By Ben Levisohn
Stocks ended mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ending their two-day winning streaks, but the Nasdaq Composite extending its own to three days and hitting a new record high.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.1% to 2,269.00 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 42.87 points, or 0.2%, to 19,899.29. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 5,487.94, a new record.
Phases & Cycles’ David Tippin and Ron Meisels see a correction coming:
The S&P 500 reached new all-time highs in December and then moved horizontally on lighter volume as the
holiday period approached. The S&P 500 reached overbought status on some oscillators in early December and both its internal momentum and the number of NYSE stocks making new 52-week highs pulled back markedly towards year-end. Equity put/call ratios (a contrary indicator) and bullish prognosticator show rising optimism and the percentage of NYSE stocks trading above their respective 50-day Moving Averages were at 67% at year-end (courtesy of Investors Intelligence). With the S&P 500 near its all-time highs, these negative divergences suggest a correction.
Guild Investment’s Monty Guild and team are feeling optimistic about 2017 despite the global political turmoil:
2016 saw nationalist political insurgencies in many countries around the world…In the U.S., a sea change in consumer optimism is underway, with some indicators reaching highs not seen in more than a decade. The prospect of a lighter regulatory touch from the incoming administration, as well as the prospect of significant cuts in the headline corporate tax rate, will be good medicine for corporate profits even if many of the new administration’s bigger policy goals prove troublesome to implement. We’re optimistic and ready for the new year.
I wish I could say the same.
