Bespoke Investment Group

2009 Country Stock Market Performance

2009-11-10T15:42:18-05:00

Below we highlight the year-to-date percentage change (local currency) for the major equity indices of 82 countries. So far this year, 71 of the 82 countries are in positive territory, and the average change of all countries is 33.27%. With a gain of 20.76%, the S&P 500 is 13 percentage points below the average, yet it's the second best G-7...

S&P 500 Breadth Checkup

2009-11-10T15:18:45-05:00

Although the S&P 500 is within 1% of its closing high, breadth in this recent rally has been lagging. As of today, the Cumulative A/D line for the S&P 500 since September 2008 is at 778, which is 571 below the highs from October. Given the fact that days where the S&P 500 has a 1% gain typically see a...

Top Line Numbers Not Bad

2009-11-10T13:28:38-05:00

With everyone worried about the top line revenue numbers this earnings season, we've been tracking this data closely. As shown below, 59% of US companies have beaten revenue estimates this quarter, which is the highest reading over the last 5 earnings seasons. While it's not in the 70%-80% range we saw during the last bull market, the direction of the...

Bespoke's Commodity Snapshot

2009-11-10T11:10:51-05:00

Below we provide our trading range charts of ten popular commodities. The green shading represents between two standard deviations above and below the commodity's 50-day moving average. As shown, oil has been trading at the top of its trading range for a few weeks now, and its uptrend remains intact. Natural gas has also made a nice move over the...

S&P 500 Up Every Trading Day in November So Far

2009-11-09T17:14:14-05:00

After struggling at the end of October, the S&P 500 has finished higher on every single trading day so far in November. This marks the 16th 6-day winning streak for the S&P 500 over the last ten years. As shown below, the last four 6-day winning streaks have been met with declines on day seven. Subscribe to Bespoke Premium to...

Stock Market Returns Lost in Translation

2009-11-09T11:55:44-05:00

One of the side effects of a weaker dollar is that the returns for foreign investors who invest in US assets are diminished. While the value of the asset may rise in dollar terms, if the dollar is losing value, the investor takes a hit when they convert their funds back into their domestic currency. For example, while the S&P...

Two More New High Notables

2009-11-09T11:25:32-05:00

Along with the Dow hitting new bull market highs today, two other notable securities have done the same. As shown below, Google (GOOG) broke to new highs this morning and is now trading above $560. One of the more popular China ETFs (FXI) also broke above its October highs and is now trading at $45.55. Both of these names are...

Dow Hits New Bull Market Highs

2009-11-09T10:30:12-05:00

Don't look now, but the Dow just hit a new intraday bull market high. As shown below, the start of November looks much like the start of October. Both times the Dow traded down to its 50-day moving average, held support, and then bounced nicely to make a new bull market high a week or so later. While the Dow...

Unemployment Above 10%

2009-11-06T18:10:09-05:00

The unemployment rate hit 10.2% today, topping the 10% mark for the first time since June 1983. Economists are generally expecting the rate to go higher before it goes lower. Back in September 1982 when the unemployment rate moved above 10% for the first time in the post-WWII era, the rate remained above 10% for 10 months and hit a...

Technology Leads The Way In Guidance

2009-11-06T17:50:26-05:00

Breaking up the 1,800+ US companies that have reported third quarter numbers into sectors, below we highlight the percentage of stocks in each sector that have raised guidance this earnings season. Overall, about 11% of companies have raised guidance this season. As shown below, Technology has blown all other sectors away, with 18.5% of tech stocks raising guidance. Consumer Staples...

Another Dip in the Earnings Beat Rate

2009-11-06T17:29:59-05:00

More than 1,800 US companies have now reported third quarter numbers, and as shown below, the percentage of them that beat earnings estimates has dropped below 70% to 69%. Based on the first half of earnings season, it looked like this quarter might register the highest "beat" rate in at least a decade, but if the trend continues, this quarter...

Leveraged ETF Performance in 2009

2009-11-06T12:22:01-05:00

After leveraged and inverse ETFs hit mania status in 2008 and early 2009, their star-power has begun to fade as brokerages have begun to put big restrictions on them. But they're still being traded, and below we highlight the best and worst performing leveraged and inverse ETFs in 2009. As shown, the 2x technology sector ETF (ROM) is up the...

Key ETFs Furthest Above and Below 50-Day Moving Averages

2009-11-06T11:17:30-05:00

Below we highlight a list of the ETFs that are trading the furthest above and below their 50-day moving averages. As shown, the Internet group ETF (HHH) is the most overbought at +10.49%, followed by Brazil (EWZ), Emerging Market Latin America (GML), Oil (DBO), all of Latin America (ILF), and Gold (IAU, GLD). Other notables on the list of most...

Percentage of Stocks Above 50-Day Moving Averages

2009-11-05T16:01:47-05:00

With the S&P 500 moving back above its 50-day moving average, the percentage of stocks in the index above their 50-days is unsurprisingly back above 50% -- 51% to be exact. But there are still a few sectors that have failed to get this 50-day indicator back above 50%. The Financial sector ranks the worst with just 29% of stocks...

Best and Worst Performing S&P 500 Stocks Since Obama's Election Win

2009-11-05T12:19:18-05:00

Interestingly, Ford Motor (F) has been the best performing S&P 500 stock since the 2008 election. With all the troubles that the US auto industry has gone through over the past year, Ford has made it out alive and now appears to be getting stronger. Ford (F) is trailed by Whole Foods (WFMI) with a gain of 191.72%, AN (161.12%),...