This is a question I've been getting a lot.

"JC, how could you say we're already in the 8th Month of a new bull market???"

The things people call me over email or on twitter are not something I would repeat in front of my mother, or daughter, and certainly not in front of any of you guys.

But I'm a big boy. I spent a lot of time on trading floors, dugouts and locker rooms. I've heard way worse.

It is interesting, however, to observe the feedback I get from just some basic arithmetic.

This isn't like some random opinion I have about the economy, or Fed policy or earnings. This is just 3rd grade math.

Are more stocks going up? Are more stocks making new highs? Or are more stocks going down and making new lows?

Since June, the answer has been up and certainly not...

We did it.

We've flipped the book long.

With Bitcoin $BTC and Ethereum $ETH reclaiming their prior-cycle highs, we even went as far as arguing that this recent move represents a structural regime shift for the asset class.

In our view, both the short and intermediate-term trends have now definitively shifted higher.

This comes within the context of a slew of risk-on developments in traditional markets.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

We're hovering around the $SPX 4,000 level, and we consolidated nicely yesterday.

Time will tell if this market needs a rest or we continue higher sooner versus later.

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville filed his first Periodic Transaction Report of the year.

Sen. Tuberville disclosed the purchase of Barrick Gold Corporation $GOLD for an amount between $15,000 and $50,000.

This week we're looking at stock from Technology Products and Services sector.

We retired our "Five Bull Market Barometers" in 2020 to make room for a new weekly post that's focused on the three most important charts for the week ahead.

This is that post, so let's jump into this week's edition.

This is the video recording of the January 2023 Mid-month Conference Call.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The market consolidated most of the day.

$SPY tested its 200-day moving average a few times down at 396.90 and managed to hold. 

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I don’t use moving averages.

For starters, I don’t like the way they look.

They muddy the pristine waters of price. And if I can't pick up on the underlying trend by looking at price action, then god help me.

Regardless, I do my best to stay open-minded. Everyone has their own process. Mine works for me, but that doesn’t make it superior by any stretch.

So, when Grant @GrantHawkridge dropped a US Dollar Index $DXY moving average crossover study in our analyst Slack chat last weekend, I couldn’t resist.

It wasn’t because it highlighted the “death cross” (when a 50-day moving average falls below a longer-term 200-day average), which always stirs a great deal of excitement.

Nor was it what his study suggests for the dollar in the coming weeks and quarters. 

Rather, it’s what it implies for US stocks.

Check out the chart of the DXY with a 50-day (blue line) and a 200-day simple moving average (red line):

...

Look, I get it.

Maybe you have some long-term holdings showing significant gains that you don’t want to pay taxes on. But you want to squeeze some additional income out of these positions because either you’re greedy (fine) or you want to practice responsible risk management (a better reason).

That’s fine. Go ahead and continue selling covered calls from your yacht. You do you.

This post is aimed at the rest of you knuckleheads who seem to think entering covered call trades as tactical short-term plays is a productive use of your time and capital.

Yes, you! You know who you are.

Let me show you two pictures.

The shorter-term risk indicators have teased the possibility in recent weeks, but now for the first time in a year, our longer-term Risk Indicator has moved into Risk On territory.

More Context: This risk indicator is made up of 20 (intermarket and intramarket) ratios that pair various risk on and risk off assets. It ebbed and flowed over the course of 2022 but remained in Risk Off territory all of last year. Paired with the turn higher in our net new high advance/decline line, this is evidence of an improving backdrop for risk assets. These are not discrete signals (like so many breadth and momentum thrusts) but are continuous indicators of the environment in which we, as investors, are operating. 

I have long leaned on breadth thrust signals in my work. But with more and more of them popping up all the time, it is now a case of thrust but verify. In contrast to what we saw last year, our risk indicators and the new high vs new low data are providing important confirmation of market strength (as...

We had a resting GTC order filled at our profit target in the Paid-to-Play portfolio today:

We've adjusted a position in the Paid-to-Play portfolio today:

The largest insider transaction on today’s list is a Form 4 filing by Abdiel Capital Management LLC, which reported a purchase worth roughly $8.7 million in Appian Corporation $APPN.

The hedge fund now has an ownership stake of nearly 12%.

From the Desk of Kimmy Sokoloff

The $SPX closed above its 200-day moving average on Friday.

The indices might need consolidation if the market's going to trend higher.

What a week, eh?

Bitcoin had its best week in two years, with the orange coin rallying 22%. Many coins followed suit, with names like Solana gaining a whopping 60% last week.

This move was merely a continuation of the momentum we pointed out at the beginning of last week, with many of our internal breadth metrics moving into bullish conditions.

It's the weekly Gold Rush!

As gold futures approach a significant area of overhead supply, we cover the most important charts in the space.

Check it out...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Top 10 Charts Report was just published.

In this weekly note, we highlight 10 of the most important charts or themes we’re currently seeing in asset classes around the world.

Bitcoin Bounces Back!

Bitcoin has been on an absolute tear, gaining roughly 25% since last week and booking seven consecutive up-days. Not only is price reclaiming its prior cycle highs from 2017, but momentum (as measured by the 14-day RSI) is registering its highest reading in two years. As shown in the table, price has also reclaimed its 200-day moving average, ending the second longest streak on record spent below it over the course of 2022.

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @sstrazza and Alfonso Depablos @Alfcharts

This is one of our favorite bottom-up scans: Follow the Flow.

In this note, we simply create a universe of stocks that experienced the most unusual options activity — either bullish or bearish, but not both.

We utilize options experts, both internally and through our partnership with The TradeXchange. Then, we dig through the level 2 details and do all the work upfront for our clients.

Our goal is to isolate only those options market splashes that represent levered and high-conviction, directional bets.

We also weed out hedging activity and ensure there are no offsetting trades that either neutralize or cap the risk on these unusual options trades.

What remains is a list of stocks that large financial institutions are putting big money behind.

And they’re doing so for one reason only: because they think...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The NYSE might be closed today, but futures markets are open.

And while the volume remains low during US trading hours, it hasn’t stopped Gold futures from revisiting a critical level.

Gold currently challenges a price level engrained in goldbugs’ minds worldwide…

The prior commodity supercycle peak!

Check out the chart of Gold futures:

It’s back at the scene of the crime – the 2011 high at approximately 1,924. Those former highs mark the height of the prior commodity supercycle (as far as Gold’s concerned) and the ideal level to have exited long positions. Not many sold the top, of course, reinforcing its psychological significance. 

Twice bulls have managed to push price above that critical level. And twice, those rallies failed to produce sustained uptrends. 

This is a logical level for Gold to pause and digest its recent gains. Especially when we consider gold has risen more than 18% off its November lows. Nevertheless, gold mining stocks are catching a bid.

First, the PHLX Gold Index $XAU reclaimed a crucial shelf of former highs, hinting at a new...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Check out this week's Momentum Report, our weekly summation of all the major indexes at a Macro, International, Sector, and Industry Group level.

By analyzing the short-term data in these reports, we get a more tactical view of the current state of markets. This information then helps us put near-term developments into the big picture context and provides insights regarding the structural trends at play.

Let's jump right into it with some of the major takeaways from this week's report:

* ASC Plus Members can access the Momentum Report by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Macro Universe:

• This week, our macro universe was positive, with 85% of our list closing higher with a median return of 2.00%.
• Oil $CL was the winner, closing with an 8.26% gain.
• The biggest loser was the Volatility Index $VIX, with a weekly loss of -13.16%.
• There was a 7% gain in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 11%.
• 74% of our macro list made fresh 4-week highs, and 45% made...

From the Desk of Ian Culley @IanCulley

The NYSE might be closed today, but futures markets are open.

And while the volume remains low during US trading hours, it hasn’t stopped Gold futures from revisiting a critical level.

Gold currently challenges a price level engrained in goldbugs’ minds worldwide…

The prior commodity supercycle peak!

Check out the chart of Gold futures: