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.
SPY saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on November 26, 2024. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new upward move. Traders may want to consider buying the stock or buying call options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 66 similar instances where the indicator turned positive. In of the 66 cases, the stock moved higher in the following days. The odds of a move higher are at .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for SPY just turned positive on November 25, 2024. Looking at past instances where SPY's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 51 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SPY advanced for three days, in of 367 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 458 cases where SPY Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .
The RSI Indicator has been in the overbought zone for 1 day. Expect a price pull-back in the near future.
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the overbought zone for 5 days. The longer the ticker stays in the overbought zone, the sooner a price pull-back is expected.
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 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
SPY broke above its upper Bollinger Band on November 06, 2024. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
Category LargeBlend