Daily Market Wisdom with Nick Santiago

1. Yesterday, the major stock indexes rallied sharply higher. Not much volume. The rally was broad based and the Russell 2000 Index was the leader percentage wise. That is very encouraging going forward. It is always a big positive when the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) show leadership. It’s up 1 percent today. Lets see if the market can build on that.  2. Election risk still present. There’s no...

1. Markets are starting the week higher. today's rally is being led by the Russell 2000 Index (IWM, RUT). It is important to remember, the Russell 2000 Index represents small cap stocks in the United States. It is usually very positive when the Russell 2000 shows leadership. This is where people invest for growth, not dividends. Potential sector rotation. 2. On Friday, the tech heavy NASDAQ Compos...

1. President Trump and the First Lady contract coronavirus. Lets see how he gets through this. The world is watching to see how he recovers from the virus. Will the next debate take place? Expect the unexpected. Let’s see how he will get through it. As long as he does well, the markets won’t go into turmoil. Market gapped down but recovered. How it closes is the important thing. A wild session alr...

1. Earlier today, weekly initial claims for the week ending September 26 declined by 36,000 to 837,000. Weekly continuing claims down a little. This number was inline with expectations. Tomorrow, the non-farm payroll report will be released by the BLS at 8:30 am. The non-farm payroll report will be important this time around after yesterday's strong ADP report.  2. So far, the major stock indexes...

1. While everyone talks about the Presidential debate it really should be about the economic data that is a stand out today. The ADP Employment report for September said that private-sector payrolls were  higher by 749,000 jobs. Then the Chicago PMI for September surged above expectations to 62.4%, expectations were for a reading of 52.0. A reading above 50.0 represents an expanding business secto...

1. Yesterday, the major stock indexes surged higher. Volume was anemic. S&P 500 hit its 50 day mav. Today, they are stalling out or pausing from a large short term advance. Basically, the market seems to be taking a breather today. Not unusual after a good run on all major indexes. Right now it’s all about chart patterns and the election. 2. Tonight is the highly anticipated Presidential Debate. T...

1. Markets rallied into the weekend. That is always a short term bullish indication when traders and investors want to hold stocks over the weekend when markets are closed. Still a little choppy going into the election. Traders be warned. Identify the best chart patterns and equities. Still a tough period for the market. 2. This morning, stocks are trading nicely higher to start the week. I think...

1. Market up across the board. Volume very light. End of the quarter window dressing? S&P up, Nasdaq big winner. Light volume helps to favor the upside. It’s how they close that matters. 2. Home builders are extremely strong and in up trends. Could be a bit overbought. You would think they would they’d be going down but they have surprised. There’s a mass migration from Blue to Red and North to So...

1. Yesterday, the major stock indexes sold off sharply after a two day bounce. So far, the month of September has been an ugly month for the markets. Election risk is certainly in play here and that could last up into the election. Historically, September and October are known to be tough for the bulls.  it was on an uptick in volume. Historically September and October are difficult times for the...

1. Leading sneaker and retail apparel maker Nike (NKE) is trading sharply higher after reporting earnings. Up over $10. The stock is currently up about 8.0%. It is a bit extended and overbought now, but it has helped other retails stocks catch a bid today. Stocks such as Dicks Sporting Goods, (DKS), Foot Locker (FL), Lululemon (LULU), and even Under Armour (UAA) are trading higher in sympathy to N...

1. The NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) rebounded yesterday afternoon from the sharp sell off that started on September 2nd. Many of the cloud software stocks (IGV) lead the tech heavy NASDAQ 100 into positive territory. There is a lot of chatter that Europe will be locking down again due to a second wave of the coronavirus. So many of these cloud software stocks surged on this news. 2. The election is just 41 da...

1. Market gapped down today. The Dow and all indexes are getting hammered. Is it the start of a major decline. A 250 point decline on the Nasdaq. Russell 2000 down 4%, a huge decline. It’s an ugly day. Nick does not believe that we’re going to retest the March lows. It’s all about election insanity. We don’t want to fight the trend, but when volume kicked up on the downside, Nick knew it was headi...

1. Today is options expiration for the month of September. As I have stated before this is a quarterly expiration so there are 4 different asset classes expiring this week. It is called quadruple witching options expiration.  Yesterday was a very wild day in the market, it was filled with a ton of whipsaw throughout the day. I do not expect that kind of action today. By now, the institutional mark...

1. Markets are starting the session very weak with a large gap lower open. The tech heavy NASDAQ is under some heavy selling pressure to start the day, but remember this is an options expiration week. This is supposed to be a week filled with a lot of whipsaw in the market. Either way, we have election risk going forward, so everyone needs to be a little cautious right now.  2. Traders will really...

1. Markets seem to be strong right out of the gate this morning. All of the major stock indexes are higher, but this is a quadruple witching options expiration trading week. Not your normal options ex. Often, the markets can be choppy and sudden turns should not be ruled out. This is a week where traders should expect the unexpected.  2. Today started the first of a two day FOMC (Federal Open Mark...

1. 19th anniversary of that dreadful that changed the world. 2. Mixed markets today. Dow up, Nasdaq down .7, S&P 500 mostly flat and Russell down .75. Normally look for a flat to slightly positive day on 9-11. Retail,transports and are higher, energy and financials also up. Industrials, Cat, 3M, doing higher. Be cautious of tech. There’s been some pretty good distribution. Most important part of t...

1. Initial weekly Jobless Claims were reported this morning, they were 884K vs. 813K expected. The Weekly Continuing Claims was 13.358 million. This was an increase of 93,000 from the previous week. Overall, there was nothing great about this number, but things seem to be steady. If other closed states would open up their economy the jobless numbers would improve much quicker. Unfortunately, polit...

1. Stocks are gapping higher today after a 3-day sell off. This is typical after such a large decline in such a short period of time. There should be a lot of whipsaw and choppiness over the next few weeks. It will be more important than ever to read the charts over the next 2 months. 2. Beware of the VIX. It’s remained in a range of $20-28 since May. It made a lower high during the recent sell-of...

1. Markets are pulling back again this morning. It started last Thursday with the major stock indexes plunging. On Friday before the labor Day weekend the major stock indexes ended lower, but actually well off the lows of the day. Volume was very heavy on Thursday and Friday. Today, it is an ugly start to the week, but this is not really a surprise as we are in the 60-day window of the election. T...

1. Today's weekly initial jobless claims report was 881,000. The expectations were for 915,000 and 130,000 better than last week's report,  This number is also below the psychological 1.0 million mark. Continuing claims also declined to 13.254 million from a revised count of 14.49 million. This is also showing improvement.   2. This morning, the major stock indexes are dipping a bit, but the marke...

1. Markets are now getting a bit euphoric at this stage of the game. While the major stock indexes can stay higher than most people think it is worth being a little cautious right now. Next Monday is Labor Day in the United States, so trading volume should be light until then. Light volume usually is favorable for a flat to upside market. Very rarely do we see any major downside in light volume en...

1. Zoom video Communications (ZM) is soaring today after earnings. This move in zoom is lifting the cloud software stocks this morning. So the tech heavy NASDAQ Composite is trading higher again. This index is now up about 32% this year. It’s in a parabolic move. 2. Beware of September and October. While the trend is up you’ve got to be ready for turbulent times. Be alert and on guard. March is al...

1. Apple (AAPL) and & TSLA (TSLA) both split this morning. Remember, a split does not really change anything. The market cap is still the same. It should be noted that both of these stocks ran up into the split so they could be due for a pullback of some sort very soon. Stocks are clearly overbought. When will Tesla be put into the S&P 500? That’s the question. Short sellers have lost at least $25...