fbpx Weekly Stock Market Commentary 3/17/2017 | Option Strategist

Weekly Stock Market Commentary 3/17/2017

By Lawrence G. McMillan

The stock market, as measured by the Standard & Poors 500 Index ($SPX) rather quietly bottomed a week ago and has moved steadily higher over the ensuing week. Thus, the $SPX chart remains bullish with support at 2350 level.

Equity-only put-call ratios continue to creep higher. This has had the effect of generating sell signals, at least according to the computer programs that we use to analyze these charts. In reality, these charts won't be truly bearish until the put-call rises sharply and steadily from here.

Market breadth had deteriorated during the market's correction to the extent that both breadth oscillators dropped into true oversold territory. Now breadth has improved, as noted earlier (box on page 1), and buy signals have been generated from both of the oscillators.

And in the category of "so what else is new?" volatility remains bullish for stocks. Despite the recent market (minor) correction, $VIX was not able to even challenge the 13 area -- the minimum level that we think $VIX would have to exceed before one could even begin to think about $VIX being a negative indicator for stocks.

In summary, we continue to see things pretty much as has been the case since the US election: we remain intermediate-term bullish unless $SPX breaks support and $VIX breaks out over resistance.

This Market Commentary is an abbreviated version of the commentary featured in The Option Strategist Newsletter.

The Option Strategist Newsletter $29 trial

Share this

Option Strategist
Blog Search

Trading or investing whether on margin or otherwise carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all persons. Leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade or invest you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and ability to tolerate risk. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment or even more than your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading and investing, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Visit the Disclosure & Policies page for full website disclosures.

-->