, the Fed lowered the FFR after the DOT COM bubble burst rattled the US economy and output.
• 2004/2006: The Fed raised the FFR from 1.0% to 5.5% (more than 550%) while the US Housing Market boom cycle pushed the US economy into overdrive. This was the biggest FFR rate increase since the 1958-1960 rate increase (from 0.25% to 4.0% – more than 1600%) or the 1961-1969 rate increase (from 0.50% to 9.75% – more than 1950%).
• 2007/2008: The Fed decreased the FFR from 5.5% to 0.05 (Dec 2009), effectively setting up a 0% interest rate while the US attempted to recover from the 2008-09 Housing Market Crisis.
• 2015/2020: the Fed attempted to raise the FFR from 0.08% to 2.40% as the US economy transitioned into a strong bullish breakout trend. When the US markets collapsed in early 2020 because of the COVID-19 virus, the Fed moved interest rates back to near 0% and have kept them there ever since.

The deep FFR discounts/rates that started after the 1999/2000 DOT COM/9-11 events pushed foreign markets to borrow cheap US Dollars as a disconnect of capital costs and a growing foreign market economy allowed certain economic functions to continue. Borrowing cheap US Dollars while deploying that capital in foreign economies returning 4x to 10x profits allowed many foreign companies, individuals, and governments to build extremely dangerous debt levels – very quickly.

(Source: ST Louis FED)

Now, let’s get down to the core differences between pre-1990 and post-1990 US Fed actions and global economy functions.

US Fed Added Rocket Fuel To An Already Accelerating Global Economy

Before 1985, foreign markets were struggling to gain their footing in the global economy. Larger global economies, like the US, Japan, Europe, and Canada, could outsource manufacturing, supplies, and labor into foreign nations that provided a strategic cost advantage.

After 1994 or so, after the Asian Currency Crisis settled, the growth of manufacturing and labor in China/Asia started booming at an exponential rate. This prompted a 2x to 5x growth factor in many Asian nations over 10+ years. The 9-11 terrorist attacks briefly disrupted this trend, but it restarted quickly after 1994~1995.

This high-speed growth phase in China/Asia after 1999 created a massive demand for credit and expansion as Asian consumers and economies grew at exponential rates from 1997 to now. The US Fed inadvertently promoted a global growth phase that resulted in the fastest global economic increase in history. Multiple foreign nations were able to take advantage of cheap US Dollars. At the same time, the US Fed acted to support the recovery of the US economy after 9-11 and the 2008-09 Housing/Credit crisis. Those cheap US Dollars continued after the COVID-19 turmoil in early 2020 and likely pushed already at-risk debtors over the edge as bond rates have started to price extensive risk factors.

The result of these crisis events and the US Federal Reserve’s continued easy monetary policy has been the fastest growth of assets the planet has seen in over 80 years. Not only have global economies grown in a parabolic phase, but the US stock market has also moved higher and higher after the 2010 bottom and the 2015-2016 shift towards higher US corporation earnings/revenues.

Once the COVID-19 virus event hit in early 2020, the US Fed moved rates back to near 0% – supplying a nearly unlimited amount of rocket fuel for the global markets (again).

The problem this time was the global COVID shutdowns essentially took the spark away from the fuel (capital).

Now, we are waiting for the US Fed statements to close out 2021. I’ll offer this simple hint to help you prepare for what’s next – more volatility, more big trends, and more deleveraging throughout the global markets. In Part II of this research article, I’ll share my thoughts on what I expect from the US Fed and what I hope for in 2022 and beyond.

Want to learn more about how I trade and invest in the markets?

Learn how I use specific tools to help me understand price cycles, set-ups, and price target levels. Over the next 12 to 24+ months, I expect very large price swings in the US stock market and other asset classes across the globe. I believe the markets are starting to transition away from the continued central bank support rally phase and may start a revaluation phase as global traders attempt to identify the next big trends. Precious Metals will likely start to act as a proper hedge as caution and concern start to drive traders/investors into Metals.

If you need technically proven trading and investing strategies using ETFs to profit during market rallies and to avoid/profit from market declines, be sure to join me at TEP – Total ETF Portfolio.

Have a great day!

Chris Vermeulen
Chief Market Strategist