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Markets are back in rally mode, and crypto always gives us a good hint as to where things are headed coming into the new week.

Bitcoin, Solana, and friends had a good Saturday session and even repaired some tactical trend damage.

We’ve been discussing various areas of relative strength on our special live streams since last week.

Crypto has been one of them, and the best tokens continue to hold and bounce off key levels.

In fact, I think the potential failed top setups in Ripple and Solana are as good as anything out there right now.

I’m long both for a swing trade and maybe more. We’ll see how things go.

Here is Solana $SOL:

After quickly breaching 120, which has acted as support a good ten times in the past year, SOL just jumped back above this key level and confirmed a bullish...

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My tactical outlook hasn’t changed just because we gave a little back today. 

Wednesday marked one of the largest single-session rallies in market history, and I think it has legs. 

We’re coming off extreme oversold levels with sentiment in washout territory. 

A monster bounce is just around the corner. 

So I’ve been digging through all of our scans over the last few days. Some new, some old. Looking for the best long opportunities. 

They are all different and cover a variety of universes. International stocks, US growth stocks, sector and industry ETFs, commodity stocks, etc. We have something for everything. 

The scans are all similar in a sense that they look to highlight some form of relative strength, momentum, or a combination of the two. 

I’m...

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Today marked the best day for the market since the financial crisis.

I barely remember it. I was still in college.

For some indexes, it was even the best day since the dot-com bust.

I definitely don’t remember that.

Some old souls will tell you someone like me doesn’t have the experience to navigate through an environment like this.

But I think I’m better equipped for it than they are.

I haven’t been broken by past bear cycles. I don’t get psyched out by them. I’m not jaded and I’m not afraid. I just follow the data. 

I’ve been the guy saying bearish things all year...

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In real bear markets, they come for everything. 

There are no survivors. It’s just how it goes. 

In the middle of last week, there were still pockets of strength. 

Things like Financials and Europe were holding up great. 

Then they both had their worst day in years. On Friday, they got absolutely slaughtered.

These massive failed breakouts in MSCI Germany and the SPDR Banks ETF really tell the story. 

The bears finally came for these leaders. 

And how about the defensive groups that have been showing relative strength all year?

Things like Healthcare, Staples, Real Estate, and Utilities. They seemed like a good place to hide. 

Then they got crushed last week like everything else. 

Low volatility stocks suffered their worst day and worst week since the pandemic lows....

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Before I position myself or act in the market, I weigh the evidence in front of me.

It’s my main job. It’s all I think about.

It’s how I make market calls, and it is the basis for my trading and investing decisions.

It’s also my most difficult job. I think any strategist or investor would agree.

The truth is… In technical analysis, there is no special indicator. There is no secret sauce. 

We’re all looking at the same charts. 

And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discern between an uptrend and a downtrend. Or a top versus a bottom.

That’s not where disagreement is sewn among us. That's rarely what makes one technical opinion or market view differ from another.

It’s about how we weigh all of the different data points.

It’s how we put together the puzzle. 

This kind of expertise comes from time in...

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I’m going to keep zigging while everyone else is zagging.

US equities aren’t even close to out of the woods. 

The bulls were just out here flexing about two green candles. Are you kidding me?

The truth is, this has been a bush league bounce. 

I took some shots, but most of them did not work. So, I’m raising more cash today and loading into some short exposure. This is the most I’ve had all cycle.

Let the non-disciplined buy this dip. There is simply no reason to rush in right now. Until the major averages reclaim their key levels, the bears are firmly in control.

I’m more...

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Those bear flags we discussed last week have since resolved higher.

After a little pop on Friday, today marks a critical follow-through day for the broader market.

But we already talked about how an oversold bounce was basically a foregone conclusion. We literally knew it was coming. The fact that we finally got it is not a bullish data point.

The next step now is to measure and judge the quality of this rally. There could be some bullish evidence there.

I already outlined some of the most important levels I’m paying attention to.

It’s all about VWAPs for the major averages. The large-cap indexes have the August VWAPs, and the SMIDs have the Q4 2023 VWAPs. They’re all right there.

Here’s the S&P 500 drawn up to show the confluence of resistance around this level.

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The current state of the market is indecision.

The major indexes popped to start the week, then they gave it back.

We had a little Powell pump mid-week, and then they gave that back.

Trump’s promise to play nice on tariffs Friday sparked another little rally, and markets closed strong, albeit well off the highs from Wednesday.

This indecision is illustrated by dojis on the weekly charts of the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500.

And frankly, I’m undecided about just how much I want to dip my toes into US stocks right now.

As you know, I think the bulls have a lot of work to do. And with each passing day, I’m just not seeing it.

But you know where I continue to see...

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I’ve been tough on US equities lately. But it’s really nothing new.

Since last summer, I’ve been writing and talking about taking profits in the US - particularly in US growth - and redeploying that capital overseas.

But the truth is I’m rooting for US stocks. I always am.

So, let’s talk about what I need to see to get excited about them again.

In a few notes last week, I stressed the importance of registering two consecutive up-days at the index level. We’re not going to establish a tradable low without some bullish follow-through.

My attitude has been, “talk to me once we get back-to-back green candles.”

And while I’m really not impressed by the action at all, we did achieve this simple milestone earlier in the week. Congrats to stocks!

The bottom line is this is still a “show-me market.” Let’s discuss what bulls need to see next.

It’s all about growth stocks when...

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Today was all about the Fed. 

As usual, I was laser-focused on the market reactions.

Rates stayed put while the path forward was updated to reflect one fewer cut. 

The stock market pumped a bit while Powell was speaking, and dollars and rates ticked down. 

All in all, it was a mundane FOMC reaction. No fireworks. We discussed it on a live stream on Stock Market TV earlier.

But, one group stood out most today. And it’s extra interesting because it’s the same group that has been on top of the leaderboard all year.

I’ve made plenty of mentions to our Bear Market Checklist in recent weeks. 

It’s something we’re always keeping track of, but matters more in some times, and less in others. 

When we’re in rally mode, it barely crosses my mind. But when volatility strikes, and markets are selling off, it’s the most valuable thing I have. 

Let’s break down exactly what it is and how we use it to guide our analysis at All Star Charts. 

As we track the progress of a bull market, we have major indexes and assets that we want to see achieve certain milestones. This is also true for risk appetite ratios, credit spreads, and breadth indicators. 

So, we simply make a list of these charts and key levels along the way. 

When corrective waves occur, we look for these levels - which in many cases, represent a big line in the sand for these trends, to remain intact.  

We keep tabs of what holds and what doesn’t, and we weigh the evidence accordingly. 

When too many of these zones are violated, it can spell the end of the bull...

Sellers have dominated the tape for the past several weeks.

Any bid for stocks since we rolled over in February has been weak and short-lived.

At the same time, we are more than due for a serious bounce.

Some sentiment metrics are at wash-out levels. 

Put volume is at record highs.

US stock indexes are deeply oversold. 

In the case of Nasdaq 100 futures, this is worse than the pandemic lows from 2020. 

But oversold can always get more oversold.

And when it comes to sentiment data, there is simply no signal without confirmation from price.

So, I just gotta see it at this point. 

A rebound rally is surely coming, but how much selling will happen first? And how good will it be?

There definitely won’t be a meaningful bounce until we string together some consecutive up days. We haven’t seen back-to-back green candles in the S&P since its peak in February. 

Literally, zero bullish follow-through in almost a month. That needs to change for markets to make a...