In a year literally plagued with bad news and uncertainties about public health, social unrest, and a political crisis, the stock market posted robust returns. This doesn't surprise me -- the stock market has a long history of defying expectations, and 2020 was a flagship year for doing just that.
I expect 2021 to be different, and assuredly more volatile, in my view.
The stock market staged a strong rally off the spring lows, with frequent stories of 100+% gains and more recent news about explosive returns in cryptocurrency. From an investment standpoint, the strength across many asset classes has led to a surge in “FOMO,” or fear of missing out on returns.
Many investors are rushing into the markets, pushing sentiment from pessimistic in the spring to optimistic today. Investors borrowed a record $722.1 billion on margin through November 2020, a signal that risk-taking may be approaching a crescendo.
Optimism and overt risk-taking combined have been ominous for markets, as historically they have tended to result in corrections, pullbacks, and bouts of volatility (see 2000 and 2008 for examples). I'm also seeing signs of too much optimism in the retail brokerage market, with individual investors opening more than 10 million new brokerage accounts in 2020 – a record. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the online trading platform Robinhood saw 500,000 new downloads in December, as well as upticks in volume on brokerages like TD Ameritrade and E*Trade.
If history serves as any indication, I think this rush of investor enthusiasm ends with a sharp, sudden, and probably pretty scary correction of -10% to -20%. I'm spending the next few weeks getting cash at the ready.
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
SPY may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options. In 35 of 39 cases where SPY's price broke its lower Bollinger Band, its price rose further in the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 90%.
Following a +0.91% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SPY advanced for three days, in 295 of 356 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 83%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 362 of 419 cases where SPY Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 86%.
The Stochastic Oscillator may be shifting from an upward trend to a downward trend. In 49 of 70 cases where SPY's Stochastic Oscillator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 70%.
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on October 29, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on SPY as a result. In 61 of 78 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 78%.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for SPY turned negative on October 15, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 52 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In 38 of the 52 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at 73%.
SPY moved below its 50-day moving average on October 30, 2026 date and that indicates a change from an upward trend to a downward trend.
The 10-day moving average for SPY crossed bearishly below the 50-day moving average on October 30, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted lower and could be considered a sell signal. In 12 of 16 past instances when the 10-day crossed below the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 75%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SPY declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 76%.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Category LargeBlend