Inside The Stock Market ...trends, cross-currents, and outlook
Volatility Update
The April volatility was up from March levels in both the NASDAQ and S&P 500.
NASDAQ Short Interest…..Flat For April
Even though the NASDAQ is again in decline, a new buy signal is not imminent here.
Insider Block Measures
Insider selling on the rise, but no sell signal yet.
View From The North Country
With only a slight hesitation, consumer spending continued to increase month after month during the 2001 recession, ignoring the layoffs and the slide in the consumer confidence measures.
CFA Population Explosion...But What Will We Do With Them?
On June 1 and 2 over 100,000 will sit for the 2002 CFA exams.
What Has Happened To The 2002 Bull Market?
Economic double dip is unlikely, but there is something wrong with U.S. stock market. Stymied and perhaps derailed by 2002’s “Bear Market In Integrity?"
Comparing Small Cap Performance Measures
Small Cap indices performance divergence. Why has the S&P 600 significantly outperformed the Russell 2000 the past two years?
Insider Block Measures
Remains in normal historical range.
View From The North Country
New feature focusing on Steve’s opinions that lie out of consensus view.
Volatility Update
With respect to the S&P 500, today’s volatility is the lowest in five years.
Tough To Score In The First Quarter
Economy and inflation predictions on track so far in Q1, but stock market slowed by some confidence-shaking speed bumps.
March Mutual Fund Flows
As demonstrated by the fact that 2002 YTD level is much better than 2001, Main Street investors’ confidence in the stock market has made a major comeback.
Rising Interest Rates Don't Always Mean A Falling Stock Market
A look at market performance over five different rising interest rate periods. Results are somewhat surprising.
NASDAQ Short Interest
NASDAQ short interest ratio up in March.
Volatility Update
While the markets are still very volatile, the vast majority of our volatility charts show 2001 levels down somewhat from 2000.
Capitalization Tier Meausres
Continuing to evaluate Leuthold Index methodology.
Insider Block Measures
Remains in normal historical range.
View From The North Country
Last month in this section we discussed the DALBAR study finding that mutual fund investors radically underperform. Their conclusions seemed reasonable, but the degree of underperformance was difficult to believe. We begin to examine their methodology this month.
NASDAQ Short Interest Ratio: A Useful Tool
Slight decrease this month, but still riding the August buy signal.
A Bumpy Road To Recovery
Market begins to shake off “Enronitis” and as economic positives continue, the next rally could come quickly. And yes, it was a recession.