HUI Technical Status And Gold Stock Fundamentals

A review of the situation in gold stocks. It is, in essence, a year ago that Warren Buffett ill-timed his entry into the gold stock sector, unwittingly calling a top to the post-crash rally and signaling the start of the 2020 inflation trades, which did not include gold stocks (for logical reasons, as belabored in NFTRH and at NFTRH.com over the years). Increasing the view that ole’ Warren was playing contrary indicator last summer were the usual gold perma-bull suspects coming out immediately after with bullhorns a blaring as we noted in real-time on August 17, 2020: Buffett Buys a Gold Stock!

In the scope of the entire correction, as the bids rotated out of the precious metals and to a lesser degree growth/tech stocks into value stocks and cyclicals (including commodities) the inflation-instigated reflation trades hit stride, and gold stocks were sent on a long decline. Again, if you tune out the perma-touts and think rationally, the miners were only doing what they should do (see below).

There were two false breakdowns, the second of which sparked a strong rally. We also caught Mr. Buffett for a contrary signal to that rally on February 17, 2021: Buffett Pukes a Gold Stock!

The rally terminated at a key resistance level (as plotted well ahead of time as a caution zone in NFTRH) and here we are with HUI below its down-turning SMA 50 and SMA 200 (which needed to hold as support in order to maintain a constructive view), back in the downtrend channel (actually the Handle to a still bullish big picture, which is beyond the scope of this post) and the near-term bounce that I had been expecting has finally arrived after the rude interruption of an unexpected lower low.

That low came off of positive RSI and MACD divergences and here we are, on the bounce with the channel’s upper line, the down-sloping moving averages, and a clear lateral resistance area all taunting… “‘C’mon Huey, we dare you!” Continue reading "HUI Technical Status And Gold Stock Fundamentals"

Looking Past Powell

Jerome Powell's term as chair of the Federal Reserve doesn't end until next February, but the handicapping of his reappointment has already begun. A recent poll by the Wall Street Journal found that three-quarters of economists it surveyed believe Powell will be renominated by President Biden, but I would argue that the odds are at best 50-50, if not lower.

Powell has unquestionably been friendly to the financial markets, which counts in his favor on Wall Street, but that may be a detriment when it comes to the progressives who are likely to have the biggest voice in choosing the next Fed chair. Right off the bat, Powell checks off none of the boxes that progressives are looking for, and as he has shown since his inauguration, Biden almost never goes against what they want.

Let’s look at Powell’s negatives: He's a white male. He's a Republican. He comes from Wall Street. He's rich (although most people at this level are). Let's also not forget that Powell was nominated to his position by President Trump, which automatically disqualifies him in the eyes of many, never mind the constant barrage of criticism Trump leveled at him once he was seated.

Just the taint of being associated with the former president should be enough to make him unsuitable for another term.

More importantly, however, Powell has not publicly bought into the prized objectives of the left, namely using the Fed to further social policy (i.e., wealth redistribution) and climate change initiatives, asserting that those are political decisions better left to Congress. Continue reading "Looking Past Powell"

Weekly Stock Market Forecast

This week we have a stock market forecast for the week of 7/25/21 from our friend Bo Yoder of the Market Forecasting Academy. Be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The S&P 500 (SPY)

SPY Daily Chart - Stock Market Forecast

Another week of organic bearish sentiment and stimulus bringing bullish energy into the market. These cross-currents make many of the inputs I use to forecast prices buddy and unreliable, so it puts me on the sidelines until the odds for success improve.

Let’s take a minute to unpack the word “odds.”

I want you to think of the markets like a political campaign for governor of a state. Continue reading "Weekly Stock Market Forecast"