Legend For Phase Chart:
1: Recovery-1: Warning
2: Accumulation-2: Distribution
3: Bullish-3: Bearish

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Commodity Sector




Commodity seems to be making a come back recently. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) has rebounded from a low of 663 on 5 Dec 08 to close at 1642 on 6 Feb 09. Commodities related stocks in Singapore showed strength this week.

Let’s look at the commodity sector as a whole to see which phase we are in.

The iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust is a fund that investor invest in a portfolio of exchange-traded futures contracts tracked by the index. The index currently tracks 24 different commodities. It is weighted with approximately 67% invested in energy, 16% in agriculture, 7% in industrial metals, 7% in livestock and 3% in precious metals. The index is production weighted to reflect the relative significance of those commodities to the world economy.

The GSCI commodity index trust is now sitting in “Bearish” mode. The index tested its 50 day moving average on 6 Jan 09 but was not able to maintain its bullish momentum.

The index looks to be forming a double bottom and the 50 day moving average looks to be forming a base. It is too early to be bullish on commodities based on the phase chart. We need more evidence of a sustainable rally and the picture will look better if it can move above its 50 day moving average.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

US Financial Sector




Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly above 8000 points on Friday. The index was down 148 points on Friday after falling 226 points during Thursday’s session. Sellers are definitely in control.

In order for the market to recover, the financial sector needs to stabilize first and banks will need to provide liquidity to push up the market.

A look at the XLF shows that the financial sector in US is still trying to find a bottom. Unlike the Dow, XLF actually went below its Nov 08 lows of $8.54 on 20 Jan 09 before rebounding to a high of $10.51 on 28 Jan 09. It closed at $9.24 on Friday.

The phase chart shows that XLF is still in “Bearish” territory. It tested the 50 day moving average in the beginning of January. But the resistance proved too much for the bulls to overcome and sellers are gaining control again.

The next support level for XLF is at $8.00 level and if this support is broken, it will mean more pain for the bulls.