TRADESTRONG MANAGEMENT: are we in store for another structural change to the market?

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

are we in store for another structural change to the market?

a long career in the markets has afforded me the perspective to see how the markets have changed over the years. when i first started trading more than 40 years ago, markets were undeniably less efficient; information was extremely asymmetric, spreads were large, audit trails were virtually nonexistent, and there weren't any computers, nor the internet. however, the law of ever-changing cycles has had some help along the way; not the least of which are:

government regulations
changes in order handling rules/reg ats
market fragmentation (dark pools)
financialization/indexed instruments & etfs
electronic trading
decimalization
for-profit exchanges
systemic market shocks (flash crash)
global economic shocks (credit crunch)
advances in information processing and the internet
algo/hft driven trading and market-making
central bank policy/qe-zirp

so, if we were to see hft banned or regulated, and a return to normal levels of human market activity, would the markets morph, once again?

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Top Ten Reasons I'm Ready To Leave My Home Office

10) I want to hire a "hot" assistant, but my wife won't let me.
9) My neighbors think I'm a drug dealer.
8) Oprah is retiring.
7) The pizza delivery boy is becoming overly friendly.
6) I haven't showered, shaved, gotten out of my pajamas, or left the house, in a week.
5) Networking to me, is talking to my 3 year old son.
4) My wife thinks I need to get a "real" job.
3) When I take a break, I throw in a load of wash.
2) All I hear is... " Since you're home all day anyway, can you just do this...?"
1) I feel like I "live" at the office... Wait, I do !!!

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in Market Matters are just that, and are subject to change without notice. Opinions are based on historical research and data believed to be accurate, but there is no guarantee that present or future results will be profitable. Investing in the financial markets entails risk, and past performance does not guarantee future performance. The foregoing has been prepared solely for informational purposes and is not a solicitation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. When publishing a post, I may or may not have a position in the market, or may or may not be contemplating taking a position in the market. TRADESTRONG and it's management are a discretionary trading group and responds to the markets' changing structure in a dynamic fashion. Any and all information included in any post of Market Matters should not be construed as a recommendation to engage in any transaction involving either the purchase or sale of a futures contract or option thereof. The risk of loss in trading futures or options can be substantial, and each investor should carefully consider the inherent risks of such an endeavor, and only risk capital they can afford to lose.

January Rally In “Effect” But Not Firing On All Cylinders

The market was able to take advantage of annual New Year optimism and break out to the upside. For the week the DJIA gained 1.2%, the NASDAQ rose 2.7%, and the S&P 500 tacked on 1.6%, thanks largely to big gains on the first trading day of the year, and the perceived seasonality of the “January Effect.”

Equity-only put-call ratios remain on buy signals. Market breadth has been positive, but not strong, and the volatility indices ($VIX and $VXO) have been in bullish downtrends for some time, as those trends persist.

The markets began the new year where they left off with somewhat better domestic economic news, tempered by S&P's threat to downgrade the sovereign ratings of leading euro zone nations, especially France. Europe’s problems continue to weigh heavily on domestic markets and have curtailed greater risk appetite in our market. There were more reminders of weakness in Italy and Spain, as yields on the 10-year debt of both nations remained elevated and credit spreads widened with German debt.

Investor sentiment remains high. According to Bespoke, ”With a strong finish to 2011 and now a strong start to 2012, individual investors are starting to turn bullish again. According to the weekly sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII), bullish sentiment is now at 48.88%, which is the highest level since early February. Bearish sentiment dropped to 17.16% which is the lowest level since December 2010.” While not at disturbingly high bullish levels or extraordinarily low bearish levels, sentiment does seem to be frothy.

It is important to note there were also rumors that the White House was planning a large-scale mortgage refinance plan, which was later denied. These rumors of a massive mortgage refinancing fiscal stimulus fueled the surge in the ES (intra-day) yesterday and the decline after the close. This morning, a beat on both the payrolls number and household survey of the Employment Situation facilitated a quick rise to 1282.25, followed by a quick failure and a subsequent drop to 1268.00. Notably, this leaves two failed rally attempts and a double-top with the major interim high from October 27, 2011. Long candlestick tails (wicks) on big news is a contrarian signal, and the bulls' failure to push through and close above this level may foster a short term correction.

Of course, the biggest bearish divergences and the cause for the greatest concerns for the health of the current rally come from Europe. The euro hit a 16 month low against the dollar (EUR/USD), the lowest close since 09/10/2010 and most certainly is creating a drag on the U.S. markets. European credit spreads continue to widen, and the FESX continues to make lower highs and has been unable to trade above it’s 200 DEMA, since failing from from that level on 10/27/2011.